Pigs! Why are they worthless if they get too big?
Discussion
I heard a pig farmer in tears today, on Radio 4, due to having hundreds of pigs that cannot be slaughtered and are getting bigger every day.
She said that at 100kg they are perfect for market, at 110kg they are worth half and at 120kg they are worth nothing.
Lack of staff at slaughterers is causing the backlog.
Why does an extra 10% weight ruin a pig?
Can anyone explain this to me?
Is it related to China? Is it related to UK supermarkets demanding a specific size of chop?
She said that at 100kg they are perfect for market, at 110kg they are worth half and at 120kg they are worth nothing.
Lack of staff at slaughterers is causing the backlog.
Why does an extra 10% weight ruin a pig?
Can anyone explain this to me?
Is it related to China? Is it related to UK supermarkets demanding a specific size of chop?
They get too big for most abbatoirs to handle, which means it costs more to slaughter them in an enviroment that ensures they stay fit for human consumption.
At a certain size, they're too big for any abbatoir, and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
At a certain size, they're too big for any abbatoir, and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
Rivenink said:
They get too big for most abbatoirs to handle, which means it costs more to slaughter them in an enviroment that ensures they stay fit for human consumption.
At a certain size, they're too big for any abbatoir, and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
I don't really get that, exactly how can an animal be too big? At a certain size, they're too big for any abbatoir, and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
Rivenink said:
...and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
Do you know what the thinking behind that is? Years ago many people (my relatives included) kept a pig to eat all the household and garden waste then a local butcher would slaughter it (often on site) and it would feed the village for months to come. My house has an old pigsty at the bottom of the garden for this specific purpose.I'm curious why all that meat has to be wasted just because it is too big for an abbatoir. tia.
Rivenink said:
They get too big for most abbatoirs to handle, which means it costs more to slaughter them in an enviroment that ensures they stay fit for human consumption.
At a certain size, they're too big for any abbatoir, and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
That just begs two more questions:At a certain size, they're too big for any abbatoir, and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
1. Why is it inherently unsafe to eat meat from a pig slaughtered on a farm?
2. As they approach the 100kg optimum weight, why doesn't the farmer cut back on their feed to slow their rate of growth and thus allow more time before they get too big for market?
Evoluzione said:
Rivenink said:
They get too big for most abbatoirs to handle, which means it costs more to slaughter them in an enviroment that ensures they stay fit for human consumption.
At a certain size, they're too big for any abbatoir, and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
I don't really get that, exactly how can an animal be too big? At a certain size, they're too big for any abbatoir, and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
MikeStroud said:
Rivenink said:
...and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
Do you know what the thinking behind that is? Years ago many people (my relatives included) kept a pig to eat all the household and garden waste then a local butcher would slaughter it (often on site) and it would feed the village for months to come. My house has an old pigsty at the bottom of the garden for this specific purpose.I'm curious why all that meat has to be wasted just because it is too big for an abbatoir. tia.
Misanthrope said:
Rivenink said:
They get too big for most abbatoirs to handle, which means it costs more to slaughter them in an enviroment that ensures they stay fit for human consumption.
At a certain size, they're too big for any abbatoir, and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
That just begs two more questions:At a certain size, they're too big for any abbatoir, and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
1. Why is it inherently unsafe to eat meat from a pig slaughtered on a farm?
2. As they approach the 100kg optimum weight, why doesn't the farmer cut back on their feed to slow their rate of growth and thus allow more time before they get too big for market?
Misanthrope said:
Rivenink said:
They get too big for most abbatoirs to handle, which means it costs more to slaughter them in an enviroment that ensures they stay fit for human consumption.
At a certain size, they're too big for any abbatoir, and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
That just begs two more questions:At a certain size, they're too big for any abbatoir, and have to be slaughtered on the farm, which means they cannot enter the food chain.
1. Why is it inherently unsafe to eat meat from a pig slaughtered on a farm?
2. As they approach the 100kg optimum weight, why doesn't the farmer cut back on their feed to slow their rate of growth and thus allow more time before they get too big for market?
Possibly due to having to put the carcass in a fridge straight away, so that it doesn't start to rot.
Bigends said:
They get too big for what the shopper wants. We all want cuts of pork to be around a standard size
Not sure I'd notice a chop that's 10% bigger? They're sold by weight anyway.Does the additonal weight all go on as fat once they hit 100kg?
If handling a 110kg pig is not possible in the abattoir, why not send them off at 90kg?
I'm going to ask our local farmer tomorrow and see what the real answer is!
Good grief, there's a lot of people wailing on about chop sizes and there's no difference in what a pig is etc etc.
Farming is not and never has been about growing the largest thing you can and then selling it. Pig farming is a science now as much as anything else grown for the the food chain. It's not all about 'too big for the abattoir' or 'Maisie's chops are not what they used to be' there is a limit as to what a size can be best for the market.
No.1, you can't always regulate the mass of fat v the mass of meat in a pig no matter what the size, albeit that the longer they stay being fed 'on the farm' the more of the the former they gain.
No.2 There are restrictions as to weight for the purposes of transport (as with everything) a pig weighs more, then you get less individuals in the wagon, sold per pig = less per load.
There are many more reasons and I will ask my brother-in-law (who is a pig farmer) to explain more if you really want me to.
No I won't do an AMA though, he's too much of a farmer for that!!
Farming is not and never has been about growing the largest thing you can and then selling it. Pig farming is a science now as much as anything else grown for the the food chain. It's not all about 'too big for the abattoir' or 'Maisie's chops are not what they used to be' there is a limit as to what a size can be best for the market.
No.1, you can't always regulate the mass of fat v the mass of meat in a pig no matter what the size, albeit that the longer they stay being fed 'on the farm' the more of the the former they gain.
No.2 There are restrictions as to weight for the purposes of transport (as with everything) a pig weighs more, then you get less individuals in the wagon, sold per pig = less per load.
There are many more reasons and I will ask my brother-in-law (who is a pig farmer) to explain more if you really want me to.
No I won't do an AMA though, he's too much of a farmer for that!!
My Dad kept pigs - apparently over 100kg the additional weight get put on as fat, so becomes less desirable. The next stage of the evolution is for the pig to become a bacon pig, which takes another 12m or more. All the time there are a load of little piggys coming along needing homes and food.
But, yes, it seems bonkers to me as well. Just turn them out in the woods, where they can forage for themselves. They'd love it. It's a mad world where we have such a streamlined production process that life means so little.
But, yes, it seems bonkers to me as well. Just turn them out in the woods, where they can forage for themselves. They'd love it. It's a mad world where we have such a streamlined production process that life means so little.
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