A victory for pigs...and humanity

I grew up in Iowa as the granddaughter of a farmer who planted corn and soybeans and raised cows and hogs. I remember visiting my grandfather's farm, just a mile or so from our house, and climbing up on the wooden fence that corraled the big hogs. They were a little scary for a child -- huge, covered in mud, and loud. I stayed on the other side of the fence. But I liked watching them roll in the mud and nudge each other with their big snouts.

In the 30 or so years since then, farming has changed drastically. The small, independent farmer like my grandpa are relics of the past. Farming has turned industrial -- huge hog lots dot the prairies -- and hogs are treated like products, not sentient beings created by God. Thousands of hogs are raised in big warehouse-like structures with no mud in which to roll around, and most of them never see the light of day before they're trucked off to the slaugherhouse. The sows have it the worst -- they're kept in "gestation crates" that are so small the animals can't even turn around. They're impregnated, give birth, and then impregnated again. They endure this cycle until they're no longer useful, then they're slaughtered. When I learned more about the meat industry 7 years ago, I decided to become a vegetarian.

A few years ago I interviewed a writer named Matthew Scully who wrote a book titled "Dominion: The power of man, the suffering of animals, and a call to mercy". The Q&A was published in Christianity Today magazine. After reading the book and interviewing Matthew, I learned even more about animal rights and our responsibility as Christians to protect animals.

Just a few weeks ago I read on the Humane Society's website that there's been a huge victory for pigs. Smithfield Foods, one of the biggest corporations in the meat industry, has agreed to phase out gestation crates at their "farms." I'm surprised this hasn't been covered in the press. Here's a quote from the article on the website:

"This is an earthquake in the pig industry," Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS, said. "Gestation crates are one of the most inhumane confinement systems used in modern agribusiness, and this decision is a signal by the industry leader that these crates have no place in the future of American agriculture. The HSUS calls on the other major pig producers to follow Smithfield's lead, and rid the industry of this extraordinarily inhumane confinement system."

Following Smithfield's lead, the largest pork producer in Canada has also agreed to phase out gestation crates by 2010.

This is a victory for pigs, and for humanity. I still won't be eating pork, but I'm encouraged...