All About Pork: Part 1

Pork is the biggie. If we had to pick one food that would be the most important to buy pasture-raised, it would be pork. Over the next week, we’re going to send out three emails with reputable sources to explain why this is.

There is a series at TheWhole9 (focusing on long term sustainable health and food, created by the same folks as the popular Whole30 diet) called The Conscientious Omnivore. This is a great name, as the choice to eat meat, and what kind of meat, can be so complex and personal. They write, “You are what you eat, quite literally, and we believe the health of the animals you eat impacts your own health in a far more direct manner than, say, the quality of your vegetables or fruits.” Amen!

The Conscientious Omnivore: Pork explains the state of conventional pork farming today. Confinement pork operations with their high antibiotic use and waste disposal issues have far reaching negative effects. This is not just about your personal health, and not just about animal welfare, but also the bigger picture of what pork factory farming does to the environment, human health, and society.

After delving into the serious issues, they suggest several practical steps to being a “conscientious omnivore” in regards to pork, which we wholeheartedly agree with - know your farmer and buy pasture-raised are top of the list!