Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall in his River Cottage Canteen, Bristol 1.3.17.

Farms Not Factories has launched a series of videos featuring celebrity chefs and the high welfare farmers who provide their pork.

Each video shows a famous chef preparing a delicious pork dish while describing the significant difference in taste and texture between high welfare and factory produced pork. The chefs explain why they would only ever serve high welfare meat to their customers who are increasingly concerned about cruel and unhealthy practices in factory pig farming.

https://www.facebook.com/FarmsNotFactories/videos/10154757970076705/

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall says: “I want to eat pork from pigs that have been reared outdoors, free to enjoy the rooting, snuffling and social interaction that are so essential to them. In fact, that’s the only pork I’m prepared to eat. The alternative - intensively reared, antibiotic-laden meat from stressed animals confined in high numbers in cramped indoor conditions - is simply not acceptable. Choosing free-range or organic pork is a no-brainer for me because of the welfare issues alone - but I can assure you it tastes far better too!”

Also appearing in the videos are the charismatic farmers who raise their pigs in natural, humane and healthy surroundings, such as Peter Gott who raises his woodland wild boar on a Cumbrian hillside and Peter Greig who runs the award-winning Pipers Farm co-operative in Devon. The passionate farmers describe the benefits of raising happy pigs in spacious outdoor or deep straw conditions, as opposed to intensive units where pigs are crammed into barren concrete cells.

'Intensively reared pork doesn’t taste of a lot. It’s not until you get into the proper free range pork, they’ve got lots of land to roam around in, those are the ones that are tasty.' Mark Hix

The series of videos features restaurant owners, famous foodies and celebrity chefs Mark Hix, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Damian Clisby, James Golding, Amelia Freer, Jemima Jones & Lucy Carr-Ellison, Arthur Potts Dawson, James Knappett, Sam Leach, Adam Byatt, Tom Hunt & Tom Adams.

Each promotes native and slow growing pig breeds and products including the slowly-produced ‘Karma Ham’.

The video series calls on consumers to only buy meat with a high animal welfare label, namely: RSPCA Assured, Outdoor Bred, Free Range or Organic.

Marking the launch on June 22nd there will be a series of stunts around London, and a dinner at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond. Plus, on June 26th a ‘taste the difference between high welfare and low welfare pork’ canapé event at Tramshed restaurant in East London.

The video series is part of Farms Not Factories’ ongoing #TurnYourNoseUp campaign which aims to strengthen the consumer revolt against factory pig farming where overcrowding and stress suffered by pigs mean that they have to be routinely given ever stronger antibiotics to stave off disease. This has already led to diseases becoming resistant to antibiotics and passing from pigs to humans. Harry Boglione, who supplies high welfare pork for chef Damian Clisby at Petersham Nurseries says: “I am yet to give a pig antibiotics. They’re incredibly resilient creatures, so if you’ve got to give them antibiotics, you are doing something incredibly wrong.”

The #TurnYourNoseUp at pig factories campaign is supported by well-known names such as Jeremy Irons, Jon Snow and Rupert Everett, who appear in campaign videos which have had over 3.5 million views online.

Tracy Worcester, founder of Farms Not Factories,says: “Armed with the truth we can close these inhumane and dangerous animal factory by simply using the power of our purse and only buying meat, both in shops and restaurants, that comes from high welfare farms."