Nightlight News

This is not a vegan blog, my friends. Over the next few days I will be writing on the subject of one of my favorite farm animals, alongside the
chicken - THE PIG.

Lots of Pig News this year, since it is now officially the Year of the Pig. (Of course now it is prudent to mention that one of our favorite bands, In the Year of The Pig are playing with Sunburned Hand of the Man and White Mice on March 22nd.) I worked on a pig farm last year, and I grew quite fond of the little critters during my stint as slop slopper, grain slinger, and fence mender. The little ones, who would inevitably turn into big ones, were such good little friends, and good eating too, that I became enamored by the pig. I watched the huge sows give birth in nests that they built themselves in the shade of trees. I really enjoyed seeing the piglets flirt and bolt around little saplings and through the fences that I spent all day erecting in vain attempts to keep the wily, strong animals contained in a single area. (Those above are some of the little guys in their early spring bedding, which helps keep them warm in the field during the chilly March and April mornings).

They are the best farm animal around, rivaling the chicken for all around usefulness and culinary merit. Yes I am not Jewish. And I really feel for that whole religion, for they miss out on the most delicious source of fat and protein. Well, I guess some of the secular non-orthodox Jews get a chance to enjoy.

The pigs root through the soil, turning it and eating rhizomes, herbaceous greens and insects will glee. Their snouts are as efficient as a plow at turning soil, but the farmer is spared the expense of fuel, time, and horse/man power, transferring the labor to the pig who just loves to do the work. The pig does it instinctively and efficiently with its muscular snout and strong neck. Pigs are small farmers' most versatile tool. A small group of pigs turned on a 200ft bed for gleaning can make quick work of the spent vegetable plants, and in the process they either chomp or kill weeds by uprooting them PLUS they poop a whole lot, doing an amazing job of turning plant matter into nutrient rich manure for the fertilization and nitrification of the soil. A 150 pound feeder/finishing pig can drop an average of 9 lbs of manure daily. A sow and a full litter can drop a staggering average of 22 lbs of manure daily. That is so awesome. I am not joking. Pigs can even be trained to wear a harness and pull a small plow or furrow behind them. They are smart and can make good pets. There are many uses for that yeoman's animal of choice, the pig.

Pigs are also interesting compared to many other farm animals because humans, us, are much more likely to eat the whole pig, or at least as many parts as possible. Pickled pig's feet, chitlins, smoked ears, fried skin, blood sausage. They all have their devotees. "It would seem disingenuous to the animal," writes Henderson, "not to make the most of the whole beast: there is a set of delights, textural and flavorsome, which lie beyond the filet." Indeed Mr. Henderson, and there is a bevy of food writers and trendy chefs who haven taken it upon themselves to examine just what it means to own a whole slaughtered hog. On many small farms, getting a pig slaughtered in a USDA approved slaughterhouse for retail sale brings with it a host of difficulties. Transporting the pigs to the slaughterhouse might take a long time. The limitations of the regulations make it difficult to sell smoked or cured meats, because once the pork is vacuum wrapped in plastic and stamped with the USDA seal, its a done deal. If your slaughterhouse doesn't smoke or cure, then you can't go home, open the package, cure the meat, and then sell it in any retail outlet without in the process illegally selling an unapproved, unstamped product. So a lot of small farmers, like the Amish I visited in Washington County, VA, sell the whole hog to a single customer, then slaughter it and sell the individually packaged cuts as a giant order. That's a lot of meat for one family to buy, but you can freeze it and eat it for months, and stay healthy with nice hair, good vitamin/mineral absorption, and strong muscles and organs.

In Vermont they have begun trying to help out the small farmers by proposing to implement state-operated mobile slaughter trucks that actually take the state-approved slaughterhouse to the farmer. In Vermont small farming is as big a deal as it is in Orange/Chatham County NC or Western North Carolina. Slaughterhouses can actually be booked months in advance. The mobile trucks are an extremely interesting alternative to the traditional abattoir. Customers want fresh, locally raised meat from farms they can visit, not from places that employ thousands of employees and treat their animals like plastic commodities.

Update - More mobile abattoir news here.

Tomorrow - PIGS: Part Butt