EU faces bacon shortage as herds fall

Eboard10

Eboard10

The Living Force
FOTCM Member
This isn't looking good :scared:

EU faces bacon shortage as herds fall

_http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a5a79232-0343-11e2-a284-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2791Rys9z

September 20, 2012 10:10 pm

A global shortage of bacon beckons as European farmers continue to cull their pig herds in the face of higher feed prices, an industry association is warning.

Data showing the EU pig herd is declining “at a significant rate” in a trend mirrored around the world means a world shortage of pork and bacon “is now unavoidable”, according to Britain’s National Pig Association.

In the 12 months to June, sow herds have fallen by between 1 and 10 per cent. Poland has seen the steepest drop, down 9.6 per cent, followed by Sweden and Ireland. In the UK the NPA reckons output could fall by as much as 20 per cent, based on surveys of farmers.

The economics of pig farming turned ugly when US droughts caused the price of grain including corn and soya to soar. Retailers have mostly balked at covering the additional costs, leaving many farmers losing money with every pig they sell.

Underlining the reticence of retailers, many of whom are themselves struggling to keep cash-strapped shoppers spending at their tills, just three turned up at a meeting called by George Lyon, Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland, to discuss sourcing policies in Brussels this week.

Adding to the pressures on the industry is a ban on sow stalls that comes into effect on January 1. The UK alone banned the stalls in 1999, a move the NPA’s general manager Zoe Davies says had a “devastating” impact on the industry as it increased production costs prompting retailers to replace British pork with the cheaper European product.

Ms Davies said it is down to retailers and other users of pork – right down to processors who crumble the meat over pizzas – to ensure they are sourcing compliant pig meat.

“The British Pig Executive has predicted that there could be a 10 per cent fall in pig production across Europe and a price hike for consumers,” Mr Lyon said.

Pig politics and a looming shortage of bacon are also rife in the US, where the livestock and poultry industry has urged federal regulators to suspend a government mandate for ethanol use for the first time as a result of higher feed prices.

A coalition of beef, pork, chicken and dairy producers said the US Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires billions of gallons of corn-based ethanol to be blended with motor fuel, should be waived “in whole or in substantial part” for 12 months.

Mike Sloyan of the British Pig Executive warned at the European summit that a fall of 2 per cent in the number slaughtered next year will cause prices to rise by 10 per cent. The NPA reckons slaughterings could fall by as much as 10 per cent in the second half of next year, implying a doubling in the price of European bacon rashers.
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Sounds like now is a good time to be buying up pork, salting and smoking it. And canning it.
 
Indeed! Here is a similar article: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/251519-Is-the-food-shortage-before-us-Will-we-be-buying-bacon-and-pork-sausages-next-year-
 
It's sad to see that pigs are the first casualty when it comes to meat.

I think this is a wakeup call for me to start canning as well.
 
I've recently started canning pork (and also liver pate) breakfast sausage patties, separating them with a disc of parchment paper and immersing the lot in duck fat before water bath canning. The tip that I came across is that the parchment paper soaks up the fat and the parchment paper can then be used, in a survival mode, for lighting fires.
 
Thanks Eboard10 for the warning news and Laura for the advice... I gonna spend some time in my kitchen during the next weeks I guess to continue salting and make more canning.
 
I got a big batch of bacon that I hope to can tomorrow. To my surprise, the butcher suggested organic lamb with a big chunk of fat on it since it was considerably cheaper than the bacon. I went for both of it. I like lamb, especially if it is organic. But there surely is nothing like good old bacon!
 
maybe its time to start keeping some pigs...breeding sows at that ..instead of "just" canning bought meat??
if farmers want to get out of pig breeding because of grain prices there may be some nice ones available
 
Maybe you should all come to Spain? There is a lot of pigs here! No pun intended. :zzz:

I will ask my butcher about this. This is a terrible news, I can not imagine myself without pork. Pork is my favorite meat and the most cheap, here. But prices are high, because the taxes are high since September.
 
loreta said:
Maybe you should all come to Spain? There is a lot of pigs here! No pun intended. :zzz:
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Very tempting :) Are there areas in Spain pigs are happier than others? Valencia, Alicante, Andalucia-Cadiz any good?
 
Pob said:
loreta said:
Maybe you should all come to Spain? There is a lot of pigs here! No pun intended. :zzz:
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Very tempting :) Are there areas in Spain pigs are happier than others? Valencia, Alicante, Andalucia-Cadiz any good?
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My very own thoughts after finishing reading 'Survivors last night. :) My thoughts were further North, in Catalonia. Longer periods of warmth and the need for livestock.
 
Mr. Scott said:
SWEET JESUS! No bacon?!?!

:cry:
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Here's a couple of prayers for you Mr Scottie:

BACONIMAGE27.jpg


269107_10151250051718072_16079760_n.jpg
 
And another:

Bacon Prayer of the Lord

Forgive me Hamfather for I have singed.

Our Hamfather, which art in Devon.
Bacon be thy name.
Thy Swinedom come.
Thy will be done,
in pancetta as it is in gammon.
Give us this day our daily pig,
And forgive us for our honey glazing,
as we forgive those who honey glaze against us.
Lead us not in to chicken and deliver us from veal.
For swine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory.

Hamen.
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