This morning’s random object was a pig, which carries a bit of family history for me.
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My grandfather was a hog farmer and my parents used to go on dates hauling hogs for him. He would give my dad $5 and they would take pigs to the Oklahoma City stockyards, then sneak off for a hamburger and a movie. My dad would then try to give my grandpa back the change. Pigs were part of their love story. But like the saying goes, “What happens in the pig pen, stays in the pig pen.”
On the bigger picture, pigs have been around for about 20 million years, with the Suidae family splitting off from other mammals in Eurasia. Domestication happened roughly 10,000 years ago, and what makes pigs unusual is that domestication happened twice independently, once in the Near East and once in China. The Near East had a drier climate, where pigs competed for scarce resources, so cultural and religious traditions grew against pork. In China, with its woodlands and wet soils, pigs thrived.
Explorers and settlers spread pigs worldwide. The Spanish brought them to the Americas, where both domestic pigs and wild boars took root. In Texas today, feral pigs are a major problem. They run in big groups called sounders and can destroy entire fields overnight. Unlike their wild boar cousins, these are escaped domestic pigs gone rogue—alley pigs, if you will. Texas has open hunting on them, from rifles to helicopters, because the population is so destructive.
Pigs are smart, with the intelligence of about a three-year-old child. They are not self-aware though, failing mirror tests, which for me makes the ethics of eating pork a little easier.
Health concerns around pork go back centuries because pigs were once fed anything, even waste, and could spread disease. Today, pork can be safe and nutritious when cooked thoroughly, providing protein and B vitamins. Globally, people consume around 113 million metric tons of pork a year, and in the U.S. the average person eats about 66 pounds.
So pigs bring family memories, ancient history, modern headaches, and a whole lot of bacon to the table.
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Also, if you or a teacher friend are in need of a 20-30 minute lesson on the domestication and consumption of Pigs, feel free to download and share this lesson plan:
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