I haven’t come up with a good answer to this yet. I’m about 85% sure of my stance on this issue, but then I hear stories and really listen to other points of view and gives me pause. How exactly should farmers meet the demand for food while caring best for the animals that provide it?
However a good financial assistance similar to ?? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ??? has been launched by the government and make it available to the farmers to help them uplift their income!
Furthermore – are conventional farmers greedy monsters and organic farmers loving softies?
Let’s go back to the first question. I might save that second one for another post.
I recently toured Fair Oaks Farm. It is a combination of a working hog/dairy farm and interactive museum. You can actually tour the farm while it is operating. For my trip, we toured the hog barn.
And yes, I am smart enough to know the angle this farm tour would take. It is a conventional farm, not an organic one. But that is why I was so excited about this tour! I feel like all the documentaries and all the viral blog posts share the heart and passion and practices of organic farmers. What I wanted to hear was the point of view and practices of conventional farming. I felt like that was one side of the story I just wasn’t hearing.
Farrowing crates. The OMG HOW COULD THEY DO THAT TO THE POOR MAMA practice. The bars, the box, the lack of sunshine and grass and a red barn. It tugs on your heart strings, doesn’t it? That’s why when we started our own farm we ensured that all the animals had their appropriate space and enough light and ventilation. People who want to start farming with animals should take that into consideration when starting to set up their farm buildings.
*Note: A farrowing crate is where babies are born (like the one above). Gestation crates are where they live after they are impregnated until they are ready to give birth. *
The logic behind them: A mama sow can weigh between 300-600 pounds (more if she is pregnant…of course). There are actually two things this crate does – and both benefit the baby piglets. First, the bars on either side of the sow are movable and allow the mama to lie down slowly, giving the piglets time to get the heck out from under her before she crushes them. A piglet weighs between 2-4 lbs at birth. Teeny little things!
The second thing it does – it allows the farmers to put piglets of the same size in the same area so they all have a chance to eat. Who remembers Charlotte’s Web? Poor Wilbur was a runt and no matter how hard he tried, the other piglets would not let him eat. Then, Fern saved Wilbur from her father who was going to do what all farmers did at that time – kill the runt to end its suffering.
Well conventional farmers today put piglets of the same size together. Now, tiny piglets all have the same chance of eating and growing! When a sow gives birth, the piglet is weighed, marked and teeth trimmed (to protect the sow’s nipples), and the piglet is placed in the crate with piglets of the same size.
So here is the dilemma: How do we raise pigs like Wilbur or Babe, but also provide enough bacon for everyone?
*sigh* That’s tough. Conventional farmers do care deeply about their animals. The minute a pig is hurt or not eating or showing signs of distress, it is cared for and helped. Every practice they do – the way they feed them, the heated mats for newborn piglets – is with the well-being of the pigs in mind. But the sheer volume of pigs in their care means they have to adapt “scary, cold, robotic practices” that appears to strip away any heart from the farmer. They also keep their visitors and employees safe with help from a farm health and safety consultancy service.
I think the biggest difference between conventional hog farms and organic ones is the perception from the outside. At the end of the day, the bacon tastes the same. Pigs from both farms end up on my plate. But one seems like the pigs have a happier life in their short 5 years on this earth. Those who own pig farms are encouraged to have a rural insurance policy if they don’t have one yet so they can be protected financially. Visit sites like https://www.fowlerbrothersfarming.com/ for professional farming advice.
I want to encourage a discussion here – and all viewpoints are welcome (as long as they are kept hate-free). I think both organic and conventional farmers love their animals. They both work tirelessly to keep their animals healthy. But one appears better than the other and I want to know why?
i just learned south from reading this! I don’t know much about farming and found this really interesting.
I think 99% of farmers are dedicated to the care of their animals ~ Organic or Not. The main difference for me is the chemicals given to the animals by non-organic farms. Any chemical given to a animal is in the animals meat. Then we eat the meat ~ we are eating the chemicals. Also, I strongly believe that bacon from an organic farm taste different than bacon from a non-organic farm. I have to agree with you that some people think that organic farmers are more humane – I do not agree with that. I think the difference between organic and non-organic is the chemicals.
Debbie – thank you so much for explaining that. I understand and agree, I don’t want chemicals in my meat either. Focusing on on pigs for now (since each animal comes with a different set of rules) – I don’t think conventional farming puts chemicals into pigs. (I’m not a farmer and will definitely ask one though!)
