Life of a Pig

In an effort to reconnect with the origins of our food, Tamar Murphy, chef at the Seattle restaurant Brasa, shadowed the life of a group of pigs from their birth on Whistling Train Farm, a small, sustainable operation in Kent, Washington, to their processing at her restaurant. All the while she maintained a wonderfully detailed, personal account about her experiences, titled “Life of a Pig”.

In the end, four pigs supplied enough food for 130 people at Brasa’s Celebration of Life of a Pig. These pigs, which were Berkshire/Duroc crosses, provided meat that was drastically different from that of factory farmed pigs. As Tamar writes, “there was absolutely no comparison. My conclusion was that pigs that get to run around develop muscle (meat) in all the right places. Factory farmed pigs get fat in the belly, just like us. Muscle weighs more than fat, just like in us. These pigs were all muscle, which meant all meat.”

Please note that, as Tamar mentions on her website, this blog may make some people uncomfortable as it includes photos and descriptions of butchered pigs. That being said, shouldn’t people who choose to eat meat (myself included) be aware of and comfortable with the realities of its preparation? If not, how can we rationalize eating it?

Here’s an excerpt from the blog:

“Less than half of a generation ago, many more of us “knew our food” and perhaps a new purpose for me, is to teach or at least inspire a NEW way to remember what food is about and WHERE it comes from. When we reach into the uncomfortable areas of food, we can find information about ourselves and what we as eaters, chefs, and cooks are about and what we and the animals are capable of.”