Recently a very special program was presented to the students in Mr. Tom Hojnowski's classroom. It was entitled, "Pigs and People" and was presented by Paul Yoachim, well known for his knowledge on raising pigs.
One of the important facts he relates is how close pigs and people are in their make up, cells, personalities, etc.
He had drawings of what a perfectly shaped pig should look like, one of the snout and others.
One of the important facts he relates is how close pigs and people are in their make up, cells, personalities, etc.
He had drawings of what a perfectly shaped pig should look like, one of the snout and others.
When he talked about pigs and people one of the similarities he noted were organs in the body. The pig has organs in the same relative location as a human; other similarities include they like sweets, are bothered in stressful situations, have their own personalities, like company (they are usually sold in pairs so they don't get lonely); the like to be treated with kindness. They also like vegetables, and a clean and dry place to sleep and they are smart.
One thing that is different is that pigs have no sweat glands, that is why they smell. They can get sunburned and when they roll around in mud it is to stay cool.
"They can be stubborn, that's when you hit their snout to make them move. Much like a human if they don't move out of your way, you hit them where it hurts, on the nose."
But he did noted that if you hit a snout too hard, you could break the nasal passages, just like a human. He told the story about knowing a man who needed to have his nasal passage replaced, and they used pig nasal passages.
Pig cells can be used to help people who have medical problems. They can scrape cells from the pig's bladder to turn it into a dust that is spayed on burn victims to help the skin regenerate.
Cells are also being used to grow fingers for soldiers and others who lost them.
Most pigs are raised for the meat they produce. Most pigs when butchered average around 70 to 100 pounds of meat.
Mr. Yoachim noted that "the best smell in the world is the smell of bacon cooking. You can put bacon on almost anything and it will taste better."
When pigs are just brought "home", they are isolated, because pigs can carry blood diseases. "You must keep a domestic pig fenced, because you never want them to bred with wild pigs."
One of the many stories which Mr. Yoachim told will remain with most who heard it. It was about how pork chops would taste just the same as if you cooked human chops. He said that he told this story once in a mixed group of adults and then was told a man in audience wife would not let him eat pork chops ever again.
Paul's knowledge is vast and very interesting. When you hear him speak, you know he "Loves Pigs."