Wednesday - April 25, 2012

Bamboo: is it straw or sticks?

Strange news from last week:

Pigs die as houses are blown down

Hundreds of pigs died when a strong wind blew all their houses down at Dongxiang county, in south China’s Jiangxi province.

The region has seen a massive increase in the last 10 years in the number of pig farms which is now a staple of the local economy.

But although locals are famous for their pig breeding skills their building skills are not so renowned – and officials now estimate that the strong winds that the region recently experienced had flattened 30 farms, killing hundreds of pigs in the process.

Officials are now planning checks on all new pig farms and existing ones to make sure the building regulations are up to standard.

Farmer Zeng Huobao, 48, whose pig farm collapsed killing all 200 pigs said the collapse had ruined him and he’s planning to sue the builders who put up property in the first place.

He said: “I had one of the best droves of pigs - now I have nothing.”

In mostly unrelated news over in the UK, bacon prices are about to jump 20%, for the same reason that the price of eggs is way up: new PETA-esque “cage free” livestock regulations are dramatically raising the cost of raising the animals.

Bacon prices could soar by 20% after new EU pig welfare reforms banning stalls set to come into force

Britain’s breakfast lovers are facing a hefty hike in the cost of their favourite fry-up as the price of bacon could increase by 20 per cent next year.

A new report has revealed that the cost of the much-loved meat could dramatically increase when new EU pig welfare rules come into force.

The British Pig Executive (Bpex) has warned that pig meat supplies could plummet by between 5 per cent and 10 per cent at the start of 2013.

It says a ban on sow stalls could lead to pork producers who are unable or unwilling to comply with the new rules leaving the industry.

And the bacon hike warning comes as the price of eggs has soared for Britain’s shoppers in the wake of the EU-wide ban on battery cages introduced in January.

Bpex deputy chief executive Mick Sloyan warned that as the EU produced around 20 million tonnes of pig meat each year, even a 5 per cent drop could have ‘very sizeable effects’ .

‘We are forecasting wholesale price rises of at least 10 per cent year-on-year which could rise to 20 per cent if production is reduced aggressively’ he told trade magazine The Grocer.

If pig meat production drops and prices rise, bacon would be affected first, he said.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/25/2012 at 04:04 PM   
Filed Under: • Humor • News-Briefs •  
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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