A pig of an issue

The piggy bank is actually a concept derived from the old tradition of pig husbandry. Once, the pig was a valuable asset to the family Photo: Christopher Bruno

My favourite author, Anthony Burgess, once told a newspaper that as he grew older, he found himself yearning for the food he used to grow up on, no matter how much he loved curry.

Not long ago, I wrote a blog about the relationship between livestock and different societies and cultures around the world. For example, chickens and ducks. Far Easterners and Southeast Asians really like their chickens and ducks.

Jo Power, one of our writers, who is also a former agriculture correspondence, once explained to me the significance of the pig in the British society. Around the time of the Industrial Revolution, it was normal for families to rear pigs in the backyard.

In the days when garbage collection was a novelty, probably not even heard of, and pretty much most types of waste were biodegradable, if not recyclable, having a pig was really useful. If you’re left with leftover scraps, you know who to feed them to. And pigs eat anything. Jo told me that pigs are not necessarily dirty – if you keep their habitat in an acceptable condition, they don’t have to be dirty or smelly.

In those days, the cured meat of the pig could sustain a family for months.

Now, you might think that the relationship between pig and man in this context is rather utilitarian. In a way, it is. But like the relationship between our Oriental friends and poultry (or to be exact, my mom and her ducks), it can be emotional as well.

How can you be emotional about something you keep in captivity? And eat?

Being an immigrant who is nosy by nature, I feel obliged to know a bit more about my adopted country and its gastronomic history. I am still not a fan of pork scratchings (although haggis I can tolerate), but I am intrigued to discover that the piggy bank is actually a concept derived from this old tradition of pig husbandry. The pig was a valuable asset to the family.

I was recommended to read Lark Rise To Candleford by Flora Thompson to learn more about the history of the British rural life.

So next time you see pig farmers protesting about the threats to their livelihood, you should know that they are also giving a voice to their concerns about the future of their customs, their cultural identity and their ways of life.

Oh, and why the mention of Anthony Burgess? Why not. His books (not The Clockwork Orange, obviously) got me into writing.