Jamie Saves Our Bacon
As if he hasn’t been busy enough, boy wonder in the kitchen Jamie Oliver is at it again. First he tried to revamp school dinners then launched a campaign for chicken followed by an attempt to re-establish The Ministry of Food and all with some degree of success. Now my Jamie is setting out to save Britain’s pigs and the British pig farming industry.
Airing this month on Channel 4, “Jamie Saves Our Bacon” will investigate how pigs are reared on the Continent, where British supermarkets get a large percentage of their pork. He exposes some shocking practices used by Continental farmers in order to increase production, resulting in cheaper pork for British supermarkets. Jamie helps Britons weave thru the maze of confusing product labeling which can sometimes be misleading when describing production practices. Because there are no clear guidelines for labeling, an animal conscious consumer may find it difficult to buy “free range” pork with complete confidence. The resulting argument being that the safest bet all around is to buy British pork which is produced humainly and to a strict standard and will go a long way to save the British farmer.
On a personal note, I recently viewed Jamie’s “The Ministry of Food” series and enjoyed it very much. He certainly faced quite a bit of opposition at first but by the end of the programme he had won over many of his critics. Whether you like Jamie or not you have to credit him with one thing: at least he is doing something with his celebrity besides sitting on his duff in a posh house somewhere in Essex (although I’m sure there are some who wish he were.) My only disappointment with the Ministry programme was Jamie’s repetitive use of foul language which is unusual for him (at least on camera) and I’m afraid it was attempt at being “Ramsey”esque. If that is indeed the real Jamie, fair enough, but I hate to hear him stoop down to that level when it’s not necessary. His success up to now has proven that point. Anyway, I’m looking forward to the new show which airs in Britain January 29th and I’m sure will be available on UKNova not long after.
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Photo courtesy of The Independent.
