英農戶唱響"豬之歌"拯救養豬業

In what they say is a last-ditch attempt to save the country's pork industry, dozens of pig farmers gathered in London on Thursday to record their song "Stand by your Ham".

The song -- which reworks Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man" with a porcine theme -- is intended to alert the public to a sector that farmers say is being pushed to extinction by greedy supermarket chains and rising feed prices.

"Stand by your ham," runs the chorus. "Sausages, pork and bacon/Help us stay in business/Because our pigs are worth it/Stand by your ham."

With little singing experience but fuelled by enthusiasm and bacon sandwiches, the 20 to 30 farmers hope to rely on affection for traditional pork products from pies to sausages.

It will be available for download from the weekend from the website

"It's a lighthearted way of drawing attention to a very serious issue," Yorkshire pig farmer Richard Longthorp told reporters by telephone from the recording session.

"If this doesn't stop, then as sure as eggs is eggs, the industry is going to disappear."

The farmers say they lose more than 20 pounds a pig after unprecedented rises in feed prices fuelled by soaring global cereal prices due to higher fuel costs, competition from biofuels, increased demand from Asia and drought in Australia.

The National Pig Association says surveys show consumers are willing to pay a little more to help famers and keep high-quality pig farming -- which farmers say puts animal welfare first -- in business. They want politicians to put pressure on retailers.

According to a recent National Pig Association survey, 95pc of farmers are considering stopping production if the price they receive does not improve.

本週四，幾十位養豬農戶齊聚倫敦，錄製他們的歌曲《守住你的火腿》。養豬戶們稱這是他們爲拯救本國豬肉業所做的最後一搏。

這首“豬之歌”改編自泰米•維奈特的《守候你的男人》，旨在引起公衆對豬肉業的關注。農戶們稱，由於超市連鎖店的貪得無厭和飼料價格持續上漲，目前這一行業正逐漸萎縮。

歌曲的副歌部分是這樣寫的：“守住你的火腿！香腸、豬肉和燻肉/幫助我們站穩腳跟/因爲我們的豬寶寶確實值得/守住你的火腿。”

這二三十位農戶沒什麼演唱經驗，但在熱情和“燻肉三明治”的支撐下，他們希望能從人們對餡餅、香腸等傳統豬肉食品的熱愛中得到些支持。

網站將於本週末提供這首歌曲的下載。

約克郡養豬戶理查德•朗索普在錄音時接受記者的電話採訪時說：“這是在用一種輕鬆愉快的方式引起人們對一個十分嚴峻的問題予以關注。”

“如果這種狀況持續下去，那麼毫無疑問，這個行業必將會消失。”

農戶們說，由於全球穀物價格不斷上漲造成飼料價格飆升，現在他們每頭豬的損失達到了二十多英鎊。而全球穀物價格的上漲主要是由燃油價格上漲、來自生物燃料行業的競爭、亞洲地區穀物需求量的增加以及澳大利亞的旱災等因素造成的。

據全國養豬協會介紹，調查顯示，消費者願意多花一點錢來幫助養豬農戶、保證高質養豬業的發展（按照農戶的話說就是，將‘動物福利’放在首位）。他們希望政界人士能在這方面給零售商們施加壓力。

據全國養豬協會的一項最新調查，95%的農戶表示，如果生豬收購價格不提高，他們將考慮停產。