If you can explain what chemicals you are afraid of ingesting from conventional / non-organic hogs, that would be amazing! Then I can verify with a pig farmer if they do/do not use them. Thank you SO much Debbie 🙂
I’m going to go out on a limb here and take a guess (which means I could be completely wrong), but I think what Debbie is referring to is the chemicals coming from pesticides used in the food supply. What the pigs eat would then be digested and absorbed into their bodies, in turn we would then be eating the meat that has those ‘chemicals’ in it. This is why a lot of people also choose organic crops that they themselves eat (not just the stuff for feed). I know you are talking pigs, but just as an example, the cows around here that are deemed to be on organic farms must be able to roam freely and eat off of the land, basically a set number of ‘pasture days’ is required as long as weather allows it to be safe. Organic Valley has a great example of how this policy works: http://www.organicvalley.coop/about-us/transparency/additional-farm-standards/
The pigs may also be given hormones or other medications that are not used in an organic farm. My knowledge of that is limited so I cannot give you exact names w/out researching….but that would be my guess.
I am a hog farmer and we use barns to raise our pigs in also. We used to raise our hogs outside but when consumers wanted a leaner piece of pork, that meant our hogs had to have less body fat. Less body fat meant our hogs had a hard time regulating their body temperature. With the guidance of our veterinarian, we moved our animals into hog barns for their protection and safety. Hogs can’t sweat so moving them inside our barns also helped us keep them cool with the help of our fans and misters; and it prevented them from getting sunburns. We no longer have predator attacks (coons, coyotes, opossum, bobcats) which cause injury or death; and we no longer have diseases or parasites that are tracked by wildlife or found in the dirt. We use less medication today than we did when our hogs were raised on pastures (which turned to dirt lots when it rained). Not every farm raises lean hogs though like we do, hogs with more body fat can endure the winters better than lean hogs.
Farmers do not use hormones to raise pigs, it’s illegal and there are no hormones approved for pork or poultry. We also do not give our animals chemicals. I’ve never heard of a farmer doing that either. We eat the same meat we raise for our friends, family, neighbors and consumers. I am a farmer, but I will always be a mom first! I love my two kids more than anything in this world and I would never do anything to hurt my kids. We feed our hogs a diet that is formulated by our nutritionist for each stage of their development. The diet contains corn, soybean meal, vitamins and minerals. Hogs are not a ruminant animal like cows, (they only have 1 stomach). Hogs can not digest grass with just 1 stomach and get the nutrients needed to grow and thrive.
Thanks for taking the time to write this blog. I appreciate you sharing what you learned!
I find no difference in the two ( I work on a commercial swine farm although the mamas live outside when they aren’t close to farrowing) the antibiotics we give them mostly have a period of 50 days for withdrawal or for it to live the system fully and they live on a feedlots until the end of the withdrawal so when they are slaughtered there are not chemicals in their system kind of like us it doesn’t stay forever. And yes we love of pigs each has a name, personality, and story.
I love bacon and pretty much any pork product. I this the cage is better for the mama and baby.
Thanks Catherine 🙂 I have to say – I agree with you.
I think both methods have their place. I have a problem with organic farming, but I know that many people love it. What I don’t like is the lack of government interference and the lack of regulation that an organic product has to claim. I know that it has increased in past years, but you used to be able to add organic to anything, without proving you used organic practices. I personally don’t care to pay the premium to eat products that aren’t fundamentally different. If we have to feed the world bacon, organic farmers can’t do it alone. We have to have conventional practices to meet the demand. Population and city expansion has led to the depletion of farming/ranching space to allow enough “organic” farms to meet the demand.
As far as why one appears better than the other, I think the organic community has really rallied around bringing down the conventional farmers because of things like farrowing pens, growth hormones, etc. (Now, I should note that it is probably just a couple of groups, like PETA, who make the most noise.) And there are always outliers, there are conventional farmers that don’t treat their animals right, and there are organic farmers that aren’t all loving and do not good things with their animals.
I wanted to point out a few things to some comments above:
1) I am sure that organic and non-organic animals taste different, but it is really all about what they are fed. If it is a diet high in corn, they are going to take very different than pigs who are allowed to pasture. I know that for a fact. The beef my dad grows tastes different than what we get in the store, it is much more “grassy” because his cattle pasture until it is time for us to butcher them. They aren’t sent to a feed lot and grain fed until it is time but butchering.
2) There are probably chemicals that can stay in the body of an animal for the long haul, things like growth hormone, which I am not overly applauded by. (Unless of course it is overused in a single animal.) But things like the antibiotics that are used work themselves out of the system of the animal. Sick animals are taken aside, given antibiotic, get better, and are kept out of the herd until it is out of their system. Depending on the breed/type of animal, those times differ and there are different ways to test them.
