On organic pork | By Umbra Fisk | Grist | Ask Umbra

On organic pork

15 Aug 2007

Got questions about the environment? Ask Umbra.

Dear Umbra,

Commercial pork production is a nasty, polluting operation and inhumane to the animals. What makes organic pork different? Simply what they are fed, or does it involve more humane and less polluting production operations?

Related, I have been purchasing free-range, organic chicken for several years now. However, recently the free-range, organic chicken breasts have been humongous, conjuring up images of Dolly Parton chickens toppling over in their pecking yard. What's up? Any thoughts?

Puzzling over the universe,
Pat
Emeryville, Calif.

Dearest Pat,

Another column of little interest to vegetarians.

I'm afraid I don't have the time or space to dive into your evocative chicken question at the moment. For today, let's stick with pork.

Bound for gory.

Photo: iStockphoto

I want you to know that the United States is a "major player in the world pork market," according to the proud USDA. Somehow we are both the second-largest exporter and importer of pork "products." The character of pork production in this country lends these rankings a nauseating quality. Two of the infamous aspects of the confined animal feeding operations that lead to pork "products" are keeping pregnant sows in immobilizing crates and creating giant lagoons of pig effluent.

Within this profit-driven pork universe diversity still exists, and its general name is "niche pork" -- there's even a website. Small and mid-scale pig farmers can stay afloat by establishing their product niche with animals that are culinarily or ethically improved over CAFO pork -- or both. Organic certification is one aspect of niche pork, but not the only one.

The National Organic Program rules for animals consists of generalized guidelines about feed (must be organic), antibiotics and growth hormones (unallowed) and lifestyle (animals must have outdoor access). These rules do not guarantee that a pig has experienced any piggy fun such as snorfelling merrily through the grass, making its own bed from straw, biting its farmer, or staying far from its own excrement. It is possible to meet the organic guidelines, and pass the yearly inspection, but still run a variant of a confinement operation.

Ask Umbra continues below

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You know I support organic, but a system that has in large part become simple object substitution (hello, organic whipped cream in a can) can no longer be unexamined.

Other niche pork producers may use a different certification to get the message out to consumers. Certifiers such as the Food Alliance and the Animal Welfare Institute (two out of many) have set their own guidelines for farmers, which you actually may prefer over the organic label. The AWI standards are completely focused on animal welfare; the Food Alliance includes treatment of farmworkers as well. USDA-overseen claims such as free range, antibiotic-free, etc., are also found in stores.

As usual, for organic it's best to get an idea of the individual producer's habits by talking with your grocer, visiting the farm, or surfing the web, where indications of the size of the operation could be a tip-off. And as with other foods we've discussed, you can also try to find a pork farmer and get to know their operation, satisfying yourself with a personal connection.

In addition to finding niche pork, you may want to change your eating habits: one reason indoor confinement and gruesome farrowing (birthing) systems exist is to satisfy a consumer desire for pork on demand. Pigs farrowing more naturally, or in the out of doors, only do so during clement weather from spring to fall, so there isn't a year-round supply of pork. If you find a small producer, you will have to acclimate your porky habits and meet the system halfway.

Poor pigs. A bit of special jargon to leave you with: a female pig that has never been pregnant is called a gilt.

Boarily,
Umbra

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Please send Umbra any nagging question pertaining to the environment -- but first check out her FAQs!

The claims made in this column may not reflect the views of this magazine. Neither the magazine nor the author guarantees that any advice contained in this column is wise or safe. Please use this column at your own risk.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

Comments: (19 comments)

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I love pigs

Pigs are really the coolest of animals. Visit a farmed animal sanctuary like Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary in the DC area or Farm Sanctuary in upstate New York and spend a little time rubbing their bellies and you'll see what I mean. They're like pink dogs that like mud.

