Ola my friend! Here’s Part 2 of why I gave up eating pork. You can read Part 1 here. These short stories/excerpts come from the book called God’s Key to Health and Happiness by Elmer A. Johnson. This book is one of my main inspirations for being intentional about eating healthier and being a better steward of my body. We only get one body. My mouth was probably hanging open the entire time reading the stories and information about the hogs. These stories may fascinate you too.
Here are seven more stories from the book God’s Key to Health and Happiness by Elmer A. Johnson that convinced me to give up eating pork.
1. The world by the (pig) tail
“Mrs. Van Koevering told us the following true story of a relative who lived in the state of Michigan. Mr. H. owned a farm on which there were some deep ravines which he wished to fill. Then he came on a very brilliant idea. He invested in a herd of hogs and a few trucks and contracted for a garbage route in the nerby town. The garbage dumped in the ravines supplied more than ample feed for the swine.
This was a wonderful arrangement and soon became a real “goldswine.” Why hadn’t someone thought of it before? They had: It is a common practive wherever pagan eating habits exist. He really began to prosper – financially. Almost immediately there was a big income with minimum expense. He bought more trucks, inreased his garbage route, and bought more trucks and more hogs and the hogs bore more pigs. The had the world by the (pig) tail.
Soon, however, neighbors began to complain. The hog farm was not only an “eye sore” but a “nose sore” as well. The obnoxious stench was more than Farmer Patience could endure. The result? Mr. H. bought his neighbor’s farm. The vile odor got worse and spread to other farms. He bought their farms, too. Finally irritated citizens said the place was a public nuisance because of having to endure the loathsome stench while driving by the hog haven. The outcome? He bought the road leading by his farms. Nothing seemed to hinder his onward march of prosperity until. . . .”
2. Eating pork caused illness and death
“. . . .Mr. H. began having trouble keeping drivers for his trucks. They would work for awhile and get sick and have to quit. This problem continued and got worse, which at times all but halted the “goldswine” operation. (Why did the drivers get sick? They also ate the hogs fattened on this garbage.)
Mr. H. had secured two beautiful, husky, German shepherd watch dogs in the beginning of this project to guard against prowlers and thieves. At the start, they were unusually alert and active. They not only got scraps but special portions of the swill-fed swine were prepared for them. In a relatively short time these fine dogs began to lose weight, became listless and just wanted to lie around and do nothing but sleep. It was not long until they finally sickened and died. This was not the worst.
Mr. H. and his family became ill more and more frequently. Doctor and hospital bills mounted. They began to suffer from various and rare ailments. Children that were born to them were found to have these diseases from birth. They were spending more and more for medical and hospital treatment in their search for relief and health. At last, it was necessary for them to sell their farm and move to Arizona where doctors recommended that they seek help and benefit from the more direct healing rays of the sun.”
3. 4,900 hogs had to be destroyed
“As I picked up the Kansas City Times one morning, I noticed a headline on the front page which read, “Big Swine Kill,” and the next line, “To stamp out disease.” The article went on to state that 4,900 hogs had to be destroyed because they were infected with vesicular exanthema, a disease in hogs similar to the hoof and mouth disease which is found occasionally in cattle.”
4. Dates on packaged pork products
“Several years ago a government meat inspector told the owner of a meat locker plant at Granada, Minnesota, “If the dates on the packaged pork products run past a specified given date, I must condemn all the meat in the lockers.””
5. Baffling and sinister parasites
“In the 1950 March issue of Reader’s Digest, Laird S. Goldsborough writes, “In the pork which we Americans eat, there too often lurk myriads [countless numbers] of baffling and sinister parasites. They are minute spiral worms which scientists call Trichinella spiralis.” He continues, “a single serving of infected pork – even a single mouthful – can kill or cripple or condemn the victim to a lifetime of aches and pains.” For this unique disease, trichinosis, there is no sure cure – no drug to stop them (not even in 1976).
Dr. Goldsborough’s article goes on to say, “In the flesh of a pig, the trichinae are often so minute and so nearly transparent that, to find them, even with a microscope, is a task for expert scientific inspectors…””
6. Trichinae-laden swine flesh
“It has been reported from a lab of one of the our northern universities that trichinae-laden swine flesh was heated to an unbelieably high temperature and then put under a microscope. To the amazement of the technicians some worms were still alive and moving about. The supposition that all of these worms can be killed in cooking is not to be relied upon.”
7. Salt pork each morning for breakfast
“. . . .I went to California. My first week in the sunshine state was spent in Altadena, in the home of a former pastor of Broadway Baptist in Kansas City, Missouri. His wife had undergone an operation for cancer a number of weeks before, and now it was showing signs of further spreading. I tried to help her by telling her of my experience, and suggested that she should give up eating unclean scavenger meats, such as pork. She said, “Oh, I never eat it.” (Many fail to realize it comes in many forms.) Yet the entire week that I was there, the dear lady served salt pork each morning for breakfast. She craved it so much, that after her husband had finished eating his, and had left the rind laying on his plate, she would reach over and get the rind (the hide) and chew it down. It was a matter of months afterward that I received word of her death.”
Afterword
You know, I do not even miss pork. If and when I eat meat, it’s mostly goat and salmon. Slopping the pig is real. Slopping the pig means you feed the pig any leftovers and garbage. They’re cheap garbage disposals in my opinion. But in addition to eating slop, pigs eat dead animals. It’s really hard to believe that anyone raising pigs are only feeding them fresh fruits, vegetables and grains.
Naturally, people will feed the pigs whatever they can afford. Pigs are cheap to feed. Imagine? Besides inflation is real and feeding ourselves is priority let alone supplying a healthy diet for pigs. Remember what a hog eats is on it’s bones in 4 hours. Like I previously stated, I do not miss eating pork. No thank you!
Until Next Time
Well, what do you think? Do you see eating pork the same way before reading this post? Do you have any examples of eating pork as impacted your life? Please drop a comment below or email me. I would love to hear your feedback and/or stories. Instead of pork, you can eat goat meat. It is so delicious and so healthy for you. Try this amazing and fast curry goat recipe to taste and see. And yes, the goat meat falls of the bone.
Well, I will take my leave for now. I look forward to our time together again soon. Be inspired to have an appetite to Live and Live well.
Adaeze
Leave a Reply