I hope you all had a special Easter! Did any of you eat ham for Easter dinner? Today I’m hoping to get some discussion going on the topic of whether or not we should be eating pork…
- Hallee wrote a post last week about why they don’t eat any pork. It’s well-written and really makes you think. I’ll have to be DARN sure that I shouldn’t eat it before giving up my precious bacon and sausage. I commented there with my thoughts and I hope you will, too. (Where to buy safe & nutritious meat.)
- This week on my list is to start planning the family dinner we’ll have here after our daughter’s First Communion
in a few weeks. Are you planning any gatherings soon? If so, and if you’d like some help, read more about my new Real Food Party Planning Guide and how it can help you de-stress any type of entertaining you might have in the works. (Maybe a graduation open house? Kal has opted for the “buy out” instead of a party, so we’ll just do something small for family, but this guide could help in planning your big shindig if you also have a senior graduating soon. And if so, do you hyperventilate every time you think about it like I do?) - Also up tomorrow on the first Tuesday of the month: Share your Kitchen Goals for April! (And read how I bombed on all three of my March goals.)
- Shannon at Nourishing Days has got a fun series going called, What Real Food Bloggers Eat – scroll down at that link to see all the posts so far.
- Check out this great news about soda pop in schools! (Thanks for sending the link, Bob!) Have you tried making a good for you soda pop yet?
- Watch this moving video about the Nolan family dairy farm: From Grass to Cheese: “We enjoy good food and think that our neighbors and friends and the general public deserves to have good food also.” I hope you will help them reach their goal!
Coming up tomorrow: next in Kitchen Stewardship’s Clean Out the Junk series is Beth @ Fake Plastic Fish blogging about plastic food containers! Be sure to go there to link up with your post on this topic. 
Here’s the post I’ll be sharing, an oldie but a goodie that most of my new readers haven’t seen: 5 Plastics Safety Tips.- Look what was in the Huffington Post: The Nutritional Superiority of Pasture Raised Animals. “Grass-fed meat has 2-4 times more of the health-promoting omega-3 fatty acids than CAFO-raised (factory farmed) meat. Pasture-raised animals also produce 3-5 times greater amounts of another good fat called “conjugated lineolic acid (CLA), which Robinsons writes, “may be one of our most potent defenses against cancer.” Love it. Find pasture-raised meats on my resources page.
- As always, I’ll see you here in a couple days for Real Food Wednesday!
$40 worth of Safe Sexy Stainless Steel!
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
I *love* ham. My family is Swedish and pork is definitely a food with a long history in Scandinavian diets. I’ll have to read the link, but I cannot imagine Jul (Christmas) without all the ham and sausages. There is a local pig farmer who I wish would come back to the farmer’s market. The ham hocks alone are worth it.
My farmer replied yesterday with this good point: “Some of the oldest cultures in the world have survived on pork and they are very long lived, and healthy peoples, and many of these cultures were/are Christian.”
I completely agree. The Chinese have been eating pork for millennia. What is her source for the information about pigs, their metabolism and their diet? I do my best to avoid all factory farmed meat. Is there scientific data that show that pastured pork is inherently unhealthy compared to pastured beef? I’m not interested in spiritual arguments against it.
I believe in the wisdom of the Bible and the Levitical laws, but do not follow them strictly. I take them into serious consideration because I think God probably knows more about how things work than I do. So it doesn’t surprise me when science “discovers” wisdom that has been revealed in scripture.
For specific food issues, I weigh 1 Corinthians 10:22-31 against the Levitical laws, especially: “Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.’”
In Galatians 5 we are told “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” The slavery being discussed is to the law and the keeping of it. A few sentences later, Paul states “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
Are some pork products unsafe to eat? I’m sure they are, just as unsafe foods that fall within Levitcal law can be found. I choose the best, healthiest food I can to feed my family and myself. My Father has provided food for me, and it is not for me to argue with Him about what He has provided.
But I also honor Hallee and her husband’s judgment as appropriate for their home, because in Romans 14, we are told “As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.”
I just feel no leading to declare pork unclean in my own home at this time.
EEK!!! My first sentence should have read “I believe in the wisdom of the Bible revealed in the Levitical laws, but do not follow them strictly.” Sorry!!
In San Francisco I’ve had some close German friends, one of them a medical technician and one of them an MD, expert in skin & veins. Germans seem to know all about pork. Based simply on palpating skin texture, he (the MD) told her (the medical technician) not to eat any American pork again, ever. He said it simply is not the same quality as European pork & cannot be trusted. In case you’ve ever heard of Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle (1906) — the pork business has gotten only muckier since. Maybe there’s such a thing as free-range pork, I doubt I’d go for it anyway unless maybe I knew that farmer personally & even then … dunno. When I crave, I go for turkey bacon.
