Film Friday: Paul Willis

Have you heard of Paul Willis?

Have you heard of Chipotle?

How about pigs? Have you heard of pigs? I love pigs! I. Want. Pigs. I just wanna cuddle their cute little pig monkey faces!

If you watched this years Superbowl commercials (I didn't) or follow Film Friday (I do) or are paying attention to much food politics (heck yeah!), you've no doubt seen this video.

If you don't know what in heaven's sake I'm talking about - click the link above, watch it, then come back. I'll be here waiting......................

..............Oh, hello! Cute, right? Pertinent, right? Thought provoking, right? Who doesn't love Willie Nelson??

Well, I'm not one much for brand promotion. And I really hope that Chipotle isn't setting us all up for one giant corporate failure, but I have to say: I dig the way they raise pigs. Well, I dig the way their farmers raise pigs.

This week's Film Friday is taking another look at the Chipotle franchise and one of their farmers, Paul Willis. The guy is a pig farming genius. There's no reason all our pork can't be raised the way he breeds his.

Next time you're at the grocery store, or the farmer's market, or the butcher, ask them how their pork was produced. Where they confined to cages or were they allowed to run free? What did their diet consist of? Were their tales and ears inhumanely snipped or was their pig bodily integrity kept? In essence, were they free to be the pigs they have evolved to be?

Did you know pigs are highly social and intelligent animals? As far as intelligence tests go, it's said that pigs are smarter than a three year old human and at least as intelligent as primates. I'm not saying don't eat 'em - we're higher up on the evolutionary food chain and I will eat pork. It's delicious. Especially bacon. But Willis makes a good point when he says if we penned up dogs in our culture the way we do pigs, people would have a bloody fucking fit. What if we did it to all the three year old children? Why is it okay to do it to pigs?

Let's all have happy hungry intelligent pigs!

 

 This post is linked up with Simple Lives Thursday; Fresh Bites Friday; Fresh Bites Friday;