Chefs back local farmers

Traditional national dishes such as toad in the hole and bangers and mash made from British-reared pork are under threat as the pig industry faces financial collapse, three celebrity chefs warn today.Gordon Ramsay, Tom Aikens and Rick Stein are backing a drive to persuade consumers to buy British sausages, bacon and ham rather than cheaper European imports now flooding the supermarket shelves.A national petition is to be launched to support British pig farmers, who are facing financial meltdown as a result of rising feed prices and competition from countries such as Denmark and Holland, where animal welfare standards are lower. The Save Our Bacon campaign is being launched by Waitrose Food Illustrated magazine, and other retailers as well as consumers are being urged to support it. Restaurateurs Sir Terence Conran and Fergus Henderson are supporting the campaign.Waitrose is using a sausage-free toad in the hole - "toad on the dole" - to highlight the average loss of £26 which pig farmers incur on every animal they sell. For the consumer, this means that everyday favourites such as bangers and mash or bacon butties could end up becoming an occasional luxury, the campaign says.Without a rise in the price they get for their pigs, many farmers will be forced to stop production, it warns. A survey by the National Pig Association showed that 95% of farmers are considering stopping production if prices do not improve. This would lead to a shortage of pig meat in the long term.