Large Black Pigs. Yum!

A few weeks ago I heard about an amazing woman named Barbara Schaffer who, after being laid off from her business suit-y job, started her own farm without ever having any farm experience whatsoever! Amazing! I've always dreamed of doing this kind of thing, but I've never had the wherewithal to do it. There's a wonderful podcast/documentary about her called "The Philosophy of Pig", produced by Neil Morrison. The documentary, which aired on CBC's "The Current," features an interview with Schaffer and insight into her decision to start her own farm. It's a wonderful documentary about one woman's difficult, heartwarming, and sometimes hilarious foray into farming.

Schaffer farms pigs; Large Black Pigs to be exact. Large Black Pigs are a breed of livestock that is endangered. They make yummy meat but they grow so big that they take too long to grow. Big commercial farms can't make enough money when pigs take too long to grow, so these pigs are starting to disappear. The CBC says that "the great diversity of livestock is disappearing at an alarming rate around the world. The United Nations estimates that one third of farm animal breeds are facing extinction" (http://www.cbc.ca/radioshows/OTTAWA_MORNING/20091124.shtml). In the documentary, Schaffer describes her work as an environmental policy advisor in Ottawa and even though she no longer works for the environment, she feels she's doing more for the environment by running a farm.

It is this kind of sentiment that keeps me hopeful. I understand that it's difficult to make money when you're driven by the need to produce produce produce in this consumerist world, but the itty bitty scientist at the heart of me is worried about losing all these species of livestock. I'm worried because the loss of genetic diversity can lead to real problems. If we lose the Large Black Pig, we may be losing more than just a type of hog, we may be losing the ability to adapt to a quickly changing climate. Adaptability is what keeps us alive and adaptability depends on a diverse gene pool. It's about more than just fluffy feelings - it's about the right thing to do for a variety of reasons.