Dear Daddy: Where Does Pork Come From?
Imagine this: a family of four - mother, father, and two girls - attend a good old fashion pig roast at the father’s company picnic. All the fixings set for a lovely afternoon … until you throw into the mix that the youngest little girl of this particular family at this pig roast is me, future vegan in the making.
My dad took me up to help me fill my plate with a healthy dinner - including pork which I am expecting - while my mom sat with my older sister.
“Here let me slice you off an ear, Sally,” dad says to a mere 4-year-old me, only just beginning to make the connection between pork and pig, as we approach the carved-up pig with head still attached.
Silence.
“How about the snout? Or a nice juicy eyeball?”
Screaming. Screaming. More screaming.
Where was the pork that I was supposed to be getting for dinner, and why is there an animal on the buffet table?
Needless to say, I ate vegetarian that evening. And dad? He ate humble pie.
July 28th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Dear Sal,
Pigs come from the cabbage patch. They root under the largest leaves and usually bloom in the late spring through the late summer. Bacon is the flower. Ham chunks are the seeds. It’s definitely part of a good vegan meal.
ILY,
Daddy
July 28th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
we went to a luau on our honeymoon and the pig was hiding. I am glad it was, I can eat it as long as i dont see it
July 28th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Incidently, this is the same reason why my sister won’t eat pork. My uncle had an annual pig roast for the 4th of July. We got there on the 3rd, she had to use the restroom..
Dinner was in the bathtub. On ice.
Yeah. We didn’t exactly eat that weekend. She hasn’t touched it since. I think the worst part was seeing the ear get tossed to the dog.
July 28th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Hey Sal,
Heard you were on a blogging marathon.
I remember my first pig roast and it is pretty shocking even for an adult. Really brings to light just where that pork comes from.
have a good one!!
July 28th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
Tiny correction on your memory. It was actually a church picnic. I do hope you know that your Daddy really didn’t know that you would get so upset! He just wasn’t thinking from a child’s point of view.