UK Pig Farmers Squeal Poverty

As high feed costs drive losses, protests seek higher pork prices
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 26, 2008 10:39 AM CDT

Floundering British pig farmers are on the march behind a curious protest song: "Stand by Your Ham." With feed prices soaring, UK farmers say they're losing $50 on every pig they sell, so they’re begging anyone who’ll listen to support higher pork prices, reports the Wall Street Journal. They've taken to the streets alongside Winnie the Pig, their 500-pow sow mascot, and a massive pink plywood cutout tallying their losses.

The antics have garnered lots of attention, but attention alone won’t save the pig farmers. Big retailers say they’re trying to help, paying suppliers more for pork and sticking with British meat, but farmers are still feeling the squeeze. “We work so hard day and night that we ought to be getting somewhere,” said one farmwife. “But we're hanging by our teeth.” (More pig stories.)

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