Mandy van Deventer, Lakeside
I have been buying the "sow friendly" ham products at Pick n Pay as I do not approve of animals suffering and being tortured just so that they can end up on our plate for a 5-minute meal. I am not a vegetarian, but why should animals be tortured their whole lives just for our pleasure?
I decided to do some online research and see just how "sow friendly" these Pick n Pay products are. Well, after two minutes online, I discovered that a while ago the NSPCA already investigated these claims and what they found was nothing short of nauseating: the poor sows are kept pregnant for years on end in steel crates that are so small they barely have space to lie down. These crates are indoors on cold, cement floors. Please ask yourself: would you be able to live your whole life in a steel crate, not moving, always cold. Never being let out. How is this sow friendly?
I no longer shop at Pick n Pay. I know they are obviously not the only shop to sell pork / ham products, but they have deliberately put false advertising on their products to encourage sales.
I implore Pick n Pay customers to please stop buying these so called "sow friendly" products. In fact, until we all stop buying pork products at all shops, the farmers will continue to submit them to these inhumane conditions to meet the demand.
I don't blame the farmers, they are simply part of a very flawed and awful system. We need to make it clear that we do not condone these horrendous conditions.
I promise that if enough people stop buying pork products until these inhumane conditions are eradicated, the farmers and shops will have no choice but to farm with more humane methods in place. Go onto Google and research this. What you find will horrify you. We need to stop burying our heads in the sand.
• Despite Pick n Pay acknowledging the Echo’s media enquiry, giving them a right to respond, no response was received at the time of publication.