It was national news yesterday when the Humane Society of the United States released video of alleged abuses at Oklahoma farms run by two of the country's largest pork producers: Prestage Farms and Seaboard Foods (which is based out of Merriam, Kansas). The Humane Society staged operations wherein the video was shot covertly by employees near the end of 2011. Seaboard President Terry Holton released a statement on Seaboard's website that disputed any allegations of abuse and noted the company's commitment to the "proper and humane treatment of animals."
The pigs, not the bacon, are in the news right now, but the news cycle will move on at some point. But while we're here — how often do you think about the pig that became your pork?
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about as often as I think of the cow when I eat a steak......never!
I think about the pig as Homer Simpson does: a wonderful, magical animal.
This represents a conscious shift in the way we began shopping and eating over the last few years. We definitely can’t afford to live the stereotypical Granola Yuppie dream of jargon-y cutting edge social responsibility...yet...BUT HERE’S HOPING! It takes real work and thought, we’re not totally there yet, but our goal is to eat smaller quantities of higher quality meats so that we can avoid the factory farmed stuff. We get the majority of our supply from Paradise Locker Meats, and honestly, most of their stuff is not going to break the bank...I always say it’s kind of like buying non-sale priced meat at a regular grocery store. The quality and selection are stellar, they know their suppliers and can speak knowledgeably about all of their meat, and the customer service is fantastic…they love what they do and they are good at it. As far as pork, we’re pretty close to 100% Heritage Breed/local, etc., at our house, 80% for our beef intake, and those friggin’ megamart sales have us under 50% for our poultry...which is ugliest of the ugly when it comes to factory farming.
All of the Food, Inc., Fast Food Nation hubbub aside…try some Berkshire or Duroc pork, or locally cured bacon using good breeds, and you’ll see what pork is SUPPOSED to taste like. Pork was never, ever meant to be the "other white meat". The same holds true for cheaper cuts of higher quality beef. You can actually fare better price and flavorwise with some high grade Vintage Breed flatiron vs. any of the filet you’ll get at HyVee.
What started as kind of a pain for us became a lot of fun…getting to know the local butchers who work with the local farmers, who sell their stuff to our favorite chefs, our chefs who get their produce from OTHER local farmers who end up knowing your butchers, and the cheeeese people, etc. etc.…being introduced to all of these folks out of an initial curiosity and over time being able to count them as real friends. Yeah, I’m rambling, that’s my schtick. We have an awesome food community. So suck it.
Oh, the prior mention of 715...we’re newer diners there love that place. I just finished a pretty decent love letter to them yesterday, they do some amazing nose to tail cooking. Not wasting things happens to be delicious.
Every time I eat at 715 in Lawrence. Best pork in the area, and they use the whole pig.
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