I grew up in a kosher house and never had pork until my college days. Even then I didn’t love it and felt guilty eating it. I am now married to a gentile and don’t keep kosher. Kelly, I have wondered the same thing about pork products since reading Sally Fallon. She didn’t say specifically not to eat pork, she just didn’t seem sure herself. I can get pork products at my local farm from pastured pigs and feel safe eating it. I don’t eat it often because I am not sure.
Yes, we did have ham yesterday at my in-laws house. I know it was factory farm ham, but what can you do? You don’t want to be rude and refuse to eat it!
I got a whole pastured pig last year. We love pork although pork from a pastured pig is tougher and doesn’t taste quite as good as conventional pork IMHO. None the less we love pork!
Know your farmer know your pork!
I don’t use much pork, or when I do, it’s local and pastured. I also visit the farm first. I’ve never been disappointed in the quality of the meat. I stay away completely from factory farmed meat.
I love pork, but my stomach doesn’t, even though I’m allowed to have it on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Bummer.
As someone with a corn allergy, I can tell you that conventional pork from a grocery store is not an option for us. Factory farmed pork is generally loaded with GMO corn additives (hidden or listed) and heavily dosed with antibacterials (GMO corn) and sometimes even injected with msg-type broth solutions made from GMO corn. That doesn’t even take into account all the GMO corn and soy that the pigs are fed. Further complicating the matter would be all the questionable GMO ingredients that are usually used when smoking or curing pork products like ham, bacon and sausage. I would feed my family pork only if I were able to find pastured pork from a farmer that I trust AND only if that pork was processed in a plant that I trust (the one that processes my pastured beef, for instance). Those are the requirements for acceptable pork products like roasts and chops and tenderloin. For cured or smoked pork products, this processor would also need to have a working knowledge of traditional curing of meat using only real food ingredients. Obviously, we haven’t eaten pork products for a long time and I don’t foresee any in our near future.
For Denise Therese, I would be willing to bet money that your stomach is rebelling at the hidden additives in the pork instead of the meat itself. GMO corn additives are hidden in many common foods like meat, produce, wheat, dairy, eggs, table salt, cereal grains, medicines and supplements. Anyone on the SCD diet would benefit from researching the hidden sources of GMO corn to ensure buying the cleanest staples possible.
Thanks. I’ll have to look into that.
We bought a pastured pig last year and will buy another one this year. I’m from the Midwest and have seen plenty of pig farming so when I visited the farm (a Joel Salatin-style farm in Oregon) and saw the pigs, I actually teared up. I had never seen happier hogs. They live their entire lives outdoors with a wooded area full of oak trees where they hunt for acorns. The farmer feeds his pigs fresh whey. And he uses heritage breed hogs which are heartier, healthier, and have the right portion of fat to muscle. Our pork was anything but tough. It was the best meat we’ve ever had. And I don’t worry about the horror stories of unclean pork with these animals. There are farmers in the US raising animals with intelligence, love, and compassion and that makes all the difference. I think hogs are like the canary in the coal mine in that they are very sensitive and when not raised right, they easily become diseased and toxic. However, when raised with care, they produce the most divine food.
As a side note to Hallee’s post, chickens will also eat unclean, diseased, rotting flesh; rodents; each other; and just about any scrap you give them. We humans have to take responsibility for our charges, giving them ample living space, sun, and appropriate food options. That’s our job.
Wondering if you have contact information from the farmer you purchased from? I’m searching for a farmer where I can get pastured, organic, soy free fed pork. I’m currenly buying from a farmer in Wisconsin that ships direct/ Good Earth Farms. They are pastured and certified organic; they are not soy free as yet. I will say their pork products are really good! They also offer chicken, turkey, lamb and beef–all pastured and certified organic.
http://www.abundantlifefarmoregon.com
He does a local buying club in the Salem, Eugene, and Portland areas but doesn’t ship. Joel Salatin teaches on farm sales and local buying clubs as the most sustainable and profitable for the farmer and discourages shipping your product. Most of his protoges follow that. If you are not in OR, you could google “Joel Salatin farming” or “grass farming” plus your area and see if you find a local farmer. That’s how we found ours.
Also, most Salatin-style farmers don’t get certified organic because it is too expensive for small operations plus other reasons. Salatin is pretty critical of organic certification in general.
Hope that helps!