I think Umbra's point about eating less pork should be noted. It's unlikely current demand could be met with only small farmer produced pork. If we want free-range, humane certified and small farmer produced meat to be the norm, there has to be a reduce in demand. But the meat industry lobbying and advertizing campaigns make people think they have to consume it everyday to be big and strong.

by amc89 at 8:33 AM on 15 Aug 2007

CSA

The other advantage to non-factory farmed pork is it tastes better. Current FF pigs are bred to be low fat which renders them difficult to cook well and remain tasty. Smaller producers raise forgotten breeds which helps to book biodiversity and thus tastier.

My CSA raises pork. Pasture raised is probably the term you'd want to look for.

http://www.jerichosettlersfarm.com/meatsandeggs/pork.html ...

by latenac at 10:35 AM on 15 Aug 2007

Rolling Stone article on industrial pig farming

In case anyone doubts the statement that "Commercial pork production is a nasty, polluting operation and inhumane to the animals" this article may be informative:

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/01/20/big_factory_pig_farm ...

a sibilant intake of breath

by sindark at 1:40 PM on 15 Aug 2007

organic pork

isn't that an oxy mornon?? How can something that is unclean / is a 4 legged garbage disposal/land clearing animal be placed under the same label as "healthy organic foods"??

Did I miss something???The pig is farm equipment...not food...I am really shocked at how many people admit to consuming pig products!!

It is unclean, the Bible listed it as one of many animals man is not to eat....

Last week I learned that there are pork products in the manufacture of marshmallows and gummy worms!!!

How is a person to be healthy today if they sneak garbage into our foods??

by coffeepot12 at 2:14 PM on 15 Aug 2007

re: coffeepot12

"Last week I learned that there are pork products in the manufacture of marshmallows and gummy worms!!!

How is a person to be healthy today if they sneak garbage into our foods?? "

stop eating marshmallows and gummy worms. your health will increase astronomically.

But seriously...the organic designation has more to do with how the animal or plant is handled, grown, fed, etc., than with the meta-question of whether or not the animal is "clean or unclean".

by rcphillips at 3:05 PM on 15 Aug 2007

Pork import/export

The Animal Protection Institute recently released an investigation into the transport of farmed animals as the US has virtually no regulation of animal transport.

What they found was pretty horrible. In fact, they followed one truck full of pigs, with no food, water or rest, from the midwest to somewhere south of MEXICO CITY! Investigators were told American producers send the pigs south for slaughter because it's cheaper labor. Then, the pork that was once a pig, is imported back into the U.S.

check it out:
http://www.api4animals.org/a6a_transport.php

Eating pork just plain sucks.

by zibby at 3:29 PM on 15 Aug 2007

My CSA

My CSA does not raise pork -- just dairy cows and chickens (mostly for the eggs) in addition to a wide variety of veggies. There is a farmer at my local farmer's market who raises "organic" pigs, but I refuse to buy anything from her(animal or vegetable). First, she will not disclose how the pigs are housed and what a given "pig day" looks like. She also refuses to disclose who slaughters them and how its done. Third, she does not allow customers to visit her farm "for health and safety reasons." (She won't even show pictures of her farm) All these things combine to be big red flags for me.

I don't think pigs are naturally dirty. When I was a little girl, my father and I used to regularly walk past a pasture that had a few trees and a bunch of pigs. I called them "the green pigs" because they were so clean that, at the right angle, their tummies reflected the grass beneath them and they looked green!

Then again, when I was in a so-called 3rd world country, I witnessed semi-wild pigs eating raw sewage and garbage in the ditches along the road. Yuck.

Pigs are smarter than dogs -- according to some scientists and an aquaintance of mine who has a pet pot belly. I never ever eat dogs. I can't really bring myself to eat pigs. Add to it all, I read Charlotte's Web in elementary school.

Any more, the older I get, the more I care about how the food I eat was cared for. I want my veggies grown locally and "organically" in healthy soil. I want my milk products to come from "happy", healthy, non-anti-biotic-ed, grass fed/pastured cows who I can drive by/visit. Whether or not "we are what we eat", I want "happy" and healthy food only. To me, that's what sustainable and environmental means.