3) I think keeping mama and babies safe are good for the whole entire food chain. It is good for the farmers, they won’t lose animals, which let’s the public have more food to access! Win-win all around!
I could go on and on about farming, as it is near and dear to my heart. But I think that is enough for now. 🙂
Laura – thank you for this thorough explanation. I agree with you – both practices have their place and are needed. I am going to respond to your comment below :
Organic & regulations – I think everyone should only purchase items with the “USDA Organic” seal on it. I know to use that seal, you have to meet certain standards. So yes, I agree with you.
Population and City expansion – yup. Agree there too. Way too many people are filling up cities and so more animals have to be on less land.
Thank you for explaining about the taste being from the feed. That makes SO much sense.
I need to do more research – but I haven’t heard of growth hormones being used in pigs. I am going to see. But yup, I did learn that antibiotics are used in pigs just like they are used for my kids – only if they are sick. And they are only butchered (this is a law) after there isn’t a single trace of it in their system.
Laura, Pigs are not given any growth hormones. Zero. It’s illegal. This goes for poultry also.
My background is in beef. I was speaking generally across agriculture. Thanks for the info!
Laura,
I am a hog farmer and we have raised hogs both indoors and outdoors. Hogs can not eat grass and thrive like cows because hogs only have one stomach. In my opinion, the reason pasture raised hogs taste different is because they generally have more body fat. Fat gives flavor to the meat.
Chris
I would like to respond to your last question about why one method appears better than the other. I think we have brought animals up to an equality with human beings. I see many people equating the care I give my pet dog to what I should be doing for my cattle. I also see many people caring for their pet dog as they would a child.
I do love my Bichon and I would spend what is reasonable to keep her healthy. When I was a veterinary technician at a vet clinic I saw many people want to save their pet at all costs when they really didn’t have the finances to do that. The family suffered the stress of paying a bill that could jeopardize the care of the family. I would never put care of my dog before care of my family.
My experience with pigs is limited as I have been a cattle producer the past 33 years. When I was a child my uncle had a farm and the pigs were outside and seemed to be always laying in mud. I learned later that pigs can’t sweat so they used the mud to stay cool. My husband and I raised feeder pigs for a few years in some barns we had. The pigs could go outside in an area or lay inside the barn. We also had confinement barns we rented. After cleaning both types of pens I can tell you the confined pigs always had a dry place to lay down and were much more comfortable due to the ability to control the temperature in the confinement barn. The hogs that could go outside had to deal with heat and cold as we get both extremes in Nebraska. If I were a hog I would pick the controlled climate!
Thank you for searching for feedback on farming practices. I am not against organic production as I do believe we need to support a variety of ways to grow food. If you ever have questions about cattle in a feedlot I would love to chat with you further. It is very important to me to get the truth of what we do and how we do it out to our consumers. There are many other wonderful farm women I know that love to tell their farm story. You can read all about us at http://www.findourcommonground.com
Thank you for sharing, Joan!
Your first comment about equating pigs with pets and pets with children – that makes SO much sense to me. I mean, how am I supposed to connect emotionally with my puppy if she is in a barn in a cage all day?
But putting livestock on the same level as pets is confusing to me….since they are food….I believe farmers should (and the good ones do) care for the health and well-being of their pigs. I agree that both conventional and organic farmers do this.
Thank you for sharing your experience with pigs. It’s a good point that being inside = climate control. That is something I think we forget about 🙂
I know nothing of farming practices, but these pics make me sad. I hate seeing them caged up so tightly
Christie – that is exactly what I wanted to know. They are in cages to keep the baby piglets safe and help the runts not die from the other piglets starving them out. But why does it make you sad? That why is my biggest question of all. Why does it make you sad?
I think commenter Joan figured out a part of the answer: she thinks we equate animals with pets. If we feel guilty penning up our dogs and cats, we should feel bad for the poor pigs too. Do you agree?
Because it isn’t torture and they are very comfortable.
Mama Dweeb – Just curious, what do you mean by “scary, cold, robotic practices?”
Wanda,
I put that phrase in quotes to signify that I was speaking in the tone of voice of how people interpret the act of keeping pigs in barns and using farrowing & gestation crates. This phrase and how people feel about it goes back to the images portrayed in the infamous Chipotle ad, among other things like documentaries.
Seeing a barn full of sows nursing babies in individual crates with metal bars feels colder than seeing cows rolling around in the mud.
I was definitely not saying it to attack 🙂 Just trying to express how people feel about it and get to the root of WHY we feel this way.
