My fellow Americans,
We have done a great disservice to the pork industry (and the meat industry in general). You see, farmers listen to consumers, and adapt their production methods accordingly- just as any good company listens to its customers. A number of years ago a study was published regarding the effects of dietary fat (aka fat that you eat in your food) on heart health. This caused the nation to go into a frenzy over eliminating fats from our diet. The demand for “lean meats” became pervasive and farmers began to breed for leaner and leaner animals. As consumers continued to demand lean meat for decades, the animals got even leaner and the National Pork Board launched its “Pork, the other white meat” campaign. The days of a beautifully marbled (the intramuscular fat that gives meat flavor) bright red pork chop from the grocery store were gone and consumers were left to figure out how to make that plain, pale, completely fatless pork chop they wanted so badly taste good. In addition, the true effect of dietary fat on heart health has come into question. The pork industry isn’t the only one this has happened to. The cattle industry is suffering similarly.
It is no wonder that meat sales are decreasing.
My friends, I present to you here a pork chop from a heritage breed hog.
This chop looks almost nothing like what you would find in the grocery store, because consumers decades ago decided that this wasn’t what they wanted. Consumers are missing out on the full, rich flavor of a pork chop that looks like this! I think that this is simply unfair! Unfortunately, demand is a very strong pressure and farmers are obligated to respond.
There is good news though! Heritage breeds with stunning marbling do exist! This is a hog that we raised just for ourselves, but we are considering raising some for sale in the next year. If you think that buying a share of pork is something you might be interested in, send us a message or drop us a comment! Your input helps us decide what we will raise!
And who knows? Maybe we can work together to make pork great again!
Angel Farms Homestead 