- Zac Goldsmith, Tracy Worcester, Miranda Richardson and Tom Parker-Bowles
- Tracy presents the event
- Zac Goldsmith talks before the film clips are shown
- Kate Parkes from RSPCA talks about welfare and labelling
- Zac along with MPs, NGOs and members of the food industry are gathered in the crowd
- Peter Stevenson from Compassion in World Farming speaks on pig welfare, while other experts listen on
- In attendance: Iain Duncan-Smith MP
- In attendance: Explorer David Hempleman-Adams!
- In attendance: Peter Ainsworth MP
- Professor Vyvyan Howard speaks about the issue of pollution and disease
The following speaker, Richard Young Soil Association Policy Adviser (4th left on above photo): “Pigs and humans are genetically very similar, and some people will say they’re similar in other respects as well, and its not surprising that some of the diseases that develop in pigs can pass to humans, and cause infection there, we know about the obvious ones like Salmonella and Campala Bacta, but there are many others that cause infection frequently and when they do can be quite serious. One that’s gaining increased awareness at this time is Hepatitis E which is very common in pigs and is now increasingly being recognized as the cause of meningitis particularily in older men.”
- Stewart Houston from BPEX stands up for the UK farmer on the destruction of rural livelihoods
Stewart Houston: “Ive agreed… with the support for calls for better labeling, the industry’s been doing quite a bit of work through the pig industry task force on this, we fought long and hard for clearer labeling to provide unambiguous consumer choice and confidence, there will be a voluntary code forthcoming in the EU but we’ve also developed through the task force, a code of conduct that we hope that all of our retailers will buy into. It’s a voluntary agreement but its been reached by the pig meat supply chain task force which was brought together by DEFRA and chaired by food and farming minister Jim Fitzpatrick.”
- Helen Browning inspires us to strive for a better way of farming, and shows pictures from her farm in Wiltshire Downs
Helen Browning: “For me and other organic farmers, our pigs are intergrated into our fertility building systems in a way that benefits the environment, benefits human and pig welfare.”
“A little goes a long way, we don’t need to eat as much meat as we do, maybe we should be eating less, but better quality”
- Experts engaged: Helen Rimmer from Friends of the Earth answers questions
- Questions from the floor: Debate is sparked by David Handley Farmer for Action
- Toxico-pathologist Vyvyan Howard (L) speaks with Epidemiologist Mark Enright
- The discussion continues…
The evening ends but left on screen a vision for the future of pig farming?