My daughter just watched Charolette’s Web the other day, which is one of her favorite movies.
In case you have not seen the movie from a couple of years ago, it is a beautifully done film that successfully portrays the idyllic image of a traditional, old-fashioned family farm. This imagery adds unbelievable appeal to the film and the classic children’s story. You just can’t help yearning for the simple, picturesque, perfect world portrayed on that small farm with a quaint red barn holding a few sheep, a couple of horses, a cow, geese and one famous pig. Oh yeah, and the animals talk, too.
As much as we want to believe there was such a perfect place, that idyllic farm was not really that idyllic. This film (and so many other traditional farm portrayals) neglects the harsh realities of life on a farm of yesteryear when food safety, environmental stewardship and food quality were vastly inferior to what we have today. It was not that the fine folks who farmed back then did not care about these things or work hard to improve them, they just did not know any better. Farmers know better now.
One example is in the quality of pork products that reach consumers in the grocery store. Bacon, pork chops, pork tenderloin and ham are all superior products to their counterparts from just a few decades ago. In fact, pork has gone from being notoriously fatty to among the leanest cuts of meat available. According to the USDA, in 2006, six common cuts of pork had on average 16 percent less fat and 27 percent less saturated fat than just 15 years earlier.
“Our hogs today are much leaner without as much external fat,” said Jeff Karshner, Senior Regional Manager for the Advanced Hog Marketing program for United Producers. Inc., that connects producers with meat packers. “It used to be that a hog carried an inch to an inch and a half of back fat. Today we’re at .5-inch or .8–inch back fat. That affects the loin, the chops and all of the cuts. The percent lean is really good today compared to the old hogs. That means we have leaner, better tasting products for the consumer. It is healthier for the consumers too.”
There are many factors that have gone into these improvements.
“Hogs are not raised outside but in controlled environments in newer barns so they do not have to fight the elements,” Karshner said. “And, now we really fine-tune what we feed the hogs to keep the meat lean and trim and get the best gains. Genetics has also been a big factor. The genetics have really improved to make the hogs leaner and more efficient at converting feed to meat. We can also wean more pigs per sow per year than what we could 50 years ago.”
The end result is a better, more abundant product in the grocery store.
“Hogs today are a lot bigger framed with a lot more muscle and more meat. Thirty-five years ago the top weight for a hog was 210 or 220 pounds; today the top weight is 260 to 280,” Karshner said. “Consumers are getting a leaner product with better meat quality. We have to feed a lot of people, so the more pounds of meat we can produce in a hog, the more people we can feed.”
The technology, controlled environment, cleanliness and care of today’s hogs also greatly enhance food safety.
“The food safety is really important. Everyone in agriculture is working to provide a safe food supply, and the food is a lot safer now than it has been in the past,” Karshner said. “Overall it is a healthier, safer, better cut of meat for everybody. For us, food safety starts when the pig is born.”
Like everyone else, when I see that pretty red barn and beautiful farm in Charolette’s Web, I find myself wishing for that simpler, easier time when the pastures were always green, there were no unpleasant odors and the animals talked to each other. But as a person who enjoys high quality, safe, and delicious food, I am much more fond of today’s food system than the quaint red barns of yesteryear.
After all, farmers know better now, and consumers should too.