An animal welfare group has launched a 'Pig Pledge', backed by food and farming charities and celebrities to coincide with World Food Day. Members of the public are being urged to sign up to the pledge, promising they will commit to supporting higher welfare pig farming.

Farms Not Factories, the campaign group behind the film Pig Business, launched its latest initiative on Monday, urging consumers to commit to buying high-welfare pork. The team hopes that, in addition to animal welfare benefits, the switch to higher welfare pork also has the potential to lead to improvements for public health and the environment.

Marking the campaign launch on Monday with the release of a three-minute film, the group is also seeking to end confusion over ‘high welfare’ labelling of pork products. Farms Not Factories has gained the backing of Compassion in World Farming and the Soil Association.

Each day in the run-up to World Food Day, the campaign will switch focus to a different negative impact of intensive farming on human health, animal welfare, pollution of the air and water, and on rural communities.

Farms Not Factories is urging consumers to eat better quality meat less often. To help shoppers make informed choices, the new Pig Pledge website has:

- A star rating system to identify high welfare labels and enable people to buy the most ethical pork they can afford.

- A high welfare online directory to help shoppers find farms and butchers nearest to them that give a high animal welfare option

Farms Not Factories' director Tracy Worcester, said on Monday, "Governments are not currently helping to improve pig welfare or restrict the routine overuse of antibiotics in animal factories so it is up to us as consumers to bring about change. We are growing our diverse supporter base behind a single, clear message of solidarity; When it comes to pork, please change your shopping habits to support a better future for pigs, farmers and the planet by buying meat from real farms not animal factories. To highlight your commitment, please sign the Pig Pledge."

Helen Browning, Chief Executive of the Soil Association, added, "The Soil Association opposes very large scale indoor intensive pig farming – these farming systems could have adverse human health impacts on the local community, can result in poor pig welfare and often require frequent antibiotic use.

"We support diverse, human scale farming which enhances the beauty of our countryside and sustains rural communities, cares for the health and welfare of our farm animals, provides meaningful work for people, and develops a flexible, resilient food supply that we can depend on into the future. The solution is not to create huge-scale pig factories that threaten our environment and the wellbeing of rural communities."