Think pig this Christmas

Christmas is traditionally the season of goodwill where we are encouraged to think of the welfare of others. So when was the last time you considered the welfare of your Christmas dinner?

I’m not just talking turkey. Whether it’s pigs in blankets, honey glazed hams, roast pork or cocktail sausage rolls, pork is gaining in popularity at Christmas.

Last December, the UK spent 3.1% more on pork in comparison to 2008, with roasting joints increasing by a quarter, bacon by 2.3% and sausages by 7.6%.

This year, the RSPCA is predicting we will buy almost as much pork at Christmas as turkey.

Yet many of the 160 million pigs raised annually in Europe for meat are kept in conditions that do not meet their basic needs, according to the RSPCA.

Get more value from your meat

The charity is urging shoppers to buy higher welfare meat, even if that means spending more.

“By thinking slightly differently about alternative cuts of meat, how it is cooked and creative ideas for using up leftovers, buying higher welfare doesn’t mean having to compromise on cost,” says Mel Andrews, Campaign Manager for Farm Animals at the RSPCA.

“We hope that price-conscious shoppers this Christmas will try new recipes to get more value from their purchases.”

A delicious way to use up your Freedom Food pork leftovers would be to make this pea and ham soup, for example – a fantastic meal to serve on Boxing Day.

Alternatively, Fay Ripley’s sweet marinated pork fillet recipe is perfect for festive meals that include kids and babies at the dinner table along with their parents.

And don’t forget that you can adapt pot roast recipes like this Spanish Chicken Pot Roast by Leon chef Henry Dimbleby to include sausages and juniper.

Buying higher welfare pork

Of course, it’s all very well saying buy higher welfare pork – but this can actually be quite hard to do in practice.

This is because the labels for high welfare pork vary widely from ‘free range’, to ‘outdoor reared’, ‘outdoor bred’ or ‘organic’.

The good news is, all of these labels should be fine, according to the RSPCA, although pork labelled ‘Freedom Food’ is the safest to get as this is the RSPCA’s own farm assurance scheme.

For more information about the RSPCA’s Think Pig campaign, visit their facebook page or check out this Freedom Food pork recipe.

Also worth your attention:

Pea and ham soup

Fay Ripley’s sweet marinated pork fillet