Corner Post Editorial —
Hogs in confinement: How does it make you feel?
by Jamie Floyd, posted Dec. 7, 2007
Do you think about how your bacon was raised before it ended up on your plate? How about when you enjoy the sausage on that Shakespeare’s pizza? Or that holiday ham? Now, how do you feel when you think about a young piglet? People may not associate these two images, which is why they may have confused feelings when they think about hogs being raised in confinement.
Personally, I have no real problem with hogs being raised in confinement. However, I was also raised in a farm family and we considered cattle, hogs and sheep to be meat animals, not pets. On the other hand, there are also those who believe animals raised in confinement are treated unethically and inhumanely.
According to Tim Safranski, associate professor and state swine breeding specialist, the majority of all meat hogs raised in the U.S. are raised in confinement. Of the 100 million hogs used for meat, more than 90 million are raised in some form of confinement. Confinement practices have brought uniformity to the pork industry, meaning the meat put into the industry is all of similar quality.
“Confinement allows [producers] to raise a more consistent meat at a lower cost,” Safranski said.
There are a variety of reasons why hogs are raised in confinement. Confinement barns have controlled temperatures, which lowers the cost for the producer, keeps hogs warm in the winter and cool in the summer and eliminates exposure to the elements. In confinement barns, the quantity of feed can be controlled, and the cost for feed is lower for the producer because wasted feed is eliminated. According to Safranski, hogs in confinement are also protected from pests such as birds and raccoons, which goes along with easier disease control in barns because all feces fall through the floor and can be recycled. In general, confinement benefits both the animal and producer.
“Confinement barns are designed to create the best possible environment for the hog,” Safranski said.
Along with the benefits of the environment provided in the confinement barns, there are other reasons why confinement housing for hogs can be positive. Confinement barns can be an asset to the natural environment because they decrease the amount of space needed per hog. According to Safranski, hogs raised outside require one-fourth of an acre per hog, whereas hogs raised in confinement barns only require 8 square feet per hog. By raising hogs inside, producers are leaving the extra land open for other possibilities, such as natural habitats or cropland.
By moving hogs inside, producers can also help the environment by having more control of the hogs’ manure, which can be collected and used for things such as crop fertilization. Producers who raise hogs in an outside environment have more manure go to waste because it is harder to control and use as nutrients.
Although raising hogs in confinement barns may be the most cost efficient, environmentally friendly and quality conformance option, others disagree.
“Those organizations that are third-party certifiers, like the Animal Welfare Institute, or the Humane Society of the United States would not consider most confinement operations as qualifying for humane treatment of animals,” said Mary Hendrickson, extension associate professor of rural sociology.
These organizations require producers to supply hogs with straw bedding and access to the outdoors, and they restrict the way the barns are constructed.
“The biggest reason that people have negative feelings about confinement is that hogs aren’t being raised in their natural environment,” Safranski said.
As in any other type of activity, one person acting irresponsibly or treating animals cruelly can lead to mass judgment of the group. The Animal Welfare Institute gives an example on its Web site about a farmer who left his hogs on a transport truck for 14 hours unattended. This is an extreme example of someone acting irresponsibly and giving a bad name to the other farmers in the industry. There are other examples of farmers who use unnecessary force and violence when moving hogs or not properly caring for their hogs, both of which are untrue about how most confinement hog farmers treat their animals.
Although there may be arguments about what the major issue is in the confinement hog industry, Hendrickson thinks the biggest issue is the different choices offered today.
“Many times farmers, consumers and rural residents have conflicting interests and views about the way agriculture could be, which makes for conflict around large scale animal production,” Hendrickson said.
Although there are different ways that farmers can raise hogs for meat, they may choose the option of confinement because it is the most cost efficient and requires less land that could be suitable for other things. However, confinement buildings tend to be rather expensive, so once farmers buy these buildings, they continue to raise hogs in the same way to pay off the buildings and become profitable.
“It is important for farmers to understand that today's consumer may be demanding many different things,” Hendrickson said.
Some consumers may want their meat to be raised naturally, which does not include confinement. Another issue in the confinement hog industry is considering the people in rural communities who live near hog confinement buildings. People may be concerned about the possible smell produced by hog confinement buildings.
There will always be two sides to the debate about hogs raised in confinement.
“I think that we can produce food in many different kinds of farming systems and that we should think carefully about economics, environment, health and communities in selecting our production systems,” Hendrickson said.
Producers who raise hogs for meat cut costs to keep meat prices reasonable for consumers. Others will strive to raise hogs in their most natural environment.
“Hogs that are raised in confinement don’t know anything different,” Safranski said.
This includes the practices used by confinement hog producers that some people might argue are unethical, such as castrating, removing the needle teeth or docking the tails of piglets raised in confinement. However, there are real reasons for these practices. U.S. consumers tend to prefer the taste of castrated male hogs to that of male hogs that have not been castrated. The latter animals contain a substance called boar taint that creates a foul taste in the meat. Piglets have their needle teeth, which are very sharp, removed so they do not injure the sow when they are nursing or bite and injure the tails of their littermates. This is also the same reason why producers dock the tails when the needle teeth are removed.
Hogs raised in confinement should be considered for their meat, and although it is important to treat them ethically, it is also important to consider the producer. Many confinement housing facilities operate under larger companies, such as Cargill. The farmers operating these confinement barns run them as their main source of income. It usually takes years to pay for the cost of the barns to begin with, and then one must make a profit or support a family. To shut down these operations or require them to build new, “ethical” types of housing would not be financially possible for producers. In the event that people argue against confinement housing for hogs, it is important that they think about the people who run the operations and who deserve to be treated ethically, too.
Hog Facts:
- Pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world accounting for 42.6 percent of total meat consumption.
- Ham is the most popular lunchmeat served in homes.
- Lean pork tenderloin has less total fat than skinless chicken breast.
- Salt pork was the staple food for troops in Washington’s army at Valley Forge.
- Insulin from hogs is used to treat diabetes.
- Hog heart valves can be used to replace damaged or diseased human heart valves.
- Skin from hogs can be used to treat severely injured burn victims.
* Hog facts from the National Pork Board Web site.
