Pig Factory Farms for eco-fuel

[chickenchargrill]

I started to have a rant in the thread in the alternative energy part of the forum, but I didn't want to hijack the thread or make people think that's what the guys in the article mentioned were doing.

In Foston there are plans to build a pig farm, not just any pig farm, but one which will turn all those nasty gasses from pigs into usuable fuel. The fertiliser will be used by local farms. All looking good so far.

However, they're looking at keeping approx 24,000 pigs at any one time - indoors. The proper US factory style pig farms. Because...

"Keeping livestock outdoors may be perceived to be welfare friendly, but goes against new IPPC regulations, and is likely to become a thing of the past in the next decade. There are also the actual welfare issues of animals giving birth etc in the middle of a field, without supervision and up to their ears in mud, as in modern outdoor pig production. Then there is the worst case scenario – a smelly pig farm where the pig manure is stored in tanks and lagoons until it is spread on land in the district causing considerable, wide travelling odour."

Apparently it's the Next Agricultural Revolution. Producing biogas, fertiliser and around 1000 pigs for slaughter each week. It's "the first system in the world that has the ability to house pigs without the need to tail dock - the holy grail of animal rights groups."

http://www.mppfoston.com/

[LHemphillix]

Wow this is weird. Talk about cognitive dissonance. Here we have a farm raising pigs in a totally non-natural fashion, all indoors in a crowded space, no natural settings, no ability for the pigs to roll around in the mud (which pigs actually like doing, it's not like you or me rolling in the mud -- eh, I mean since we were kids, then it was fun for us, too), and yet it's doing all these positive eco-friendly things. Applaud or condemn? Condemn or applaud? Hard choice, more data required.

[little blue duck]

maybe they'll stock it with Enviropigs - which are genetically modified to produce less water - toxic (Phosphate) faeces ....