On Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:08:25 -0700, Tom Bri <[log in to unmask]> wrote:


> Hi Lynne. I grew up on a confinement hog farm. Funny thing, the sows were
> allowed a large pasture to roam in but as the time to give birth drew  
> near they were put into confinement. It was hard to get the young sows  
> into the confinement barn the first time. But the older sows, which had  
> been in
> before, would run right in. I think they liked the confinement barn, they
> didn't have to compete for food, it was warm.
I think the profit motive has changed the confinement hog rearing since  
your
family practiced it.  It makes sense that as the time of birth approached,  
the sows would seek shelter a sheltered spot.  In today's larger  
operations the sows never see the light of day, being treated as a machine  
for producing piglets.

Perhaps your family still treats them as animals deserving of respect (or
perhaps they've retired from the business).

> Don't know about that, but the US imported the idea of confinement pigs  
> from Europe, Denmark or Holland, if I recall correctly.
Sweden passed laws (maybe 15 years ago?) that farm animals have to be  
allowed fresh air and sunshine, the company of their own kind, and their  
proper food.  This includes chickens. After the changes took effect, the  
incidence of salmonella and other infectious agents in the meat and eggs  
dropped to almost nothing.

In the U.S. the USDA is talking about secretly treating all the commercial  
meat with radiation (secretly because people would not want to eat  
irradiated meat).
In the present CAFO setup, they cannot prevent contamination of meat.
They will use the code word "pasteurized" (if anything) because it has a
good connotion, unlike "irradiated".

Thanks for not blasting me on this topic.  There are a lot of hot tempers  
on this issue, but I do think it is especially an issue for paleo eaters,  
since we eat considerably more meat, poultry and eggs than most people.

	Lynnet