In a nutshell:
Short term- large slaughter of animals, for the most part resulting in wasted energy and resources
Long term- Hope for a failing industry
The Canadian government is paying pork producers $50 million to slaughter 150,000 pigs in an effort to save an industry from bottoming out. “The value that the market is providing … has fallen to virtually nothing.” -the executive director of the Canadian Pork Council Producers who accept federal compensation must agree to kill all of their pigs and not restock for three years. A great deal of energy goes into the production of these animals. And where would this food go?
In the UK, a study performed by the Silsoe Research Institute developed a method of calculating the environmental impacts of pork production via Life Cycle Analysis. According to their findings, a kilogram of pork requires approximately 17 MJ of energy to produce and releases 6350g of CO2 (READ: greenhouse gas).
-> at least 75% will go to either pet food or “be disposed of” (aka truly wasted in a landfill or incinerator)
-> up to 25% will go to Canadian food banks, which are eagerly awaiting the protein
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From the standpoint of both maximizing energy efficiency and minimizing ecological impacts, I’m still on the fence about whether or not I personally agree with pork production (or contributing to it via consumption). But from the point of view of the farmer: if you can’t afford to pump resources the pigs in the first place, then perhaps selling them off at a lump sum is your best option. “Every week we hear of more producers closing their operations because they’re not able to feed the pigs any more,” Mr. Kynoch said.
As for attacking analyzing the economic and political arena that fueled such a depressing loss… I’ll leave that to the economists and political theorists.
