I am a self-proclaimed nerd. My uncle teases me for this and has often shared with me his memory of how I was reading the newspaper by the time I went to kindergarten. I did read a lot as a child; in fact, I recently found my full collection of the Little House on the Prairie books. I must have read each of the nine books at least a dozen times for the spines to be as worn as they are.

If you have read any of those books (or watched the series) you will recall the importance and celebration around butchering the pig every fall. It was such an important event for the family; not only providing nourishment for the better part of the year, but also benefiting the family in other ways by using nearly every part of the animal.

How is it then, that the pig (and pork) has fallen out of favor with so many U.S. consumers? As I highlighted last month, consumer perception of pork in the U.S. is low. That’s got to change if we want to increase consumption.

During the quarantine, I finally got around to reading Lesser Beasts by Mark Essig. I would go so far as to suggest that every person responsible for marketing pork in the U.S. should take the time to read it. I have a newfound respect for why pork is so polarizing as a protein, and I believe it is critical to understand these factors in order to create a brand that can overcome such deep-seated perceptions.

In Lesser Beasts, Essig provides an historical account of the pig and how it evolved through different cultures. He explains how the pig’s history is very much entwined with humans, including how we relied on pigs as we settled into new areas, including the New World. And he explores how different cultures either rejected or relished pork as a food, depending greatly on religion and status.

Why is all this important to the industry?

If we want to change perception, we must know where we start. Pigs were often used to keep villages clean by eating leftovers and garbage. Like humans, the pig is an omnivore and is happy to eat nearly anything. Unlike humans, the pig is not discerning, so this meant they ate human waste. The fact that pigs could act as walking garbage disposals was incredibly important in the days prior to public sanitation. And, once the pig was fat, people could eat the meat as well. While the wealthy may have shied away from pork for this very reason, the poor couldn’t have been happier to dine on the decadent meat that was cast aside.

We won’t overturn any perception overnight. It will take years for us to overcome the perception that pigs are “dirty.” In addition to what we know from historical accounts like those in Essig’s book, it seems that everyone has heard, from family stories passed down generation to generation or through the media, that pork must be overcooked to be “safe.” The first image of a pig that most children see is of one rolling around in the mud, often eating table scraps. To make matters worse, in most modern production, we have moved pigs indoors (for their safety, protection and comfort) and so consumers believe the industry is hiding something. Simply telling them that we are doing all the right things just isn’t going to cut it — we need to do a better job of showing them.

There are some consumers who won’t ever change their minds, and that’s OK. Serious taboos were developed years ago for certain cultures, resulting in religious laws that prohibit followers from eating pork. For those approximately 14 million Jews and 1.6 billion Muslims who don’t eat pork — I see you and I respect your choices. Our marketing efforts are not intended to change your minds. But for those billions of others around the world who have no religious restrictions, there’s an opportunity to educate, inform and persuade.

As I reached the end of Essig’s book, I became frustrated. For all the amazing history he recounted about the pig, I feel he got the modern story wrong. I disagree that pig farms are bad for the environment (and better yet, I have data to prove they are not). I disagree that the pork industry is contributing to global warming without looking for solutions. And I disagree that the animals we are raising would be better off roaming the land as they did in the days of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

But, If we’re going to talk to consumers about their concerns, we have to understand where they come from and do so authentically. More about that next month.

Elevating the lesser beast

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