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." -- Mahatma Ghandi

by Green Granny at 5:56 PM on 15 Aug 2007

You Got your Pigs' Feet in my Gummi Worms!

Coffeepot said:
It is unclean, the Bible listed it as one of many animals man is not to eat....

That's a tricky matter. Throughout the Good Book, there are verses that suggest that the restrictions had been lifted, while other verses indicate that they still apply. Judaism and Islam, as you probably know, still hold pigs in ill regard. A few highly-contradictory resources: [1] (pdf), [2], [3], [4].

Last week I learned that there are pork products in the manufacture of marshmallows and gummy worms!!!

I assume you're referring to gelatin. You get gelatin by boiling collagen; in the case of packaged foods, it's usually derived from animal skin and bones. Yum!

How is a person to be healthy today if they sneak garbage into our foods??

Eat food that you can easily identify. However much junk they spray on an apple, it's probably more wholesome than a Gummi Worm.

-- A.

Taking accounting to the extreme since 2004.

by akbeancounter at 6:52 PM on 15 Aug 2007
[ Parent ]

unclean

Of course pigs are not unclean. In the Bible unclean in this case means ritually unclean. Or do you think a horse or a swan is unclean? It's worth reading all of the Mosaic rules.
The way we "produce" pork is a different story.

by kaivalya at 12:01 AM on 16 Aug 2007

for Green Granny

Ugh,I would never buy anything local from a farmer who wouldn't let me visit their farm either. Most farmers I know here in Vermont are more than happy for you to visit their farms and look around. It can be expensive to officially be organic so there are a lot of unofficial organic farms here that raising things I think in far more organic conditions than some of the big industrial organic companies.

Coffeepot12, if you're upset about pigs in your gummi worms and marshmallows, you should probably know gelatin can come from almost any animal and often does, that includes beef and horses, too. And frankly if you don't see any irony in questioning how healthy and organic pigs are and question how healthy things can be while at the same time complaining about pork products in your gummi worms and marshmallows, well I think you have other things you should worry about.

As for whether a pig is clean or not the ones I see on the organic farms are not dirty smelly animals at all. I pick my flowers, peas, herbs and tomatoes not all that far from one of their pens and am never overcome by any smell.

As for eating pork, well frankly I can only defer to Tony Bourdain, the pig is a magical and tasty animal. Or maybe I should defer to Homer S. mmmm bacon.

by latenac at 5:20 AM on 16 Aug 2007

Suggested reading

If you are looking for an intelligent look at this issue, or a book to rock your world, I highly recommend a trip to your local library and check out Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals,and the Call to Mercy written by Matthew Scully. It's not an easy read, yet it's worth the effort if you are sincerely interested in learning more about this issue. He examines the current system of industrial farming with an alarming clarity and compassion without being reactionary.

Here's a poem by Blake that makes me think of today's industrial farms: "Robin red breast in a cage sets all heaven in a rage."

by pansy girl at 7:19 AM on 16 Aug 2007

Happy Pigs

I am a devote carnivore, and two years ago I resolved to eat only happy animals for their welfare and mine. For pigs that means they get to root around in fresh dirt, have enough space so they can crap in a separate corner from where they eat and sleep, and have a nice cool wallow for hot days. It is also important to me that the feed is organic and no antibiotics are use prophylactically.

In my opinion organic standards come up WAY shot of ensuring happy pigs. They can be confined on crowded concrete pads, and farrowed in tinny sheds. As others have said getting to know your farmer is the only way to ensure happy animals. I don't think small scale is an unrealistic way of feeding America. Small scale diversified farms are a more productive way of working the land --it just takes more manpower. So we just need to pay marginally more for the food we eat.

by Gardiner at 7:32 AM on 16 Aug 2007

Pig virus in China

This was in the NY Times today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/business/worldbusiness/ ...

