Sunday, August 12, 2012

Sustainable Farming...We do that!

I got this email with a website link on it and a simple message:

Thought you might find this interesting.
Les
 Well, I was interested...very interested. So interested, in fact, that I think it needs to be shared with anyone and everyone that cares about both pig farming and a healthy environment. The PorkCheckoff funded some research to evaluate whether or not pig farming has improved over the years and to see what areas needed further improvment.
The research shows that pork production is more sustainable now than ever before. The first sentence of this article was fantastic and it sums up what we've been trying to tell everyone from the beginning:
"A new study finds that while pig farms of the 1950s may be remembered as idyllic, they were not as sustainable as those of today."
The study found that today's hog farms have decreased their carbon footprint by 35 percent since 1959. Additionally, we (hog farmers) use 41 percent less water and 78 percent less land per pound of pork produced. That is a huge accomplishment in farming! We are able to produce more while using less and protecting our envirnment.
We are still looking for ways to improve farming across the board but I think it is also important to celebrate our current accomplishments. This study shows just one of those accomplishments.
What do you think? 

2 comments:

  1. Not all traditions are worthy of admiration and respect. Tradition should never be an excuse for cruelty, and surely harmful practices should not
    be condoned just because they are cultural practices.

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  2. Bea, thank you for you're comments and interesting quotes. I appreciate that you took the time to look at my blog even if we don't agree. I believe diversity and freedom of choice is what makes this country so amazing. I respect your choice to "go vegan" and ask that you offer me the same respect. I don't feel like we are cruel to these animals because we care for them and respect their purpose. We don't all have to agree but I hope we can respect the freedom of choice each one of us has. Thank you again for stopping by.

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