Smithfield, The Best Neighbor One Could Have.

A friend and colleague sent me a link to a series of videos that explain how Smithfield pork operates.  The videos are designed to take the “mystery” out of pork production and put on a happy face.  Murphy Brown a subsidiary of Smithfield is the star of the videos and their motto is “Our Families Feed Your Families”.

Of course this is being written from a cynical point of view, which I readily admit, but really now, after watching I had to say “are you serious”.   

The first thing that grabbed me was the sterile cleanliness of the hog houses that were shown.  One would think that the hogs never urinate or defecate or that when they lie down to rest on the pristine slated boards that they never lay in their own waste.  If this were true, I might even consider raising hogs for Smithfield because it looks like it’s the cleanest job out there besides working in a hospital operating room.  The last time that I was in an industrial hog house I had to run from it seeking outside fresh air before I lost my lunch. 

There appears to be a whole lot of love going around for the hogs that are raised and claims of each hog being treated as an “individual” makes one feel all warm and fuzzy.  A question comes to mind about that scenario.  How in the world can anyone treat tens-of-thousands of hogs individually?  Watching the videos, it was impossible remembering which hog was which.   I even tried choosing one hog, naming it, and following it in the hog house.  That was a futile effort.

Smithfield is all about making money and they should start a contest for viewers called “Name That Hog” and give a prize to the viewer who can follow their individual hog around in the video for the longest length of time.  Participants will surely buy more Smithfield products and that equals $$$$.

‘Dr, Temple Grandin, a world renowned animal handler speaks several times in the video’s and is used to enforce the thought that what she has outlined for Murphy Brown for best animal welfare practices is the way it all works.  Dr. Grandin ‘s ideas about animal welfare are exceptionally good and her intentions for Murphy Brown to adhere to her recommendations are sincere.  Her beliefs about animal welfare are summed up nicely by a quote from her “we’ve got to give those animals a decent life.  We owe the animal respect”.  I say “Amen”. 

Wouldn’t it be great if that were the way it all worked.  One farmer in the videos says that he’s never talked to a pig referring to the debate as to whether hogs are happier outdoors or are raised in total confinement.  One can normally discern a pig’s happiness by paying attention to the body language of the animal and its behavior.  Looking into the eyes of the hogs featured in the video shows a dead pan look coming back at you.  Does one really believe that hogs crammed into confined spaces that do nothing but eat, drink, and sleep are happy pigs?  Personally I like a pig with an attitude especially the little ones who like to run, jump, and play, and wag their funny little tails.

We can’t forget about the environmental impact of industrial hog production.  No way does Smithfield aka Murphy Brown have anything to do with all of that nonsense.  They are state of the art and the environment is very important to them.  Lovely pictures of wind turbines in the distance underscore Smithfield’s interests in water and energy environmental protection.  An even lovelier picture of the giant spray irrigation gun launching hog manure over fields planted with crops depicts their commitment.  What really caught my eye was the picture of a huge waste capture tank on one of the “farms”.  It reminded me of the huge tanks one sees at an oil storage facility where the giant tankers unload.

I know people who have experienced the spray irrigation gun approach and they say that the smell is so bad that they can’t open their windows or enjoy their outside decks, patios, or swimming pools because the stench from the hog manure is overwhelming.

Past disasters in North Carolina are indicative of what environmental impacts there are from industrial hog production.  Or better yet, let’s ask neighbors of the factory hog facilities all around the country what they think and feel about the subject.

Antibiotic abuse in animal production is not something that Smithfield should be linked to.  They use a holistic approach.  They only add antibiotics to all of their feed for the hogs for disease treatment, prevention, and control  Never are antibiotics used as growth promoters in their hogs. 

Some might argue about that declaration.  Doesn’t a continual diet of antibiotics for disease prevention equate to promoting growth because the animals aren’t wasting precious energy and calories fighting off disease?  If the hog isn’t wasting energy and calories isn’t it converting to meat faster? 

Another question one might raise about all of the antibiotics that are used for Smithfield hogs is the serious problem that we humans have associated with antibiotic resistance.  Animals are also experiencing the same problems and it is associated with the overuse of antibiotics in animal feeds.  The general understanding about this part of the mystery of industrial pork production (or any other species of animals) is that the overuse or over-feeding of antibiotics has created some mean bacteria resistant to treatment by antibiotics.  MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ) comes to mind and I wonder if Smithfield has thought about this. 

