Hog Heaven

October 19, 2004 5:21 AM

Pork Farmers in Hog Heaven! Atkins and skyrocketing beef prices result in pork producers "experiencing demand far in excess of anything [they]'ve seen historically." Pork prices are very high on the spot and futures market but still a value relative to meat. Perhaps this will increase the demand for tasty Berkshire hog pork, the kind that pre-dates the breeding which produced the "other white meat."
posted by MattD (9 comments total)

I won't eat your pork, White Devil.
posted by Mayor Curley at 5:38 AM on October 19, 2004

in a recent issue of the New Yorker (and in a new book), Bill Buford lamented the fact that Culatello is illegal in the USA. too bad. it's a delicious cured meat



and, if you allow a little PepsiBlue moment, this makes me think of a nice glass of Fullers:

Joe Sixpack | When it comes to good taste, it's Pride over Bass
LONDON PRIDE is a world-class English ale, and I don't mean one of those solemn, introspective tomes that goes down like a dose of Thackeray without Cliff Notes.
This is a pale ale the way Brits make pale ales. Smooth, lightly bittered, perfectly balanced - not hopped out the wazoo like those Cascades-addled pales from the West Coast.
Best of all, it's drinkable till dawn.
So, why can't this beer get a break in America?
Or, more to the point, why is it that when you go fishing for an English ale on this coast, almost all you can hook is a Bass?
I mean, our shores get pummeled by the Germans, the Dutch, the Mexicans and even the Irish. Meanwhile, England - one of the world's great beer-drinking countries - exhibits the kind of intestinal fortitude we're more accustomed to seeing from the French.
The British are so protective of their beer, they have laws ensuring drinkers get a full pint.
Its Campaign for Real Ale, known as CAMRA,has actually rallied citizens to protect failing breweries.
Samuel Smith's, Bateman's, Brakspear, Young's, Shepherd Neame - these are revered names in English beer.
Yet, almost all the Brit beer that floats over to this side of the Atlantic is an overrated, uninspired ale that Otto in "A Fish Called Wanda" might insult as "a stuck-up, snot-nosed, English, giant twerp."
A fortnight or so ago (that's Old English for 14 days, mate), I sat down for a taste of Pride and an explanation from Fuller's export manager Stamford Galsworthy.
...

posted by matteo at 6:13 AM on October 19, 2004

Mmmm, pork.

Now where did that Mario Batali recipe go that uses 5 kinds of pork? 5 kinds!
posted by TungstenChef at 7:04 AM on October 19, 2004

This is a reversal from only a few years ago, when the pork market bottomed out and farmers weren't even able to get the price of the feed back when they took the pigs to market.
posted by orange swan at 7:49 AM on October 19, 2004

There's a "living high on the hog" reference here, but I'm too full (I swear I had an omelette with both bacon and ham in it this morning) to root around looking for it.
posted by chicobangs at 8:15 AM on October 19, 2004

So let me get this straight, skyrocketing beef, record or near record pork prices, record or near record energy prices, and the economy is right on track. I guess I just don't see who benefits because I doubt the family hog farmer will do that well, although the factory growers will do OK
posted by mss at 8:19 AM on October 19, 2004

TungstenChef: this probably isn't what Mario Batali cooked but choucroute garni could well have 5 different kinds of pork. Porktacular.
posted by turbodog at 11:42 AM on October 19, 2004

I guess I just don't see who benefits

seriously. i wonder if the guys on the line will get raises. har.

dontcha think meat prices will only go up, up, up, and then up some more from here on out? per yesterday, what happens when oil peaks? all food will get more expensive due to processing and shipping, but the stuff that requires the most oil will go up the most.

nonetheless, pork is by far my favorite meat. good for those tasty pigs!
posted by mrgrimm at 2:09 PM on October 19, 2004

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posted by mrgrimm at 2:12 PM on October 19, 2004