Farmer Fergus Howie with pigs at his farm in Maldon, Essex (Picture: SWNS)

A pig-loving farmer is demanding the Oxford English Dictionary remove terms like ‘pig out’ because it is offensive to the animals.

Fergus Howie, 43, has written to the OED to point out pigs are no greedier than any other animals despite terms like ‘eat like a pig’ and ‘porker’.

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Dad-of-three Fergus said: ‘As a pig farmer and on behalf of the country’s pigs, we are just a little upset by the fact that people talk about ‘eating like a pig’ it is derogatory.

‘It creates this perception that pork is a fatty meat which is completely incorrect. And this is what has prompted me to get frustrated that people are calling pigs fat because they are not.’

Fergus runs Wicks Manor Farm, near Maldon, Essex, and claims the derogatory pig terms only relate back to the 19th century and do not define a pig.

Thankfully pigs cannot read so Fergus Howie is annoyed on their behalf (Picture: SWNS)

Fergus, who farms with his wife Vanessa, added: ‘I would like to request that derogatory porcine terms such as ‘pig out’, ‘eat like a pig’ or ‘porker’ are redefined within the Oxford English Dictionary.

‘It has long been a bugbear of mine that people use porcine terminology to describe over consumption, especially when it comes to food.

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‘Pigs are now 44% leaner than they were in the 1970s and within that same period of time the human has got fatter by 30%.

He added: ‘It is rather unfair when we talk about pigging out, we think of a pig and not really ourselves.

‘Over the last hundred years we have been using animals which grow really fast, have good muscle structure, have good growth without too much fat.

Pig-sick farmer Fergus Howie has written to the OED (Picture: SWNS)

‘We have managed to knock 44% of fat content from a pig and within the same.

‘We use those as the breeding stock so they don’t have the proximity to grow fat.’

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Carrie Ruxton, dietitian and nutritionist, added: ‘Pork is often perceived as having a higher fat content than other meats.

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‘As well as being high in protein, pork is rich in B vitamins which support normal energy release and fight tiredness and fatigue.’

Let’s hope farmer Fergus does not make a pig’s ear out of the campaign.

The Oxford English Dictionary pig references Sick as a pig Greedy pig What an absolute pig he was this evening Porker Pigging-out He’s eaten the lot, the pig

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