There’s a lot of information out there on the subject of antibiotic resistance and public health, both scientific research facts and organizational positions.  Here are good places to start.

The Agriculture and Public Health Gateway
Center For A Livable Future
Keep Antibiotics Working

Eating Smithfield pork is in the videos and of course they want to promote their products.  I didn’t hear one person who gave testimonial tribute to the pork say one negative thing about eating it.  That is suspect and worthy of some thought.  Pictures of uniformly shaped pork chops on the grill caught my eye.  They reminded me of the paper doll cutouts that kids make from cardboard.  I’ve heard some people say that the pork tastes like cardboard too.  If we eat Smithfield pork we are all getting the same exact thing with no variance in portion or taste.  Smithfield prides itself for accomplishing this feat however I wonder if cardboard cutouts are really that great.

“There’s a lot more to it (hog production) than you might think” the video’s shout out to the viewer.  This is the one thing that I agree with.  After watching through Smithfield’s eyes all that is involved in industrialized confined hog production I say there is a whole lot more to it than one might think.  I wonder if Smithfield will enlighten us to the whole lot more than what we think.    

If you would like to become enlightened through Smithfield’s aka Murphy Brown’s eyes about indistrialized hog production, take a peek. Murphy Brown

A Declaration of Food Sovereignty

Located between Belfast and Bar Harbor, Sedgwick, Maine has declared war on those who would regulate what its citizens can or cannot eat. In a historical proclamation, citizens of the small town unanimously voted to adopt the “Local Food and Community Self Governance Ordinance”.

In the Preamble it states that “We the People…. [of Sedgwick Maine] have the right to produce, process, sell, purchase and consume local foods thus promoting self-reliance, the preservation of family farms, and local food traditions”. It goes on to say that the town has “faith in its citizens of their ability to educate themselves and make informed decisions”.

Imagine that! This small town with a population of about 1,025 people has taken a stand and said to the entire Country that they will decide for their selves what they will eat and in what manner they will make those choices.

Sedgwick tells federal and state government that its regulations on food production, processing, selling, and consuming impedes local food production and constitutes a usurpation of the towns citizens’ right to foods of their choice.

The ordinance aims to preserve the local way of life and promote family farms and sustainable agriculture practices. It even goes so far to name in the declaration “NON CORPORATE ENTITES” as not being part of their local food production. In other words, they want their food to come from local sources which are not produced by corporate agribusiness and at the same time enhance the economic stability and wealth of their community.

Sounds reasonable enough! The town is keeping its food dollars local which in turn food dollars earned are food dollars spent local. This is what the “eat local” movement embodies. And, it tells the regulators that no one has the right to restrict the peoples’ choice in the matter.

Sedgwick has respect for its people and allows them the freedom of choice of food. The ordinance will allow for farmers and consumers to strike their own bargain over food and decide privately about liability of production and consumption.

If a neighboring farm is producing meat or poultry the farmer can slaughter, process, and sell to their neighbors without the encumbering federal and state regulations that hamper local and sustainable food production. If desired, purchasing of raw milk fresh from the farm is allowed. Products made in home kitchens are exempt from federal and state licensing and inspection.

The Ordinance bodes well for small town and rural America and will encourage growth in local food production. It’s a win, win situation for all concerned and it goes a long way in saying that we can create community spirit without interference from those who would like to keep small farmers out of food production.

Is this legal? The Ordinance was adopted on March 5, 2011 and so far there have been no rumblings about challenges to it. However, we should expect to see government minions for corporate agribusiness to try to find some legal recourse because if the Ordinance is allowed to stand we could see the same thing happening across the country in small town America. In fact, the same ordinance is coming up for a vote in three other towns in Maine – Penobscot, Brooksville, and Blue Hill.

A movement is underway and Sedgwick, Maine is possibly the first town in history to declare its independence from the rest of the country’s industrialized food production. In passing the ordinance, the citizens have overwhelmingly said NO to corporate agribusiness’ dominance over their food.

It takes a village …. But a small town in Maine has taken a stand on its fundamental rights inherent under our constitution to choose its own food. Will more follow?