The Castrato Oinks

Torturing pigs on their way to the dinner table

Pigs are castrated so that they can carry more fat.

Castration also prevents boar taint, an offensive odor or taste present when cooking or eating pork caused by two substances -- androstenone and skatole -- that begin to accumulate in male pigs at puberty.

It is a painful process that involves making two incisions in the scrotum with a sharp blade, pulling out the nerve-rich testicles, cutting off the spermatic duct and blood vessels and then leaving the wound open to heal on its own.

In an effort to reduce the suffering of pigs, Norway and Switzerland have banned castration without anesthetic.

But they are in the minority: According to a new study by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), 77 percent of 125 million male pigs killed each year in Europe are castrated without the use of anesthetic.

Pigs are curious, playful and possess a higher intelligence level than dogs. Pig intelligence has been compared to that of a three year-old human child.

President Harry Truman once said, "No man should be allowed to be President who does not understand hogs."

It seems that most of the heads of Europe, at least, have a lot to learn.

GET INVOLVED

• Sign a Care2 petition to stop the castration of pigs without anesthesia
  
• Choose a pork substitute for your recipe
  
• Read PETA's "The Hidden Life of Pigs"
  
• Sign a PETA letter urging Unilever to stop pig abuse
• Join the Farm Sanctuary Advocacy Campaign Team
• Read the Yale College Vegetarian Society's "Top 10 Reasons to Become Vegetarian"
  

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• The Gloomy Dean (January 30, 2009)
• Eat Healthy and Save the World, Simultaneously (January 23, 2009)
• California Passes Landmark Anti-Cruelty Act (November 7, 2008)
• If We Really Are What We Eat, Most of Us Are A Bit Disturbing (October 17, 2008)

image: Titanium22