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ASIDE from shedding looser dung than usual, most of Denmark’s pigs have
painlessly made the transition to a diet without growth-promoting antibiotics,
says the Danish pig industry. But if the rest of Europe followed suit, the cost
would be crippling. The extra £1 or so per pig would be a blow to Europe’s
beleaguered pig farmers, who are already losing as much as £10 for each
animal they sell into a world pork market that has collapsed.

Denmark’s pig farmers agreed to ban growth promoters altogether on 1 January
following steady reductions since 1995. The ban was designed to allay…

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