"Virus Spreading Alarm and Pig Disease in China
CHENGDU, China, Aug. 9 -- A highly infectious swine virus is sweeping China's pig population, driving up pork prices and creating fears of a global pandemic among domesticated pigs.

In Gu Yi, a village in Sichuan Province, a veterinarian's banner claims he can cure blue-ear disease, but the virus still spreads.
Animal virus experts say Chinese authorities are playing down the gravity and spread of the disease."

As the demand for red meat and poultry in China continues to increase, factory farming will dominate and we'll likely be seeing more of these horrific viruses. There are absolutely no official animal welfare regulations for farm animals in China. It's unfortanate that China is taking up the unhealthy and dangerous western habitat of eating large quantities of meat on a regular basis.

by amc89 at 7:54 AM on 16 Aug 2007

Organic

My question to all this organic meat and animals.
Why would you deny animals the use of antibiotics, if we take them when we are sick?

by jaborganic at 9:56 AM on 16 Aug 2007

super bugs

To the best of my knowledge no humans are taking antibiotics to allow them to live in conditions that would otherwise kill them. Dosing animals with drugs to allow them to live in squalid conditions is cruel, and could have terrible consequences for public health if we start to develop super resistant bugs.

by Gardiner at 11:36 AM on 16 Aug 2007
[ Parent ]

Giving antibiotics to healthy animals

I don't think there are any mainstream groups that advocate not giving antibiotics to animals on farms that are actually sick, but when the antibiotics are given routinely to all animals, healthy or sick, to prevent them from getting sick in the stressful, cramped conditions they're kept in, that's not only bad for animal welfare but also dangerous to human health and safety. When all animals on farms are given antibiotics, this is called "Non-Therapeutic Antibiotic Use". Read more at this factsheet:

Human Health Implications of Non-Therapeutic Antibiotic Use
http://www.hsus.org/farm/resources/research/pubhealth/hum ...

One whole category of drugs to fight influenza has been made useless because of it's over-use by Chinese poultry factory farmers.

by amc89 at 12:01 PM on 16 Aug 2007

Antibiotics

in reply to jaborganic.. Many of us that eat and/or grow organic choose not to use antibiotics in our own lives unless the health situation is dire. I have been able to allow my body to fight off sinus infections without antibiotics for over eight years by eating well, taking specific herbs, natural anti-oxidants and anti-swelling compounds such as grape seed extract and flax oil. I get a little extra rest when I feel the sinus pressure, drink plenty of fluids and stay out of crowds. In organic w/ humane systems, the animals are enabled to heal by many of those same principles. Within a mega-CAFO, that is usually not practiced.
If an illness or infection is life threatening, and not just inconvenient, then antibiotics are an important option. Most organic farmers have areas to rear their antibiotic-treated animals separately during the transition time period or sell, give or transfer them to a non-certified livestock facility.
Again, many of us do not choose to use antibiotics as soon or as often (if ever) as the general population. That is what I expect from the meat, milk or eggs that I choose to buy and eat.

Cindy.. a farming enviro..

by Riverdance Farmer at 12:45 PM on 16 Aug 2007

Antibiotics

It sounds as if people should be looking at buying local and knowing their farmer. My family and I raise and sell our own food and meat. I'm not against stopping the use of antibiotics in feeds, but saying one can not give a single shot to an animal and continue to call it organic is not in the best interest of the animals. If people were more concerned where they buy their food, we would not be in this position. Before anyone writes to bash me, I farmed for 20 years, have a degree in animal science.

by jaborganic at 8:15 PM on 16 Aug 2007

Living Piggy Lives

While organic foods are desriable, we have found that looking for 'locally produced free range meats' is far more important for the life and health of the animal. Organic refers more to what the animals are fed and not really how they are treated. Not everyone has the luxury of visiting the source of their food - to see how it is produced - but the internet is a great tool for small producers to communicate with their customers. Also, your local farm markets allow you to speak with producers.

Ellen Kurrelmeyer, Whiting, VT

by VTcowpower at 8:16 AM on 17 Aug 2007

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