Q: We know the pigs have a great life on your farm, but how are they killed?
A: Firstly we cart all of our own stock in our own truck so that we know they are handled with care as they are loaded, driven to the abattoir, and unloaded from the truck. We also make sure that we pen our pigs up at the abattoir ourselves. The pigs are kept in their own group which keeps them calm. The abattoir that we now use has a CO2 chamber which is the most humane way that I have ever seen a pig killed. They are taken up to the chamber in a group of 2 or 3 so that they are with their companions, then the chamber is lowered into an area flooded with CO2 gas. They simply fall asleep, and while they are unconcsious they are killed. Usually when you go to a working pig abattoir there is a lot of noise, this one is very quiet and much more calm.
Q: Why do you grow Berkshire Pigs?
A: When we first started to research growing pigs outside we realised the importance of having a pig with pigment in their skin. The white pig breeds were bred specifically for a mainly indoor life and can burn quite easily, which can lead to skin cancers in older pigs. We had also read that the Berkshires were especially good mothers and that they were also good grazers and foragers which we knew we needed in our pigs, if they were to have a happy and healthy life. Some other really interesting information that we found out was that the fat from the Berkshire Pig is naturally higher in the Essential Omega Fatty Acids, and as they are outdoors in the sun, they store high amounts of Vitamin D in their fat. (Vitamin D is a potent Immune Booster). It was a bonus to us when we found out just how good the flavour of the pork is and how juicey and tender it is.
Q: I can see that you obviously love your pigs… how can you bring yourself to eat them?
A: This question used to come up a lot at the Farmers Markets that we attended. It’s not a simple question, and I can’t give a simple answer. I guess it comes from the fact that when I was little, even though I grew up in a town, we always raised much of our own food, both vegetable and animal. My Mother was a great believer in organic and Biodynmic Principles and Permaculture was a way of life in our backyard. We had 2 goats for milking (one of my sisters was allergic to pastuerised cow milk), Chooks and Ducks for Eggs and Meat, and Vegies Patches in every usable corner of the house block (which the ducks and chooks got access to). So from the vey beginning I knew where my food came from, and… vitally important, I knew how it was raised and cared for. The chop day (Goodbye meat chooks) was a family affair, but not at all macabre. I had often raised some of these animals from day 1, but I knew they were not pets, I knew they were there to be cared for and tended, so they could end up as the best possible food for our growing bodies. So I do believe that it is vitally important to understand the life of the food that you eat, know how and where it was produced, because when we turn our heads away and shut our eyes to those things, we have food grown that is just a commodity and not real nourishment. This is not only true in the case of animals, but with the cereals, fruit and vegetables that we eat as well.
