In Britain, pig farmers have very high welfare standards and all without the help of any government or EC subsidy. This means that breeding and raising a pig generally costs more than it does abroad, but consumers know that they are getting a top quality product from a well-cared for animal. The Pork Quality Standard Mark, found on-pack, helps you identify pork products (pork joints / bacon / ham) that conform to these standards. Up to 70% of imported pork products wouldn’t qualify for the QSM because their countries' welfare standards are lower than Britain’s, to the extent that producing such pigs would be illegal here. So it’s always worth looking for the QSM.

However, British consumers may not be able to buy QSM pork for much longer because the cost of pork production is now much more than the farmer actually gets paid for each pig – on average, a pig farmer is losing up to £26 for every pig sold. When you add that up across Britain, that’s a loss of about £3.6m per week – and it’s simply not sustainable. In a recent survey by the National Pig Association, 95% of farmers who responded said that they would consider stopping farming within the year if prices do not improve.

The problem is that wheat, which is a principal ingredient of pig feed, now costs almost twice as much as it did last year, because globally there’s a shortage: the severe drought in Australia meant that their wheat crops were very poor and in America, cereal farmers are now increasingly growing crops for bio-fuel, not for animal feed. The wheat that is available is therefore very expensive. Of course, this wouldn’t actually be a problem if the farmers were able to increase the price for their pigs. We estimate that it would only mean between 7p-17p extra per pack (depending on what you buy), for QSM pork products. And when we surveyed consumers recently, most said they’d be more than happy to pay this and keep the pig industry. Some retailers have already increased prices on pork products, but this needs to be more widespread and to move through the supply chain to the pig farmer.

We are working within the industry to ensure that any retail price increase is passed back down through the supply chain. But you can also help by signing the online petition to show your support for the pig farmers, who are facing extinction - please add your name and ask friends and family to do the same. A few more pence on your bacon could literally save theirs...

Sign our e-petition to support our campaign for fair prices.