We have a small herd of sheep (nine) that are kept as pets. Because of that I hate seeing any animal cooped up when they could have a larger area to roam. However, as I said, ours is a hobby farm and not a working farm, and I really like pork so I don’t have an answer.
I totally understand that Pam 🙂 Once you attach emotionally to them, it is extremely difficult to feel any different. Thank you for sharing this 🙂 I am with you – I don’t have an answer. I have so many questions.
There is so much cruelty behind many things we take for granted. Thank you for talking about this.
Kim, you said SO much with so few words. I’m not willing to go vegetarian or vegan…(I just love meat too much) but I understand and respect those that are. And “things we take for granted” – exactly why I wrote this. Instead of feeling feels I want people to ask questions and investigate what they are eating and why they feel that way about it.
I know where you stand and I’ve said it before – I admire and respect your knowledge and passion.
I hate seeing any animal hurt, I scoop spiders up when I can to take them outside. That being said, I love bacon. It makes me feel very much like a hypocrite. I do appreciate farmers that treat their animals humanely though.
Billie, your heart is so very sensitive and full of love. We need more people like you in the world.
Thank you, I appreciate that! Most of the time, I just let spiders be, but I know I’ve taken at least one outside. I saw a huge spider run under my fridge a few weeks ago, eek! Today there was a spider on my arm in the car and I freaked out a bit and shook my arm. I then opened the door and “helped” it out with a piece of paper though my son wanted me to squash it. There’s me rambling. My sister and I both sort of frown and wince a bit when we see trucks with pigs in them. Of course then we want bacon, lol.
The photos make me sad. I do eat pork but not very often.
Lisa, your sad feelings are why I wrote this post. I want to know why they make you sad. If these movable bars slow down the mama so she doesn’t kill piglets when she lays down…and the act of the farmers putting all the piglets of the same size on one sow to feed…both save piglets vs the old way of doing it (Charlotte’s Web’s way), then why does that make you sad?
I’m really curious about the motivation behind these feelings. Are you upset because you want the pigs to be treated like pets and you are afraid they are being abused in this situation?
This was very interesting to read. Also, I can see how people would feel bad thinking the pigs are being mistreated by being caged but if they are comfortable and the treatment is humane then there is nothing wrong with cages.
Christina – thank you SO very much for seeing both sides and for your kind words.
Wow, this post and the corresponding comments have been very thought provoking. I’m just wish that all animals could be in their natural habitat, but I know that’s not reality, so considering that, I just hope they’re being treated as well as possible.
I live in Indiana, and while I am not a farmer, I have been to several working farms. I do believe that the majority of the farmers do care for their animals. While it would be ideal if animals were free to roam in their natural environments, it just isn’t practical. I admire all the hardworking farmers who do the dirty work and take a lot of criticism so the rest of us can eat.
I certainly learned something from reading this, however, I’m not going to lie, it was disturbing. And I’m a meat loving, bacon eater. Makes me think twice about my choices.
My heart was sad by the picture immediately. But after reading your post I’m at peace.
I learned a lot by reading this. We try to buy the free range meats to support the farmers who do so, but I know it’s not practical. I think a lot of times it’s out of sight out of mind, but I wish that they were able to move around some more.
I think it is really neat to tour farms and see how things are ran. I love your shirt, by the way. 😉
I don’t know anything about farming! This was great to read because just a week ago my 5 yo was asking farming questions and I had no clue!
I do love my bacon, but I have a hard time dealing with what goes on behind the scenes with our food. I’m all about educating myself, but it makes me sick the more I learn.
We live in a state over run with wild hogs, that being said we get our hog (pig meat) right in our own back yards, so to speak. I like bacon, and pork but would much rather kill the animal myself, or have my husband do it. I don’t like the practices of big corporations and how they raise and slaughter the animals, but that’s just me.
However, this post was really well written and the discussion is great.
while i do love bacon (like most people) i can’t have it often due to the fat content and my medical issues. anyway, i had never looked into this. I learned something new. you wrote from a great point of view as to just give us information and not push your agenda. good job.
I don’t eat meat. I just can’t do it. It’s never ever been my thing, even as a kid, and boy did my mom go around and around about it for years. I cook it daily though, for the family… I just don’t know where I would weigh in on the discussion. My opinions would seem hypocritical because I still buy and cook the meat. Very thought provoking post though!
Huh. I never really thought about the differences. I guess I thought that the difference was mainly in what the animals were fed rather than how animals are treated.
I didn’t read through the comments, sorry if this is rehash.
