Opinion Editorial

A Better Sort of Pig

July 19, 2011

Publication: The New York Times

Author: Mark Bittman

In May, I went to Iowa, primarily to learn more about so-called conventional agriculture, those thousand-acre farms growing corn and soybeans, planted, tended and harvested largely by machine. (We have plenty of the other type -- what's variously called traditional, or alternative, or non-conventional -- in the Northeast.) But thanks to an auspicious combination of topsoil, climate, topography and weather, Iowa is among the best locales for farming in North America, and I saw a wide range of practices.

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To me, the biggest issue is not whether pigs are raised organically or "naturally"; it's whether they're raised well. The prophylactic antibiotics and containment that have become routine practice threaten the health and welfare of both pigs and humans; the system also produces pork that doesn't make very good eating.

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Read the full article A Better Sort of Pig on The New York Times Web site.