General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: So is a new trend? (IMAGE WARNING: ROASTING PIG) [View all]Nac Mac Feegle
(972 posts)Pigs are fairly low-maintenance to raise in an agricultural setting. Being omnivores and scavengers, they will clean up a lot of otherwise wasted items. They reproduce quite well, and are somewhat trainable, and can protect themselves to some extent. They have been bred for thousands of years to pretty much be eating machines, with some breeds that can get fairly large. This results in a fairly easy to access very nutrient dense source of protein.
I understand the vegetarian point of view, but notice that it is predominantly a urban phenomenon, outside of philosophical reasons. Many urbanites have forgotten that meat does not come in a small styrofoam tray wrapped in plastic; there is an animal involved. The change from mobile converter of plant matter and other assorted things to that plastic wrapped tray is messy. There is blood involved. And intestines, organs, and assorted wobbly bits.
As our culture has become urbanized, many people have forgotten that the world is not a neat, clean, shrink-wrapped, and conveniently bottled place, in reality.
Preparing food for a large event requires a lot of work, and being able to convert an animal such as a hog into a large amount of food by roasting it is actually a fairly efficient method of production. Various cultures each have their traditional methods of doing this, as have been mentioned previously. What was witnessed was the urban appearance of a rural cooking method that has a very long tradition.
Cultures value their traditions, especially in celebratory circumstances. Food is one of the most dearly held of those traditions. The 18th century French lawyer and politician Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once said "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.", illustrating how distinctive those food traditions can be.