Thanks to the emergence of a Swine Flu Pandemic, there has been a heightened awareness of pork production this week. While the American Pork Industry seeks to reassure the nation that pork is still good to eat amidst plummeting sales, there are still worse reactions around the world. In Mexico, pork sales have fallen 70% and pigs are being culled due to endemic swine influenza in the herd. In Egypt there have been calls to cull all pigs and to move pig farms outside the Cairo city limits. It seems pigs are being made the scape goats for something they play a relatively small part in.

Pigs, unwittingly, it seems are the perfect vessels for mixing the different strains of influenza virus. Human flu virus, avian flu virus genotypes and two swine types have mutated together over time to create dangerous situation. What is worse is that like any flu, the swine flu attacks pigs or humans with weakened immune systems. That can mean all the pigs and some of the human workers in modern, intensive pork factories. Because of this potential, pigs in most modern pig farms are regularly dosed with SIV (swine influenza virus) vaccines.

But let me stress, it’s not the pigs, the pork or the farmers who raise and produce it that are to blame for the Swine Flu that is currently going around. However, the pork industry itself must bear some of the blame in how it has come to treat pork, pigs and farmers.  Currently, the pork industry is in major butt-covering mode. Smithfield meats–the largest producer of pork products in the world–may be directly implicated in the outbreak, but is denying any connection. They, however,  have a history of manipulating the facts, and controversy sticks to them like stink on a hog. The National Pork Producers Council is stressing that pork is fine to eat, that this has nothing to do with American pigs, pork or the food chain. But the problem, I think, goes beyond the issues of this epidemic or even the swine flu itself.

The problem as I see it is one of image. Pigs have always been seen as dirty, disease ridden animals. Both the Jewish & Muslim faiths forbid eating their flesh, and many people have extrapolated that out into an appallingly shallow belief system. More recently the expansion of large hog CAFOs (confined animal feeding operation) has caused public outcry. Often, the worst of these dirty, smelly farms have been the source of pollution, illness and Animal Welfare concern. Despite what the industry wants us to believe, the modern swine farm is no where fit for man or beast. However, we have to separate out the producer and product from the industry.

In the 80’s the nature of pork production changed. The small family farms which raised quality pork from healthy pigs began to be pushed out of operation in favor of the more intensive CAFOs. These larger, so called “efficient” integrated systems claim to produce more pork for less money with less resources. However, this also meant less profit for the farmers actually raising the pigs. The independent nature of the industry changed to become more one of indentured servitude where the meat packing corporations held contracts with hog farmers on increasingly tightening margins. In order to raise so many pigs so intensively farming practices had to change.

The bottom line is the type and quality of the meat suffered at the expense of farms, farmers, and the environment. Most modern day pork is watery, pallid and flavorless. It is bland and often ends up dry when cooked because of lack of internal fat. The prescription to brine the meat before cooking it is only a palliative to mask the base problem–this meat has no character. In reality, the pigs are raised so quickly on such a strict diet they have little chance to lay up any marbling of fat–something readily valued in beef. As consumers began eating more meat, they valued the flavor & quality less than the price. Production methods adapted to this least cost mentality.

In this whole thing, I think the farmers and the pigs are the victims–victims of an industry gone mad and a diet out of control. Never did anyone say–Stop! Why don’t we make more money by raising less pork? No, the high production, “economy of scale” took over and producers had to raise more and more pigs on tighter margins in order to break even. This has put the farmers in a pinch. They have gone along with how the industry wanted the hogs raised, and how the consumers were told they should have their meat–lean and cheap. The flaw in this being that while the meat is lean, it often is not healthy.  In pastured, more naturally raised, pork, the fat contains more Omega 3’s, Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA’s), Vitamin E, D and Beta Carotene. Fat is where the flavor is, so this meat, more naturally layered through the muscle, contains more flavor than a quickly raised counterpart. In order to help achieve lean pork, the industry uses an additive called Paylean which has been linked to cancer. Likewise, and as has been seen recently, the industry regularly treats its animals with vaccines to keep them healthy. This is like telling all office workers they will have to be vaccinated month to keep their jobs because they work in cubicles. If the pigs were raise in an healthy atmosphere this would not be necessary. The very fact that the animals are kept in confinement means they will continue to be sick. Has factory farming created a perfect storm for a pandemic?

Given that there are a few bad apples, etc. I do not blame the farmers for much of this. They are hard working individuals with a love of agriculture or they wouldn’t be in the job. They are trying to do their best with what they have to work with. We all can get caught up in our own paradigm. So much so we fail to see beyond out own noses often. I am certainly guilty of that. However, I do think there are industry practices which pig farmers need to question the benefit and efficacy of–gestation crates. Manure Lagoons. Absolute confinement. As humans we can adapt and get used to anything. As pigs, they have no choice. But that doesn’t mean it is right, nor does it mean it is acceptable. I have been in good and bad hog confinement operations. They are noisy, smelly, and repulsive at best. I would not want to work in one. I couldn’t imagine reeking inside and out like one. I  love to work with my pigs. They are clean, don’t smell, and are healthy and content. I happily spend time with them during feeding or just to visit. My confinement hog friends generally can’t stand being with their pigs too long.

The reality is that in Swine Flu the CAFO has met its Waterloo. Intensive pork production needs to end. Society needs to eat less meat on the whole, and what we do eat needs to be of better quality. We need to have more respect for the animals we eat as food. We need a more sustainable method of rearing livestock. The large-scale Agribusiness model is a danger. We need to offer our support to local, sustainable, small-scale producers. Farmers who aren’t afraid to open their practices up to public scrutiny. Farmers in our communities we can know and trust. We need to support farmers who treat their animals right, with their welfare and well-being firmly in mind, who value the product they raise. As consumers we need to demand these higher welfare systems and demand better quality meat. Meat with flavor and balance. We also had better expect to pay more for such meat, to help support the farmers who raise it and keep them and their livestock healthy. Perhaps if the farmers could make more profit from fewer pigs they would be more likely to lower stocking densities and relax the use of additives and drugs. Above all we need to not panic about this so-called Swine Flu Pandemic. We need to keep calm and not get confused by the 24 hour news. We need to stay healthy and get informed and we need to eat properly–which is to say, a balanced diet which includes pork, preferably from a local, sustainable, get-to-know-your-neighbor kind of source.

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