Farmers Markets : Caroline Wright - 7 February 2009 (From Worcester News)

Farmers Markets : Caroline Wright - 7 February 2009

10:51am Monday 9th February 2009 in Farmers' Markets

TELEVISION chef Jamie Oliver gave the British pig industry a huge boost last week with his documentary on the plight of our pork farms.

As part of Channel 4’s Great British Food Fight cookery season, Jamie Saves Our Bacon illustrated the difficulties faced by Britain’s struggling pig farmers.

Oliver highlighted the huge differences in welfare standards between British farms and some of their European counterparts – with the majority of imported pigs suffering cramped conditions and a very poor quality of life.

The importance of animal welfare is something Worcestershire farmers’ market pig producers have known about for years – and you can taste the difference in their produce.

YouGov research commissioned by supermarket giant Waitrose found that nearly 60 per cent of pork consumers claim they will stop buying imported meat once told about the poor conditions the majority of imported pigs are reared in. Let’s hope some of those people now turn to farmers’ markets – where the quality of life for the animals has always been of paramount importance.

Larkin’s Family Meats are just one producer who raise pigs in as natural a way as possible.

Owner Sue Groves explains: “We have two breeding sows, Marilyn and her daughter Jordan, and a boar called Raj. They are pedigree middlewhites, a rare breed. In the summer months the piglets are born and reared outside in a paddock. There’s an arc for shelter and a wallow where they can get muddy and paddle.

“In the winter the pigs are in oldfashioned brick-built pig sties with plenty of space inside and out. Middlewhite pork meat boasts a wonderful much appreciated flavour reminiscent of past times before today’s modern commercial production.”

Following the Jamie Saves Our Bacon TV show, there has been a surge in sales of belly and shoulder joints, signifying a switch back to cheaper cuts which – although popular in the 1960s and 70s – had been abandoned in recent years.

Waitrose also recorded an increase in popularity of its ‘forgotten cuts’ range – including cuts of brisket, topside, shin, cheeks and trotters. Oliver championed these cuts of meat on the show – so why not pick some up from the Larkin’s Family Meats, Rochford Country Meats or Elmore Farm Foods stalls at today’s farmers’ market and enjoy real local quality pork.

Today’s Worcestershire farmers’ market is in Victoria Square, Droitwich, from 9am until 2pm. Next week’s market is on Saturday, February 14, in Bromsgrove High Street, from 9am until 5pm. For more information about Worcestershire Farmers’ Markets, log on to wfmg.co.uk.