Have you ever munched on chicken trotters or pecked on a pig wing?
These were just some answers given to an RSPCA survey which asked people what farm animals they’d eaten – yet Manchester didn’t fall into any such traps when quizzed by MM on barnyard cuisine.
The Freedom Food Scheme survey revealed that one in 10 people said they had tried chicken trotters with 8% having tried pigs’ wings.
Freedom Food also asked people to find out more about how farm animals are reared and to choose higher welfare labelled food such as Freedom Food, which has been monitored by the label.
MM carried out a similar survey to check out Mancunian taste buds in the city centre and found that no participants had tried ‘chicken trotters’ or ‘pigs wings’, with some (correctly!) pointing out that there were no such things.
The scheme’s chief executive, David Squair, explained: “Some people actually think pigs do fly and chickens trot, so I’m not sure what animals they have seen when visiting farms.”
But Mr Squair warns that all jokes aside, the development of chicken trotter fans is worrying.
“The majority of farm animals are kept in conditions which don’t fully meet their welfare needs,” he said.
“If people knew more about the provenance of the food they eat and the lives of the animals that produce it, they are more likely to care about how those animals are looked after.”
There are many opportunities to get involved in Farm Animal week, from switching to at least one higher welfare product in your shopping basket to voting for your favourite photo in the Fab Farm Animals contest.
Mr Squair said: “It’s simple really, the more people that choose higher welfare labels like Freedom Food, the more farmers will be encouraged to adopt higher welfare standards and the more farm animals will have a better life.”
Nearly 30% of pigs are now kept under improved conditions thanks to freedom food, but they’ve yet to grow wings.
For more information or to get involved in Farm Animal Week, click here.
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