I have a friend who raises pigs. This is her story..
I never thought I would raise my own pig, but as Thomas Jefferson once said, "I am an old man, but a new gardener." Well, I am only 35, and I am but a new pig farmer. Here is what I learned while raising a pig during the summer of 2001:
Why raise a pig?
There are lots of reasons to raise a pig or two in your backyard. It seems like every day we hear stories in the news media about the potential health risks posed by the routine use of antibiotics in animal feeds. Diseases like "mad cow" and foot-and-mouth outbreaks raise further concerns about the safety of commercially-raised meat, and prompt questions about the wisdom of large-scale livestock farm practices. By raising your own pig, you can decide how it is fed, what kind of drugs it is given (if any), and how the animal is slaughtered and butchered.
