The view from the pig pen

Jun 19 2009 by Bill Oldfield, The Journal

NEVER mind all this plant-your-own veg stuff we've been hearing about. If you've got a bit of garden, I suggest you get yourself a pig.

Sure, it'll turn your grass into a quagmire every time it rains, but think of never having to cut the lawn again. And they do demand a bit of attention, but so do children and most of us seem to have had a go at rearing one or two of those despite their draining all our resources and the law saying you're not allowed to eat them.

Pigs are the answer because they're funny, eat all the weeds, make great companions and never answer back. And by rearing and eating your own pig meat, you'd be saving at least one pig from spending its few short months alive being kept in a hell on Earth.

Because that's what intensively farmed pigs are put through, and it's from such animals that the vast majority of pork products eaten in this country come from. Given high-growth food and kept on concrete floors means even supporting their own weight is a major problem.

It gets worse, but you might be reading this over breakfast and not get to the end of the article, so I'll stop the list there and talk about my three new pigs, Oxford, Sandy and Black. They're from a breed so rare that they're not yet listed by the Rare Breeds Society. However, I'm sure they will be soon. Oxford, Sandy and Black (or OSB) are a breed that was nearly extinct 20 years ago. But a handful of dedicated farmers have concentrated on increasing their numbers and we're lucky enough to have two such people near Chester-le-Street, County Durham, which is where I got my three.

Alison and Nigel Booth are renovating a dilapidated farm. There are a few old outbuildings occupied by piglets, with their mums, and fields with rare-breed pigs running around.

Along with OSBs, they also breed Saddlebacks and all their pigs spend their lives doing what Nature intended – digging up fields with their noses to get at the roots. As a result, they grow much more slowly than the factory-farmed variety, but this means they develop properly, have a great life and produce infinitely better meat.

I know, it's easy for me as I'm lucky enough to have some scrub paddock and woodland next to my house. And I'd understand that you might not be sure about having a pig sharing your property with you. But maybe you can still look after the welfare of these intelligent and fun-loving creatures by making sure any pork products you do buy – that's your bacon, sausages, ham and pork pies as well as the joints such as shoulder or leg – come from free range sources such as Alison and Nigel at www.farmerbooths.co.uk.

Even if it costs a little more, it'll be worth it for so many reasons. And if you get the chance, go along to a farm that rears free-range pigs and get to know them. They're a hoot. I've been writing this in the pig pen with three very inquisitive, and happy, companions.