British pig industry award winner says cooperation vital for sustainability

Heather Jenkins, director of buying meat, poultry and fish at Waitrose Ltd., received the British pig industry’s prestigious David Black Award 2012 for her major contribution to the industry.

Retailer Heather Jenkins, recipient of the 2012 British pig industry's David Black Award, has said that pig producers must “work together as never before” to build robust supply chains to supply the best products in the future.
Jenkins, who is the director of buying for meat, poultry and fish and agriculture strategy at Waitrose Ltd., won the award for helping to create a successful expanding and enduring pig meat supply chain with Dalehead Foods. At the award ceremony in London, Jenkins called for a step-change in the industry, with the main ingredient being farmers working together. “It’s only by working together towards a sustainable future that the pig industry will see real improvements,” she said. It is the only way, she said, to ensure that pig producers are able to meet future challenges and consumer demands successfully.
Jenkins took a year out from her studies to work in an abattoir before graduating from Harper Adams Agricultural College in agri-business and food marketing.