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03-28-2012, 08:04 AM
Health Impact News Editor Comments: In this shocking story, family farmer and United States Air Force veteran Mark Baker talks about how the Michigan DNR wants to destroy his family’s herd of free-range pigs due to a new classification that makes them illegal in Michigan. The Bakers’ raise Mangalitsa Hogs. Here is a description of this specialty breed from their website:
Mangalitsa Hogs are a fat-type hog prized for the premium quality of the specialty sausages and hams (prosciutto) that it can produce. The fat of an acorn finished hog is renowned for its low saturated fat quality and its usefulness as a food dish in itself. Our hogs are raised to maturity on dirt and grass to promote the best in flavor and texture in the meat. They are finished on a small-grain diet, which creates the fat desireable in charcouterie. We will have a small group of premium quality hogs finished on acorns, making them comparable to the Spanish Iberico hogs.
The Michigan DNR is threatening to destroy the entire herd and arrest Mark as a felon by April 1 (no, this is NOT an April fools joke!). Mark feels that the reason this action is being taken against his family farm and others is because the state is protecting the Michigan Pork Producers Association’s interest in large confined pork operations. Watch the video below to hear Mark tell you the story. If you want to read the details of the case, Attorney Pete Kennedy of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund has written an extensive report here (http://healthimpactnews.com/2012/michigan-dnr-attacks-free-range-family-farms-to-protect-pork-industry/).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=843yH_0RMIA&feature=player_embedded
Full Article: http://healthimpactnews.com/2012/michigan-dnr-attacks-free-range-family-farms-to-protect-pork-industry/
Mangalitsa Hogs are a fat-type hog prized for the premium quality of the specialty sausages and hams (prosciutto) that it can produce. The fat of an acorn finished hog is renowned for its low saturated fat quality and its usefulness as a food dish in itself. Our hogs are raised to maturity on dirt and grass to promote the best in flavor and texture in the meat. They are finished on a small-grain diet, which creates the fat desireable in charcouterie. We will have a small group of premium quality hogs finished on acorns, making them comparable to the Spanish Iberico hogs.
The Michigan DNR is threatening to destroy the entire herd and arrest Mark as a felon by April 1 (no, this is NOT an April fools joke!). Mark feels that the reason this action is being taken against his family farm and others is because the state is protecting the Michigan Pork Producers Association’s interest in large confined pork operations. Watch the video below to hear Mark tell you the story. If you want to read the details of the case, Attorney Pete Kennedy of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund has written an extensive report here (http://healthimpactnews.com/2012/michigan-dnr-attacks-free-range-family-farms-to-protect-pork-industry/).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=843yH_0RMIA&feature=player_embedded
Full Article: http://healthimpactnews.com/2012/michigan-dnr-attacks-free-range-family-farms-to-protect-pork-industry/