Not Just Another Pretty Face

PIGIPEDIA
In 4000 BC, the Emperor of China decreed that the Chinese people must raise and breed hogs.  Last month, China's biggest meat producing company (Shuanghui) bought Smithfield Foods, a Virginia-based company that is the world's largest pork producer.  Pigs are more apt to be raised on family-style farms in China (good for the pigs) as opposed to the huge factory farms in the U.S.  But these smaller farms aren't able to meet the demand for pork, so China is reaching out in order to increase its pork imports.

Six states have passed "ag gag" laws which criminalize whistleblower efforts to uncover animal abuse.  Five other states have such bills under consideration.  Animal abuse is just one side of the bad public relations that the large-scale meat industry is trying to avoid.  The other side is legal, industry-standard practices, that if publicized would have a high likelihood of pushback from the public.

One example is keeping pregnant sows confined to cages barely large enough to contain their bodies, and too small for them to turn around.  The floors are slotted so the waste can drop away, but with the high level of ammonia vapors rising from below, it causes respiratory problems for pigs (who have small lungs and are susceptible to pneumonia and bronchitis).  The sows often get open pressure sores from their inability to move.  Some of them bite the cage bars out of extreme frustration until their mouth is bloody.  When they're ready to deliver, they're moved to a farrowing crate which is just large enough for them to nurse.  Once the piglets are weaned, the sow is bred again and moved back to the gestation crate.  She does this non-stop for three or four years, then is slaughtered for meat.

It's because of videos on conditions such as these that public opinion has forced some changes.  Smithfield, prior to its sale, pledged to phase out the gestation crates over the next five years.  But they and two other industry giants account for less than 20% of the breeding sows.    Research has shown that keeping sows in group housing, with room to move around and stretch out, is economically feasible.  Nine states have banned crates, as has the European Union.  A 2008 Michigan State University poll found that 69% of respondents nationwide favor the ban.

Unfortunately, with the growing prevalence of "ag gag" bills, there will be less opportunity to expose so much of what many of us never get to see.