Bob Comis and The Last Pig

September 1, 2016 10:30 AM

In early 2014, Bob Comis, a longtime pig farmer and owner-operator of Stony Brook Farm, wrote a "Farm Confessional" for Modern Farmer: I Raise Livestock and I Think It May Be Wrong (previously). Within a year, Comis had closed down Stony Brook, moved the last of his pigs to animal sanctuaries, adopted a vegan lifestyle, and re-opened his business as In Line Farm, a certified veganic vegetable farm. Comis' change of mind, heart, and career will be profiled in an upcoming documentary, The Last Pig. Trailers for The Last Pig are now available on YouTube and Vimeo.

In closing, a trio of pig videos in honor of Happy Fun September:
🐷 snuggling piglets
🐷 running piglets
🐷 giant pigs getting bellyrubs and scritches

posted by amnesia and magnets (15 comments total)

Thanks, this gives me hope.
posted by Gymnopedist at 10:36 AM on September 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Cooooooool. Thank you, fellow vegan MeFite, for sharing this! I look forward to digging into all of this.
posted by Kitteh at 10:36 AM on September 1, 2016

Obligatory.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:40 AM on September 1, 2016

The pigs will have to wait their turn. Goats are the new cats. Also, baby goats in jammies.

Suck it, piggies.
posted by gsh at 12:24 PM on September 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Goats over cats? Pfft whatever gsh, you're behind the times, we already know that donkeys are the new goats.

Hmmm. If we can just get cats to be the new donkeys, we'll come full circle...
posted by caution live frogs at 12:32 PM on September 1, 2016

As a famous movie villain said, "be wary of any man who owns a pig farm".
posted by theorique at 12:42 PM on September 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

Heads up, there appears to be another movie The Last Pig also coming out in 2016. Googling for reviews and trailers will be confusing if you cross the streams.
posted by ryanrs at 1:14 PM on September 1, 2016

Ooooh, fainting pig! There's a sweet spot just where the belly meets the rear leg, up in the pocket, where a robust skritch makes a pig just flop over. And they're happy as long as you keep scratching them! It's the moment you stop that they look confused and then amble to their feet that you need to be a little careful with. Pigs are the best.
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:12 PM on September 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

My Uncle was a life-long John Bircher. He was a farmer, who raised pigs, cattle and chickens, and sent them all to market to be slaughtered. One day, in his fifties, he had a change of heart. He stopped sending any of the animals to be slaughtered. He let them all die of old age. He started feeding feral cats, and had about fifty around his barn at any given time. He died without ever explaining himself. Some of his cattle are still alive and a neighbor is taking care of them. Something clicked in him about killing animals, although he never did change his political views.
posted by Modest House at 2:45 PM on September 1, 2016 [13 favorites]

This makes me happy and sad all at the same time, and I guess that's as good as it gets in my lifetime.
posted by Mooski at 4:22 PM on September 1, 2016

Thank you for posting this.
posted by chance at 7:53 PM on September 1, 2016

I love this to bits.
posted by turbid dahlia at 8:45 PM on September 1, 2016

The fact that this gent wasn't born and bred farmer stock takes away a little from his decision. I've got a couple of sheep farmers in my extended family and, although there isn't as much slaughter in the wool industry, I'd be very surprised if they ever made a decision like this.

He makes very good points about industrial farming and some about animal welfare so there is value here.
posted by trif at 8:43 AM on September 2, 2016

I worked on a pig farm several years ago, and after that experience I became a vegetarian. I've since fallen off the wagon, but this gives me pause.
posted by rcraniac at 9:56 PM on September 2, 2016

The fact that this gent wasn't born and bred farmer stock takes away a little from his decision.

That sort of thinking is why my Muslim friends can reject pork easily, but when I say I don't eat pig because of moral/environmental/health reasons, I'm a sanctimonious twat.

Religion often trumps right action. Tradition often trumps compassion. That's why traditions (and religions) need to ... change. (Um, to Buddhism, if you don't mind.)

Awesome. I didn't know about this movie. I would have helped fund it if I did. Looks like they've got enough...
posted by mrgrimm at 10:07 AM on September 12, 2016 [1 favorite]