Whither Parma ham

[ANTONISH]

I like Parma ham - I don't eat a great deal of it but one advantage is that the only preservative is salt.
I have seen reports that the pigs involved are treated cruelly, pregnant sows kept in crates unable to turn round.

That put's me off the idea - I'm wondering if there is a British Parma ham alternative so that the UK animal welfare provisions apply.

A few years ago I was listening to a radio programme about the North London Italian market gardeners.
One of them kept a few pigs which had run of a piece of woodland - they had a happy life and when he came to slaughter one he would take it for a walk, give it a piece of apple or acorns, scratch it behind the ear and shoot it in the head.
In my naivety I was thinking of Parma ham produced similarly.

[Bonefishblues]

A search for British Charcuterie brings up lots of options. Big growth area

[slowster]

I think the Protected Designation of Origin status of both Prosciutto di San Daniele and Prosciutto Cinta Senese require that the pigs are free range, as well as that no preservatives other than salt are used.

[Ben@Forest]

A few years ago I was listening to a radio programme about the North London Italian market gardeners.
One of them kept a few pigs which had run of a piece of woodland - they had a happy life and when he came to slaughter one he would take it for a walk, give it a piece of apple or acorns, scratch it behind the ear and shoot it in the head.
In my naivety I was thinking of Parma ham produced similarly.

Your description of the North London pigs sounds a bit unlikely.

Firstly though pigs (or their undomesticated predecssors) are naturally a woodland animal keeping them in woodland requires a very small number of pigs and and/or constant rotation around different pieces of woodland because they will trash the woodland floor and the bark on trees in a fairly short time. You can supplementary feed the pigs but that of course has other implications for the naturalness of the woodland. I've seen pigs kept in woodland and though it can be done well I've also wanted sometimes to turn to the owner and say 'What the hell do you think you're doing?'

Secondly if they are keeping a very small number of pigs this is, in itself, not good practice. Pigs are intelligent, sociable mammals and are not happy if kept on their own or with only one or two others. They should be kept as a group.

Thirdly, though you can shoot your own pigs it's a tricky job, the idea that casually shooting a pig is easy is a non-starter (though of course your ltalians could be expert at it).

Having said all that l have on occasion seen pigs in large areas of woodland and its a rather endearing sight (though they often seem to want to eat your boots!).

[Jdsk]

That put's me off the idea - I'm wondering if there is a British Parma ham alternative so that the UK animal welfare provisions apply.

Thankyou for raising this. Comments from UK retailers:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62065102

I'd like it to be much easier for consumers to discover the conditions in which the animals lived.

Jonathan

[ANTONISH]

A few years ago I was listening to a radio programme about the North London Italian market gardeners.
One of them kept a few pigs which had run of a piece of woodland - they had a happy life and when he came to slaughter one he would take it for a walk, give it a piece of apple or acorns, scratch it behind the ear and shoot it in the head.
In my naivety I was thinking of Parma ham produced similarly.

Your description of the North London pigs sounds a bit unlikely.

Firstly though pigs (or their undomesticated predecssors) are naturally a woodland animal keeping them in woodland requires a very small number of pigs and and/or constant rotation around different pieces of woodland because they will trash the woodland floor and the bark on trees in a fairly short time. You can supplementary feed the pigs but that of course has other implications for the naturalness of the woodland. I've seen pigs kept in woodland and though it can be done well I've also wanted sometimes to turn to the owner and say 'What the hell do you think you're doing?'

Secondly if they are keeping a very small number of pigs this is, in itself, not good practice. Pigs are intelligent, sociable mammals and are not happy if kept on their own or with only one or two others. They should be kept as a group.

Thirdly, though you can shoot your own pigs it's a tricky job, the idea that casually shooting a pig is easy is a non-starter (though of course your ltalians could be expert at it).

Having said all that l have on occasion seen pigs in large areas of woodland and its a rather endearing sight (though they often seem to want to eat your boots!).

All I can say is it was a radio 4 programme - might have been "farming today" or "the food programme"
The pig assassin claimed that in this way the pig was unstressed at the time of death unlike animals murdered in the traditional manner.
Apparently the stress produces hormones that effect the taste of the meat - I have no idea if that is so.

[Jdsk]

Apparently the stress produces hormones that effect the taste of the meat - I have no idea if that is so.

Stress before slaughter or during transport causes biochemical and later structural changes in the meat. The dominant effect is thought to be the metabolism of muscle glycogen. The autonomic response that initiates this does involve hormones including glucocorticoids and catecholamines.

It's very widely believed that this affects the taste and attractiveness of the meat and that is highly plausible. But I don't think that I've seen a blinded test of this.

Jonathan

[reohn2]

I understand this post may be controversial for some,but if animal welfare concerns you,simply stop eating meat.
We as humans with the vatiety of foods on offer and vitamins available don't need to eat meat.

[ANTONISH]

I understand this post may be controversial for some,but if animal welfare concerns you,simply stop eating meat.
We as humans with the vatiety of foods on offer and vitamins available don't need to eat meat.

That of course is another matter for debate - there are of course those who don't eat meat but consume dairy products which also involves animal slaughter.

[reohn2]

I understand this post may be controversial for some,but if animal welfare concerns you,simply stop eating meat.
We as humans with the vatiety of foods on offer and vitamins available don't need to eat meat.

That of course is another matter for debate - there are of course those who don't eat meat but consume dairy products which also involves animal slaughter.

Whilst I understand that the milk trade can involve slaughter it does not follow that milking a cow involves slaughtering it?

[mumbojumbo]

We need to eat some meat otherwise there would fewer sheep and cattle in rural areas ,and meat tastes good.Eating less meat is a great idea,and will reduce the prices, so the occasional treat is a cheap option.

[Bonefishblues]

I understand this post may be controversial for some,but if animal welfare concerns you,simply stop eating meat.
We as humans with the vatiety of foods on offer and vitamins available don't need to eat meat.

That of course is another matter for debate - there are of course those who don't eat meat but consume dairy products which also involves animal slaughter.

Whilst I understand that the milk trade can involve slaughter it does not follow that milking a cow involves slaughtering it?

It often (usually?) involves slaughtering bull calves as an unnecessary byproduct of getting the cows into milk I believe.

[Psamathe]

We need to eat some meat otherwise there would fewer sheep and cattle in rural areas ...

Why is fewer sheep and cattle in rural areas a problem?

Ian

[Bonefishblues]

We need to eat some meat otherwise there would fewer sheep and cattle in rural areas ...

Why is fewer sheep and cattle in rural areas a problem?

Ian

Well I certainly don't want them in town - it's chaos!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-52103967

[reohn2]

It often (usually?) involves slaughtering bull calves as an unnecessary byproduct of getting the cows into milk I believe.

That isn't a necessity though as much as it's a practice.