Frequently Asked QuestionsDid you see Jamie Oliver's Save Our Bacon??Blythburgh Free Range Pork is produced from pigs that really are free range and have the most superior standard of living available as shown by Jamie Oliver. Castration is painful and unecessary procedure, we do not castrate any of our boys!! Tail docking is a proceedure used by intensive pig farming systems to reduce the incidence of tail biting, where piglets chew each others tails causing painful sores. Tail biting is common in intensive systems because of boredom and does not occur in our unique free range system. Therefore we do not practice tail docking on any of our free range piglets. What is the difference between Free Range Pork and Standard Pork??The pigs have free access to open space where they can display their natural instincts rather than being confined in concrete pens or on slatted floors commonly seen in many intensive systems. The most well known comparison is the difference between a free range hen and a battery hen as shown by Hugh Fernley Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver in their celebrity TV programmes. The difference in welfare to the animals, whether chickens or pigs, is enormous and allows them to lead much happier, more natural and less stressful lives. The difference in quality is also considerable as a longer, more natural living pig produces pork with better succulence and more flavour. How come Blythburgh Free Range Pork is not Organic??The simple answer is that organic does not have any welfare or quality benefits over free range, yet it costs twice as much. In order to comply with organic regulations all feed and any straw used as bedding must have been grown organically. Lots of cost not alot of gain.... We buy Outdoor Reared Pork, that's Free Range isn't it??Outdoor Bred, Outdoor Reared or Outdoor Finished are all misleading names used to give a perception that the pork is free range. Outdoor Bred means the pigs are born outside but these piglets are then likely to be moved indoors to be reared intensively. Outdoor Reared or Finished means the pigs are confined in huts or tents outside with no access to fields to display their natural instincts. In today's society labelling can be very misleading, if you want free range pork, research where the pigs are produced and make sure they really are Free Range. Reaching usIf you need to reach us, please email us using the link on the store page, alternatively, you can call on 01986 873298 (International +44 1986 873298) or write to us at St Margarets Farm, Mells, Halesworth, Suffolk. IP19 9DD United Kingdom. |
