Op-ed on treatment of pigs

We do a fair amount of chatting here about a wide variety of topics. Treatment of the animals we eat even comes up from time to time, as I believe it should. I don't know that a full-fledged discussion about the treatment of animals raised for slaughter in the United States is called for, but I do think that this op-ed piece by Nicolette Hahn Niman (of the ranch) is important to read. She writes about the treatment of pigs in this country and, as someone in the business of raising animals for food who is very visible, I think her views are important. In fact, I'd say you were remiss if you didn't take a few minutes to read this. (Registration may be required at the NYT site, but it's free.)

You know what? I know that's the case (I've slaughtered my own food before and been to many factory farms), and I simply don't care. I don't put animals on the same plane as humans as far as their treatment goes.

Vegetarian to Jim Gaffigan: Do you know what they do to those chickens?
Jim Gaffigan: No, but it's delicious.

Gypsy Boy,

Thanks for writing in on that piece and providing the link to it. Like Niman, I do not find eating flesh itself something objectionable but the inflicting of such cruel conditions on animals in order to maximise profits is truly barbarous. And to be completely indifferent to such unnecessary (and ultimately unhealthy for all parties concerned) cruelty is a sign of genuine moral bankruptcy.

Antonius

If you read Pig Perfect (bargain priced here) it makes Ms. Niman's focus on the humane-treatment argument seem a bit narrow (if, perhaps, well attuned to the readers of the New York Times, a notably non-agricultural bunch).

The argument for factory farming is that it has produced an enormous bounty of food at low cost. This is a huge historical achievement; it was within living memory that a presidential candidate, promising prosperity, spoke of "a chicken in every pot." Not, you'll note, a chicken at every meal. One chicken making multiple meals for the week-- that was a standard of comfort for all high enough to get someone elected. Now it's a 48-pack of chicken breasts at Costco.

But what Pig Perfect demonstrates is that that cheap pork isn't cheap after all. In the case of pigs, at least, the pollution from factory pig-raising is in effect a huge subsidy provided to the pork industry, allowing them to shift one of their major costs onto taxpayers, fishermen (no longer able to fish in polluted streams), heath systems treating kids getting sick off all this stuff, and so on.

After reading the book, not only was I forced to agree that this is a bad practice that needs to change, but I was forced to recognize that, well, industrial pork doesn't taste so good. Part of the reason I posted this is the hope that if it all works out well-- and the pork looks fabulous, totally unlike industrial pork-- others will be encouraged to likewise order directly from this producer, or others, and we will help, in some small way, to create a market for natural pork (which as a meat is still lagging behind beef and chicken in the consciousness of us consumers, and thus the amount of emphasis and effort paid to it by stores like Whole Foods). Change begins in the kitchen....

Agreed, Mike. And all the enviromental, moral, political, ethical considerations aside - probably one of the most important culinary realizations of my (relatively short) life has been that these animals who were treated with some respect actually taste better. I never believed that.

I'm also reminded of an elderly relative (from Pakistan) who was visiting us several years ago and commented that the chicken in N.America had no taste, it's just kinda there amongst all the other spices and flavours. Then, he came back for another visit more recently, in the midst of our popular organic-eating culture, and upon eating a free-range bird he said, "Your chickens taste like chicken now."