More Than Just a Pig

Our most recent adventure has been raising pigs.  As a young girl, I had always dreamed of having “a farm” because I have always had a strong love of animals and being around them; a dog, cat, cow, goose or bird, had always given me great joy. Somehow, though, I had never really understood about farming.  That a farmer raises food, not pets.  That it is a humbling, emotional journey,  a life changing experience.

When we moved into our house we knew that the acreage and the fields gave us a unique opportunity to have and care for animals that many other people are unable to have.  But, I was  hard to convince that we should keep any kind of livestock.  Not because I didn’t want the animals or the work, but because their purpose would be to feed our family.  I am an animal lover, and although I am not a vegetarian, I had never been comfortable with killing.

During the quick, whirlwind romance that led up to out marriage, I somehow missed the detail that my husband liked to hunt.  Deer, turkey and other birds.  So the first deer season that arrived, when things had slowed a bit, and he announced that he was going hunting I was disarmed, and disappointed.  My father had never hunted and it wasn’t something I had ever been exposed to or experienced.  And I just didn’t understand it.

Yes, I understood that the population of deer in this area was too large for the food sources.  Yes, I understood that he would eat the meat and it would be used to nourish us.  I didn’t understand that it is probably one of the healthiest meats you can get, because it is not raised with hormones and antibiotics.  That it lives a life that it is meant to live; free, happy and sanitary, not confined to an area that is far too small and overcrowded, where it must live in its own waste.

Most importantly, I could not understand how my new husband could kill.  This is a beautiful, living, breathing being.  How could he raise a gun and pull the trigger?  Who was this man I married?

As the years went by, I gradually came to terms with my husband’s hunting, thankfully he was not an avid hunter and due to work and home life, he went infrequently.   As we began to settle in as a family and in our home, the potential of farming kept returning to our conversations.  He was all for it, I against eating anything we raised.

Then something in me changed.  I started hearing about the danger of chemicals, hormones and antibiotics in our food.  I started researching organic and non -GMO benefits.  I started opening my eyes to the horrific ways the farming industry raises and treats their livestock; the same meats we buy, wrapped in cellophane in all our supermarkets.  I started spending more on locally grown meats and vegetables, and became a responsible consumer.

Again, the conversation about raising our own livestock returned.  This time, I was more open-minded.  I started looking into it, I bought a few books and poured over the information.  We started to build a shelter and fenced in an area.  We decided to buy piglets.  I felt in my heart that this was something I needed to do.  It felt right logically, we had the space and the means to raise our own.  It felt right financially, an initial investment would feed us for a year.  It felt right for the animal, I knew I would love and care for these pigs, treat them with respect and dignity, give them a clean and healthy place to live and good nutritious food.  I had no idea how I would be able to I do it emotionally.

I knew I would never be able to “not fall in love” with these piglets.  How do you not fall in love with a baby anything?? How do you not love something that you care for and interact with everyday for six months? I went into this adventure not knowing how I would feel, yet somehow knowing it was right.  And how would I ever know if I didn’t try?  Maybe we would only do it once, but at least I could say that I gave it a shot.  That I know what goes into it.

And so we raised our first six pigs last winter.  I loved every one of them!  Pigs are an amazing animal.  Intelligent like a dog, they come when I call them, love to be scratched and talked to and they LOVE their bellies rubbed!  People often comment when they hear me talk so lovingly about my pigs.  They will say that they don’t know how I could do it or that they could never do it.  Or some say that they don’t even want to know where their meat comes from.

happy pig! and pig farmer!

And I respond by saying that it s NOT easy for me.  That first set of pigs, I would go out everyday and love them up…and silently cry to myself.  I knew from the start what their end would be.  I also knew that I was giving them the best life a pig can have.  Some will argue that a pig should be free or should not be food. I will tell you what my husband told me.  Pigs are not pets.  They are not raised to be pets.  They cannot live in the wild.  This is an animal that matures to be 600-900lbs.  That is not a pet.

When the time came for our pigs to leave, I cried.  I had loved these animals.  I had cared for them and enjoyed their company, and they enjoyed mine.  My son also cried, and stated that this was wrong.  I responded to him by telling him that it was not wrong.  That we have made a choice to eat meat, and we are doing it responsibly.  We loved and cared for these animals in a way that they would not have received elsewhere.  That we knew they had a good life, a healthy, happy life.  That it was harder for us than it was for them, because we knew what was happening and they did not.  And that we would respect the gifts they gave us more than others who are disconnected from where their food comes from.  That we wouldn’t waste the food that these pigs gave us, and we would be humbled and thankful for their sacrifice.

So here we are, a second set of pigs approaching market weight.  It is still not easy for me, it never will be and it shouldn’t be.  This is a life, not to be taken lightly or without emotion or reflection.  I love these pigs.  They bring me great joy.  They nourish me and keep my family healthy.  They have taught me so much about myself.  They are so much more than an animal, a pig, or food.  They are a life lesson, an adventure, a humbling experience.  They are the circle of life, with love and care and respect.  The way all our food should be.