By Richard Norton-Taylor
The Guardian, 8 May 1979

Farmers and butchers are furious over the colour photography of a piglet, on the cover of the current Radio Times, with the caption “meat and poultry may seriously affect your health.

The photograph advertises the BBC-2 programme Brass Tacks, tonight devoted to the increasing use of drugs in agriculture, particularly on factory farms, and the increasing incidence of salmonella food poisoning in Britain.

The National Farmers’ Union, which considered taking out an injunction against the Radio Times and promised to send “hot missiles” to the BBC’s chairman and director-general, is now urging farmers to bombard local and regional radio stations during the phone in debate that will follow the programme.

Leicester Mercury, 8 May 1979

LEICESTERSHIRE, Northamptonshire and Rutland farmers plan to take part in a nationwide phone-in which is being staged as a follow up to a BBC-2 television programme on Tuesday, It Shouldn’t Happen to a Pig.

They are angry about what they see as an attack on modern intensive farming methods forced on them by the public’s demand for cheap food.

They are particularly angry about the front cover of the current Radio Times with its picture of a pig and caption, Health Warning: Meat and Poultry may seriously affect your health.

Farmers Guardian, 4 May 1979

A major row flared this week between leaders of the livestock and meat industries and the BBC.

The cause is a Radio Times front cover colour picture of a pig drawing attention to a BBC2 television programme on the use of growth promoting drugs in farming.

The cover picture carries the headline “Should this little piggy go to market?” – and at the bottom, printed in a type similar to the Government warning on cigarette packets, are the words – “Health warning: Meat and poultry may seriously affect your health.”

by Christopher Parkes
Financial Times, 3 May 1979

Farmers and butchers are preparing to bombard the switchboards of BBC local and regional radio stations after next Tuesday’s Brass Tacks programme on BBC2 about modern practices in livestock farming and meat production. They fear they will be coming under attack and aim to set the record straight.

They are angry that their representative organisations were not consulted during the preparations of the programme and their tempers have been raised further by the front cover of the latest Radio Times.

It shows a piglet with the caption: “Health warning: Meat and poultry can seriously affect your health.”

By DAVID BROWN
Agricultural Correspondent
Sunday Telegraph, 29 April 1979

The National Farmers’ Union is preparing to send a strongly-worded letter of protest to Mr Ian Threthowan, director general of the BBC, about a forthcoming television programme which will claim that people may be harmed by eating meat from cattle, pigs and poultry which have been treated by veterinary drugs.

Other objections have been made by representatives of Britain’s farm vets, butchers and meat wholesalers who fear that a “Brass Tacks” programme due to be screened on BBC2 on May 8 will unjustifiably scare the public into buying less meat.