Ola my friend! You may give up eating pork after reading the book called God’s Key to Health and Happiness by Elmer A. Johnson. Somehow I came across this book many years ago and it made a huge positive impact in my life. The book is only 224 pages and it is powerfully packed with sound wisdom and persuasive stories that will leave you astonished. Every now and then, I revisit this book for a boost of inspiration and encouragement to continue eating healthy.
One way this book left a lasting impression on me is, I gave up eating pork after reading this book. I wouldn’t say I was a big pork eater to begin with but I did enjoy eating pepperoni and meat lovers pizza, hotdogs, breakfast sausages, and bacon. I wasn’t too fond of pork ribs, ham, pork chops, and ham hocks (pork knuckles found in i.e. greens) but I would eat it.
There was a noticeable difference in my health when I gave up pork. I wasn’t as swollen from all of the water retention that happens when you eat a lot of salt. I started substituting bacon for turkey bacon and hotdogs for 100% beef franks. I eventually gave up eating processed meats altogether. I began to really shed weight then but that’s another story for another time.
Here are seven stories from the book God’s Key to Health and Happiness by Elmer A. Johnson that convinced me to give up eating pork.
Swine “will eat anything we give them”
“Mr. John Johnson of Williams, Iowa, a farmer, speaks on this subject. He states that the swine in Iowa are principally fed on corn, but “will eat anything we give them. If anything dies, we throw it to the hogs. I have actually seen hogs chewing at the cancer of other hogs and these hogs are shipped to market. Many times cattle are infected from the incurable diseases of the hog called the ‘mad itch’. It is transmitted by the hog’s saliva left on the corn which cattle eat. The itching in the cattle becomes so intense they will run from stump to stump until they rub their skin from their mouths and soon die. When the saliva from the hog’s mouth will poison cattle in this way, how can hogs be fit for man to eat?””
What a hog eats is on his bones in 4 hours
“While conducting a revival campaign in Litchfield, Minnesota, the pastor of the church told me of one of his members who raised hogs. At regular periods this farmer would go to the poultry hatchery and load his trailer full of the old rotten eggs that hadn’t hatched, many with dead chicks (in various stages) in them. This, of course, would make a gooey, oozing, bloody, stinking mess. Sometimes the farmer would stop by the parsonage and the pastor stated the smell was so horrible and “stunk up the neighborhood” so badly, that it was a source of real embarrassment to the pastor. The farmer would feed this decayed, rotten, stinking substance to his hogs. And remember, what a hog eats is on his bones in four hours and ready for consumption by … you? This family’s primary meat dish was this swine. It was no wonder to me when I learned of the constant and various illnesses in that household.”
“Slop the hogs”
“While on vacation as a boy at Cotesfield, Nebraska, I remember visiting a family who were farmers. I noticed the wife of my host kept a slop bucket where she dumped all sorts of refuse, sour matter, rotten tomatoes, garbage, dirty dish water, and anything they couldn’t eat. She would then take this down to the pig pen and “slop the hogs.” How they loved it. In a few days they slaughtered the hogs and started putting all these second-hand “delicate cuts” on the table in its various forms.”
Hogs with big greenish growths on them
“During a campaign in south Minnesota, the leader of the young people’s society told me that he had worked only a few days at a certain meat packing plant that summer and he had seen hogs come down the line with big greenish growths on them. He said, “We were instructed to just trim them off and when the meat inspector came he put his stamp of approval upon them.” Such statements have been made also by others who worked in meat packing plants.”
Mink farm wiped out after fed pork
“… I had the opportunity of visiting a mink farm which was owned by one of the members of my host church. This mink raiser, who knew his business said, “If we fed pork or any part of the swine to our mink, they would die. We feed them horse meat and they thrive on it, but without exception after eating pork products they sicken and die.””
Another Mink farm wiped out after fed pork
“The following story is on court record. The Silver Moon Mink Farm of New Holstein, Wisconsin, owned by the Langenfeldts, ordered a supply of beef livers for their mink from a meat packing plant. Instead, the packers shipped them pork livers unbeknown to the Langenfeldts, who fed them to the mink. What was the result? All the mink died. Yes, there was a lawsuit and the meat packers had to pay.”
Pork spoils from the inside out
“A personal friend of mine who was a proprietor-owner of a supermarket and also an expert butcher, gave me a very pertinent fact about meat. He stated, “When pork begins to get bad, it spoils from the inside out, where it is noticed last. On the other hand,” he said, “when beef breaks down, it starts on the outside. This can be trimmed off and the inside is just as good as ever.””
Afterword: Pork, a quicker way to heaven
Now this book was published in the 1970s and I do not want to know how things have changed with the pig market since then. I dare say it has not gotten any better. We all know that money is the root of all evil. Elmer A. Josephson does a spectacular job with breaking down God’s dietary law while making a strong case for why it’s highly advantageous to be better stewards of our bodies. God has given us everything we need to lead healthy and successful lives.
I’ll end this post with a question and response from the book that may make you chuckle. So many people still have this question today.
“Can’t we eat pork and still go to heaven?” people have asked.
“Sure,” I answer, “you might even go a little quicker.” ~Elmer A. Josephson
Until Next Time
Well, what do you think? Do you eat pork? How often do you eat it? What’s a pork dish that would be extremely hard for you to give up? I am so curious. 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
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