My belief is that animals should be raised in a respectful way. Respectful of the animal’s life, the environment, and the consumer of the end product. When animals are raised in a reverent method, its usually for the good of all involved. When its solely based on profit, you encounter abuse, neglect, and dubious methods all in the name of one more dollar.
My personal belief is that to respect the animal, they need access to the environment they were meant to be in. To respect the environment, waste should be dealt with appropriately either through existing cycles of nature or through a conscientious application of waste management. To respect the consumer, a grower should make sure they’re using the best possible feeds and water. Toxic water and feed = toxic end product.
Smaller family farms follow these respectful practices as closely as they possibly can. That setting is where you see people living and working because they love the way of life. When the operations get bigger and more corporate (which you will encounter a lot if you get into the poultry business) they only care about dollars per square foot. This is where you see the negative stuff all the documentaries talk about. The ultra large scale places are where you see banning of camera equipment because they know what they are doing is wrong, and they don’t want that bad PR to get out. The ultra large scale places’ poor practices are what prompt people like Dr. Janice Swanson to be hired by McDonald’s to tour factories and advise them on proper cage size for their egg laying hens. Cruelty in slaughter plants leads people like Temple Grandin to a famed life of designing humane facilities for the respectful processing of animals for consumption. Sloppiness in practices lead to dangerous pathogens like E. Coli and Mad Cow becoming a threat instead of a caution.
But the biggest mistake we make in our comparisons of farming practices is being lazy and not doing our own research. We listen to impassioned people make sweeping statements that confinement is bad and organic is good and there is no in-between. We see people video record and narrate things that they don’t fully understand and fail to independently verify that information ourselves. We “like” and “share” things without doing our due diligence because we’re already on to the next thing. (Thank you, Annie, for a first hand account of this farm’s operation)
Which leads me to my statement that I feel best practice is to know your sources and buy directly from them. The third party system is failing us on the food front. Buying from a farmer or growing your food yourself is the only way to get exactly what you want in an informed fashion. And when we get our farm, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing.
Dear Lord: Your readers are really informed about a lot of things I know nothing about. I popped by because I haven;t been visiting your blog for a long time. (Just got busy) Anyways I learned a lot from this and I am astonished at the level of smarts everyone here has about farming practice. I had no idea that a mother pig was that big or that she could crush a baby pig that easily. It’s important to hear these things because it goes to show there’s more than one side to every story, or one reason for every practice.
thank you for writing such a good piece!
i was searching through google images and clicked on it because the only thing that showed up was the bolded FARROWING CRATES HOW COULD THEY line. and i was ready to start a commenting war if you were on that bandwagon of all animals are mistreated. but thank you for finding your proper info before posting.
Thank you so much Adalaine! Yes, there is a lot of mis information about pig farming. And as I read through these comments, I realized a lot of it is because people think with their hearts. We want the baby pigs to enjoy the warmth of the sunshine (but not the bitter cold of the winter LOL). These emotions of themselves are not wrong. But I am also glad I learned about the logical reasons for every single practice farmers use. And your words of encouragement reminded me why I wrote this post!
I raise pigs for a small project through ffa/4h and that kind of opens your eyes to what is actually happening. Because we had to care for the animals from mid pregnancy to the piglets being sold at fair. It was something I was surprised to stumble upon as I was scrolling through because most are pear kind of blogs and I was literally about to start a fight if it was a page like that. Im glad its not. Because you are helping to spread an awareness of the truth at pig factories. l
I can so identify with this post! The first trip I made to a pig farm I had a million questions! Wore that poor girl out! Glad you are thinking things through.
One of my questions is I really don’t want to raise my own bacon and I know a lot more folks like me. Is it reasonable for us to want all farmers to want to grow things the Wilbur way? Not many others in my career do things my way and that doesn’t mean it is wrong, just different.
Lots to think through…. PS SO JEALOUS you went to Fair Oaks. I have followed them FOREVER on Twitter!
I love that you went to go see for yourself how pigs are raised on a conventional farm. Not many people have that opportunity, or take that opportunity when it is presented.
I am an organic farmer, but our pigs are conventionally raised. Seems odd, right? When my husband and I transitioned from conventional farming to organic farming, we made the decision to continue to raise our pigs in barns for the comfort of the animals. We live in Minnesota, where winters like last year (polar vortex, anyone?) can cause frostbite and other health issues for the pigs. We also use the manure to fertilize our crops, making it a great recycling system!
I agree that all farmers, conventional or organic, care about the pigs in their care. I also am very thankful that we live in a country where we have the options to choose foods raised in ways we feel comfortable with.