Jamie Oliver To Pressue EU For Tougher Laws Supporting Farm Animal Welfare

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by Michael dEstries January 28, 2009
Categories: Animals, Eats
Tags: .

oliver_pigsJamie Oliver isn’t content to let his new show highlighting farm pig abuse, Jamie Saves Our Bacon, do all the talking. The famous celebrity chef is teaming up with the RSPCA and will call on the EU to “set tougher minimum welfare standards for farmers and legislate on more honest labeling about how their animals are reared.” The attention being generated is similar to what Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall did last year for chicken welfare. After his effort, sales for humanely reared chickens went through the roof. From the article,

“Britain is only about 25% self-sufficient in bacon and 70% in pork, meaning it imports large quantities of pig meat, which farmers in the UK complain comes from animals generally raised in worse and more intensive indoor conditions, including in much of the EU. But the RSPCA’s Julia Wrathall said even in this country ‘a significant number” of the 9 million animals reared for meat each year “are living out their lives in unacceptable conditions’”.

Hopefully, Jamie’s program will result in more public support for legislation to improve the conditions of farm animals throughout the EU. Either way, it’s wonderful to see him using the power of television to educate others on where their food comes from — and how its treated. Check out the official website for the program here.

Update: Check out the great video after the jump of Jamie having someone train a pig how to sit. Just shows how intelligent these incredible creatures are!

Photo credit: PR Photos


Categories: Animals, Eats
Tags: .

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

View all posts by Michael dEstries →
  • Adriana

    I’m really impressed! I know he’s a hard-core carnivore, but he’s doing a lot to help animals nonetheless.

  • http://www.veganjapan.net herwin

    +1 !
    he’s a carnivore but doesnt looks the other way and raises lots of awarenes of animal cruelty by confronting these “where does your meat comes from” issues to his audience.

  • Becs

    i agree, despite myself I do like jamie oliver and he seems to really be heading in the right direction. i wonder if, after showing everyone how smart pigs can be, he’s going to cut down on how much bacon he eats?

  • Paul

    Its a shame that he keeps on pushing the fact that UK pig farms have better welfare standards (the fact that when ever the program shows UK pig farms its only out door reared – which accounts for less than 10% of UK pig farms. Infact the RSPCA’s freedom foods standards have been questioned time and time again – If you would like to see the truth behind UK pig farms visit – http://www.piggles.org.uk

  • JL

    I think the point is, know your meat. I only eat meat that I can meet, and do. At one glance you can typically tell the nature of a farm, and with one conversation you can judge the compassion of the farmer.

    Now, I know this will never sit with the Vegans, and good-on-ya… but when it comes to the masses, they should be seeking out more of these husbandry-farms. If standards for industrialized farming actually increase, then the price of free-ranged meats will soon become comparable.

  • Helene

    surely you could have found a better picture of him than that!

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