I, too, eat pork. I’m not convinced. I just don’t think that the pork I plan to buy from a local farmer would be the same as the conventional pork. I’ve also heard so much about lard’s health properties, how it strongly helps cellular regeneration (read it on WAP site). I think that, sustainably raised, it is probably a good thing to eat. Otherwise, no, but factory farmed meat in general…. I also don’t think we’re bound by all the laws of the Old Testament, we studied this issue in Bible study a few years ago (then focusing on circumcision and animal sacrifice) and generally keeping Jesus’ commandments to follow Him and love others is more important than the old rituals and celebrations, like avoiding pork or practicing circumcision. We adhere to neither and we have considered them carefully.
pigs being scavengers doesnt sway me even slightly. chicens are also omnivorous and kind of dirty, i mean they literally lie bathing in dust. im actually jewish, ethnically anyways, and have zero qualms eating pork. i buy good, pastured pork that isnt cheap and it is delicious and nutritious in my humble opinion.
I think you are so repugnant , and self righteous about everything including the pork. Go ahead argue all you want, justify yourself and stuff yourself with pork. You are the one making the “right choices’ all the time.
We eat pastured, heritage pork from Sokolofsky Farms: http://www.socolofskyfarms.com/ourProductsPork.html
It is available at a new store in Denver that only carries local, pasture-raised meat. We do not eat factory-farmed pork at all or even pork sold at Whole Foods (which would not be pasture-raised). Cultures have survived healthily for millenia on pork as well as other meats. I think the only problem with pork is when it is factory-farmed and not pasture-raised, as nature intended. Another good source for pastured pork is Larga Vista Ranch: http://www.largavistaranch.com/pasture-raised-organic-pork.htm. We have not tried their pork yet but I do use their lard.
My, I am going to continue watching comments on this topic.
While Hallee’s post is thought-provoking, it didn’t convince me.
Remember, you came to real food based on the actual evidence.
1) The information she presents seems to be based on conventionally raised pork. I don’t eat conventionally raised meat – basically ALL of it is disgusting. I believe Sally Fallon even quoted a researcher who suspects a large amount of grocery store chicken is actually cancerous. Disgusting, sickening meat from conventionally raised sources isn’t special to pork.
Show me that properly raised pork is diseased and unhealthy.
2) She doesn’t quote sources for any of the facts presented. For example, parasites and organisms growing out of the meat, generally speaking, have been laid there by tiny insects. Disproving “spontaneous generation” is actually considered an important step in the development of the scientific method. Google “maggots from meat hypothesis”. I learned about this in high school! Just because eggs might get laid in pork first doesn’t mean pork is dirtier.
3) As others already pointed out, other animals eat gross things. Show me the numbers, show me the evidence that it is in the meat. Again, none of the data is sourced at all.
4) Kelly, as a Catholic you know that those New Testament passages do not concern the eating of pork and that the Old Law has passed away.
5) The biblical reasoning is similar to what some vegetarians use. Since Adam and Eve did not eat meat in the Garden of Eden, we can eat as we were designed to and be healthier, live longer, and outsmart the God who commanded us to eat meat after the exile. . .
Just my thoughts!
We no longer eat pork. I went for months without eating it, and when I did, boy was I sorry! Major gastro-intestinal issues! I was very sick. My husband has experienced this as well, as others in my extended family. So no pork for us… pastured or otherwise. Whether it has been proven “clean” or “unclean”, why take the risk when there are perfectly acceptable substitutes?
Now that I think of it, my immunologist mentioned back in the 1980s years ago that all traditional pork-eating populations (Russian & Chinese in particular) suffer from inherited liver flukes due to eating pork. (I’m sure he’d have said “epigenetically” had the word been current at the time). I doubt that Asian pork was reared over millennia under the inferior standards of the US meat/pork industry. Today as well, Chinese MDs will recommend pork liver to invalids; I’m sure it has some merit; I just don’t want any.
My husband began raising hogs a few years ago. We were desiring to provide a portion of our own meat. I can’t find any support for the statements on that site you posted. I have corresponded with a guy who has raised pigs longer than my family, he says she lying or just passing on lies. In the GAPS book, it does discuss pork more openly than WAPF material, in a very positive way. I have made some very tasty broth with my pork bones. We eat a variety of cuts prepared a variety of ways. I know what my pigs eat and how they are processed. We should all be careful to compare apples to apples. I also believe we should leave some wiggle room for others as we all are traveling down the road trying to “do better”, to make allowances for where we stepped in to this way of thinking. It’s difficult to make some of these dietary changes, cook this way, and try to draw our spouses and children happily along. I believe science can be a great support for biblical truths. Science is always telling us “new” things and revealing spectacular “evidence” while scripture is always the same. All the half truths and even well meant sharing of information can at times be damaging. We must be finding reliable sources for our information, especially if it is to be a basis for buying and preparing our food. Kelly, I appreciate you efforts in this area and your humbleness in asking others. My family will continue to give thanks for the meat, milk, and veggies made available to us.