Pigs are amazing animals.
After raising pigs for almost 10 years I have learned to appreciate how fun, intelligent and adaptable they are.
Not everyone loves pigs.
I have seen memes that make pigs look disgusting and like something that is not worthy of human consumption.
As an intelligent consumer, you deserve to know the truth so that you can make informed choices about your food. It's ok if you choose to not eat pork. I just want you to make your choice based on facts or religious principle, not fiction.
Following are claims about pigs, followed by my experienced response.
"Pigs eat their own offspring"
Many animals will eat their own offspring, most notably rabbits. This usually happens because the mother is nutrient deficient after giving birth. In all of the litters of piglets that have been born on my farm, I am not aware of a mother pig ever eating her offspring, not even the runts or ones that died of natural causes. Nor has a sow of mine eaten piglets of other sows.
"Pigs eat their own feces"
Not if they can help it! When kept in a pen, pigs will do their business in a corner, away from the feeder. They never intentionally eat their poop. If they do, it's because the farmer is not providing a place for them to eat away from it.
"Pigs eat humans, dogs, and rats"
I can't speak for other people's pigs, but I can say that my pigs do not scavenge carcasses or hunt living animals. I have seen them ignore the carcass of a dead pig that was available to them, and a chipmunk that my dog had killed. Many people keep a livestock guardian dog in with their pigs to keep them safe from predators. However, pigs are omnivores, and there is potential for them to scavenge a carcass.
"Pigs have the poorest digestive system known to man"
Pigs have very normal digestive systems. Modern factory farm pigs don't digest grass and need lots of soy and grain, because humans have bred them for lighting fast growth on an intense diet (which is true of all factory farmed animals, especially meat chickens). My grazing pigs have terrific digestive systems and digest grass and plant matter very well, which is not easy to do.
"It is impossible to kill parasites in pig flesh"
Pigs are susceptible to trichinosis, which is tiny roundworms in the muscle that humans may contract by eating undercooked pork. It is easy to kill any trichinosis worms that might be present by heating the meat to a mere 139F. Meat is medium-done when cooked to 135F, and medium-well-done at 150F. So for pork to be safe to eat, it could be slightly pink still. (Check the temperature at the part which is likely to remain the coolest--at the center, next to a bone.) Another way to kill trichinosis is to keep the meat in a deep freeze (below 0F) for 21 days. The salt in dry cured meat kills trichinosis. You can feel very safe eating pork if it is handled properly.
"There is no nourishment left if you cook pork well enough to make it safe"
Pork is very nutritious, particularly if the pig was raised on pasture. It is high in protein, full of minerals, and if the pig was out in the sun, its fat is notably high in vitamin D. Something that I love about pasture raised pigs is that they grow slowly which allows them time to accumulate nutrient density in their meat, which is not only good for you, but makes it taste amazing.
"Pigs are raised in a cage so small they can't turn around"
In factory farms, a sow gives birth in a crate which prevents her from turning around and accidentally laying on the tiny piglets, which would crush them. I do not support this practice. If you want to ensure that your pork was raised humanely, get to know your farmer and ask questions.
"Pigs are dirty"
In the summer heat, the only way for a pig to cool down is to lay in water or mud. Pigs make wallows by finding wet spots in the ground. I have seen them create a water hole where there had been just damp earth, which is beneficial to wildlife. There is nothing inherently dirty about pigs besides that. Wallowing in mud is not the same thing as wallowing in manure, which would be gross. That would only happen if the farmer keeps the pigs in a pen too small for them to get away from their feces, which is not the pigs' fault. During cooler months of the year, pigs tend to be cleaner than cows.
"Eating bacon (or lard) makes you fat"
If that were true, I would be very fat, and I am not. Processed food that is full of chemicals and sugar makes you fat. The way to be thin is to eat whole foods that nurture a healthy gut, and be reasonably active. Lard is better than most oils for cooking at high temperatures because it cooks without creating trans-fats. Fat from a healthy source like animals raised on pasture is a nourishing food that you can feel good about eating.
"Pork is hard to digest"
That may be true for certain individuals who have compromised gut health. Personally, I went for a time where I had trouble digesting grass fed beef, yet I could handle my pasture raised pork just fine. There is nothing inherently difficult about pork for a human digestive system. If you are having trouble digesting pork, you should think about healing your gut, because a healthy gut is the foundation of good health. Also, factory raised pork could be hard to digest or otherwise make you not feel good, so make sure you buy from a farmer who raises pigs on pasture, without chemical and pharmaceutical inputs.
I love my pigs. I love giving them a bale of hay in the winter and watching them dance for joy. I love a sow who is a good mom and cares for her tiny piglets. I love how pigs talk to each other with little grunts as they wander the pastures eating forage.
There is nothing yummier, in my opinion, than old world style cured cappicola. Or smoked bacon. Or cider brined pulled pork.
Thank you, piggies. You are good animals.
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What weird things have you heard about pigs?
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