Put Animal Welfare At The Top Of Your Shopping List
Originally from: Farmtalking
Wednesday 20 September 2006
Farm Animal Week kicks off on Monday 25 September. Organised by the RSPCA’s Freedom Food scheme the week aims to raise greater awareness amongst consumers of the importance of good farm animal welfare.
Nearly one billion animals are reared in the UK for food each year. During Farm Animal Week shoppers are being asked to think about the animals that produce our food and help them by choosing higher welfare food products such as those labelled Freedom Food.
Leigh Grant, chief executive of Freedom Food, said: “We are asking shoppers to give a little more thought to our farm animals and switch at least one item in their shopping baskets to a higher welfare product during Farm Animal Week. It really couldn’t be simpler.
“Buying higher welfare labelled products such as Freedom Food is just a small change for consumers to make, but it really can make a big difference to the welfare of millions of farm animals.”
What’s happening during the week?
RSPCA chicken report – a new groundbreaking report will be launched on Sunday 24 September highlighting the benefits to consumers, producers and retailers of higher welfare standards for chickens
Celebrity Recipe Collection – a specially designed Freedom Food recipe collection has been published to mark the week. It features recipes from 15 well-known chefs and cookery writers – including Antony Worrall Thompson, Nick Nairn and Lesley Waters – who support the cause of improved farm animal welfare. The collection can be ordered from the Freedom Food website
Free prize draw to win a cookery course – Freedom Food is giving you the chance to win a day’s cookery course for two at celebrity chef Nick Nairn’s Cook School. Simply log on to the Freedom Food website to find out how to enter
Farm Animal Week goodie bags – goodie bags informing shoppers about chicken welfare and Freedom Food will be given away outside supermarkets in London, Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff and Birimingham, as well as local RSPCA animal centres and charity shops. Contents includes a free copy of the celebrity recipe collection, an interactive leaflet about chicken, a Freedom Food magnetic shopping list and a reusable carrier bag
Where to buy Freedom Food products – an updated ‘Where to Buy’ section will be available on www.freedomfood.co.uk listing major supermarkets, independents, online merchants and farm shops that stock Freedom Food labelled products
Originally from: coleen
What about the Turkeys on a Bernard Mathews site…two men used them as baseballs and whacked them up into the air and then kicked them as they came down.
How can people stuff their faces with this meat – when cruelty like this is happening somewhere everyday.
'Freedom' what freedom?
Coleen
Originally from: Pat Gardiner
Freedom Food?
Didn't do these pigs much, good did it?
The allegation, made by another employee, although not repeated here, was that the pigs were boiled alive
Dalehead belong to Freedom Food.
Welfare was not compromised
RSPCA has confirmed that it has visited Dalehead Foods in response to claims that pigs were made to suffer unnecessarily at the abattoir in Linton, Cambridgeshire.
But there is no proof the animals' welfare was compromised, as stunning standards exceed the minimum amp and time level and can, themselves, result in the pig's death, it says.
The allegations were that, on two occasions, pigs had been placed into a vat of water after being stunned, without first having their throats cut.
In May 2006 Dalehead Foods was obliged to suspend and retrain an employee who had not followed mandatory procedures at its site in Linton. A state veterinary surgeon would have confirmed that the employee was able to be reinstated with his licence after retraining.
Following the report of a further breach in September 2006 by the same employee, Dalehead Foods invoked disciplinary proceedings, the outcome of which was the termination of the employee's contract.
RSPCA inspectors are satisfied that these were isolated incidents and that the organisation acted correctly upon learning of the employee's actions.
Regards
Pat Gardiner
www.go-self-sufficient.com
Originally from: Pat Gardiner
Hi Coleen
Yes, it was pretty bad. Mathew's press advertisements trying to blame everyone else were pretty nauseating too.
The problem seems to lie in the quality of the people they employ. Put politely, many are not very bright.
Now, I'm all for giving the disadvantaged a job, but you do have to make sure that there is adequate supervision.
Mathews has moved much of his production to Eastern Europe, I understand.
Personally, I blame the State Veterinary Service for not doing their job – and the RSPCA for doing a job they should not be doing, very badly and unfairly too.
Having a charity undertake control and prosecutions is ridiculous. They are far too interested in the money and prancing about on TV in uniforms.
Their squeals of glee when they have successfully prosecuted some poor elderly sick eccentric farmer for neglect, stand badly against their obvious pandering to big business and the overlooking of far more serious incidents.
The whole area of animal health and prevention of cruelty needs a very thorough review.
Britain is like Ruritania on the matter.
Regards
Pat Gardiner
www.go-self-sufficient.com
Originally from: coleen
HI Pat
The 200 hours community service they received hardly sent out the right signals did it?
It's always easier to get a prosecution against the single, lone person – animal owners – isn't it. Not that I am advocating any cruelty should be ignored.. but corporate organisations i.e. the big boys (have to be protected) plus they cost more to take to Court!!
I know what you are meaning about the work force.. pay peanuts and all that!
ALL animals should have freedom – the law should make it so! There should not be a 'them and us' system in operation. Poor devils have a short enough life, at least make it free from physical and mental suffering.
As a Country we are very good at telling the rest of the World how to 'suck eggs' in all manner of things…what a pity we do not think the same rules apply to us
Coleen
Digg
reddit
Google Bookmarks
Yahoo! My Web
del.icio.us
StumbleUpon
Newsvine
livejournal
Facebook
BlinkList