New program assures consumers of animal welfare on the farm
MISSOURI - Demands on pork producers by consumers is reaching far beyond the quality of pork chops on the dinner table. It is heading straight back to the hog barn.
25 September 2006
2 minute read
“The American farmer has always been fortunate to have the confidence of our domestic consumer, maybe to the point that we take it for granted because it has just always been there,” says Scott Hays, Monroe County pork producer.
“I don’t think we can take that for granted any longer and just assume that that is going to be there.”
Last year, representatives from the pork industry, packers and processors, restaurants and food retailers met to look at the needs and challenges of each segment of the pork chain.
During the meetings, it was clear demand for pork could suffer if the industry did not address customer concerns on animal well-being.
“People want their animals raised humanely,” says Hays, whose family markets 55,000 hogs annually in Northeast Missouri.
Source: Iowa Farmer Today
“I don’t think we can take that for granted any longer and just assume that that is going to be there.”
Last year, representatives from the pork industry, packers and processors, restaurants and food retailers met to look at the needs and challenges of each segment of the pork chain.
During the meetings, it was clear demand for pork could suffer if the industry did not address customer concerns on animal well-being.
“People want their animals raised humanely,” says Hays, whose family markets 55,000 hogs annually in Northeast Missouri.
Source: Iowa Farmer Today
