This part of the nation has long been a hub for pork. The world’s largest producer, Smithfield, is based in the Commonwealth, and there are as many pigs as people in North Carolina.
In fact, you can trace the history of ham and bacon back to the 1600’s, when settlers arrived from England, but raising pigs in the 21st century is a whole new game.
When Americans think about pig farming, they might think fondly of the children’s classic Charlotte’s web - a tale told on film by the beloved animator Hannah Barbera.
“What did you say? Oh everybody knows it. In the fall you’ll be turned into smoked bacon and ham. Just as soon as cold weather sets in, they’ll kill you! I don’t want to die. I want to stay here in my warm manure pile and breathe the beautiful air!”
But today’s pig is even more miserable than Wilbur according to animal rights activists like Paul Shapiro at the Humane Society of the United States. He points to stalls or crates about 14 square feet where pregnant pigs are kept.
“When the pork industry locks pigs inside of these crates, the animals go insane. They stand or lay in the same position 24 hours a day on hard concrete. Many of them bite the bars of their cages in front of them maniacally until finally they just give up.”
You can hear baby pigs nibbling the metal at Virginia Tech’s Animal Science Research Center in Suffolk, but Professor Mark Estienne doubts they’re going crazy. He’s studied this behavior and says it’s just something swine do.
“The amount of bar biting in our study was similar between the pigs in the pen versus those in the crates," he says.
We asked if free range pigs would also bite on things. Estienne replied that they would.
He says keeping pigs in close quarters prevents them from hurting each other. Mother pigs, for example, are known to roll onto their newborns - crushing the babies. Keeping them in a separate crate protects the piglets, and having their own space ensures sows get equal amounts of food. Estienne says some hogs go hungry when kept in one large pen.
“There’s going to be at least one or two what we call 'boss sows' that are going to monopolize the feed resources," he explains.
Still public pressure has prompted the world’s largest pork producer -- Smithfield Foods -- to move away from crates. Eighty-two percent of animals on company-owned farms live in pens, and Smithfield’s contract producers are supposed to make the switch by 2022.
Critics of the industry also point to the treatment of baby pigs. Their tails are usually snipped off soon after birth to prevent infections that can occur when other pigs bite them, and mega farms routinely remove the testicles of males -- both procedures done without anesthesia. Again, the Humane Society’s Paul Shapiro.
“If a veterinarian were to neuter a dog without pain relief, that vet would probably lose their license, probably face criminal animal cruelty charges, but when the pork industry does it to pigs, it’s perfectly legal.”
At Smithfield. Chief Sustainability Officer Stewart Leeth claims cutting off pig tails and testicles doesn’t really hurt the animals, and their squealing is actually a response to being picked up. Professor Estienne thinks the animals do feel pain, but as he gently cradles a piglet, it seems Leeth might have a point. These creatures really hate to be held.
(pig squeals)
Today’s breeding sows spend most of their lives -- usually two to four years -- pregnant or nursing. Other pigs are slaughtered after about six months, and regardless of gender, the animals spend no time outside.
Their close quarters put pigs at increased risk for epidemics, prompting farmers to feed them antibiotics to prevent illness. In out next report, we’ll look at that and other health-related concerns.
