BONUS EP: The Humane Side of Pork Production: From Farm to Fork with Indiana Farmers

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Have you ever wondered what single animal would be your desert island food choice for survival? For our host, Chef Antonio, it's the pig—hands down. The remarkable versatility of pork and its countless preparation methods make it the ultimate survival protein, and this episode dives deep into why.

We're joined by the President of the Indiana Pork Producers, who offers a fascinating glimpse into modern pig farming. With 3,000 family farms across Indiana, the state plays a significant role in America's pork industry, even sending one in every four US-raised pigs to international markets. These global exports often face stricter standards than domestic sales, pushing farmers to maintain exceptional quality and sustainability practices.

The conversation dispels common misconceptions about industrial farming by highlighting the meticulous care given to pigs throughout their development. From employing specialized nutritionists who formulate 8-10 different feed rations for various growth stages to the "We Care" principle guiding humane treatment, today's pig farmers are combining traditional agricultural values with modern science. Tharp's own farm employs half a dozen people dedicated solely to animal care, underscoring that their livelihood depends directly on the quality of their stewardship.

What truly sets pork apart is its culinary versatility. Whether it's luxurious smoked pork belly, mouthwatering bacon, or tender pork butt, the possibilities seem endless. We explore how the World Food Championships showcased chefs transforming simple cuts into extraordinary dishes, proving that "a pork belly is not a pork belly everywhere—it's all in how it's prepared." This creative partnership between farmers who raise quality pork and chefs who prepare it creates a virtuous cycle of innovation and appreciation.

Ready to embrace the "pork life"? Listen now for a deeper connection to what's on your plate and the dedicated farmers bringing it from farm to fork.

Chefs...what is YOUR favorite meat? 

Learn more about Indiana's Farms and Production here: https://www.indianapork.org/

Thank you to the World Food Championships for connecting us!

Welcome to the show! Burnt Hands Perspective

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, listen here, kristen.
This is a question was asked tome one time and it's so
important because somebody askedme a question as a chef.
I got rapid-fired withquestions one time in an
interview.
Okay, so before we evenintroduce you, I want to tell
the story of why you're here.
Okay, I was rapid-fired onetime as a chef saying if you
could have one animal and youwere on a desert island and you

(00:23):
could only have one animal tocook and survive on the rest of
your life, what would it be?
And I listen to people talk anda lot of people are saying the
chicken, I got it.
The beef, okay, yeah, you couldMe instantly, without question
a pig, hog pig, however you wantto call it pork, and they're
like, really, I'm like do youknow what you can do with pork,
how many ways you can make porkdelicious and live off of it,

(00:46):
right.
So with us today is Nick.
Take the mic my friend Nick.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
come on, tell us what you're here.
Yeah, my name is Nick Tharp andI'm president of the Indiana
Pork Producers and serve thevarious pork farmers or pig
farmers here in the state ofIndiana.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
And Indiana is a big state Farming.
And Indiana is a big stateFarming and you're one of what
3,000 certified registeredfarmers.
Is that what you call?

Speaker 2 (01:08):
it.
Yeah, yeah.
So one of the 3,000 family pigfarmers here in the state of
Indiana.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
So you're not only.
Your push for Indiana farmingis to be able to bring the
product all over the country oroutside of that right?
Yes, in our area.
I'm very close and I work tightwith the Smithfield Virginia.
We're in Virginia Beach, so I'msure you would call it a
competitor, right?
So I am involved with that, soI understand how much importance

(01:37):
there is to the farming of itall.
So what is it you guys aretrying to do as a mission when
it comes to bringing the productto people's table?
What is that?

Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, so our goal is to provide a very safe product
that, um, it's wholesome forpeople to consume, whether it be
here in the state of indiana,uh, in the united states or
across the world.
Right now, one of every fourpigs that produced here in the
us is actually, uh, consumed inanother country.
Um, so, you know, not only arewe you know farming in our own

(02:07):
background want to make surethat we're being good stewards
of god's resources, but alsowe're feeding a world that's
hungry for pork and and.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
With that being said, if you're going, let's be
honest, I'll be honest.
So the American standard ofwhat they allow to happen isn't
as good as some other countries.
So if you guys are producing inthese other countries, who have
a higher standard of whatthey're importing and what
they're serving their people,then you're done.
You guys are focusing on asustainable product in a state

(02:36):
of sustainable animal that'sgoing to be healthy and brought
up right and humanely.
That that's the biggest thingthat really worries a lot of
people, I think when they'regoing, switching over to being
vegan or switching over tovegetarian stuff, a lot of it
has to do with the humaneraising and things like that.
Does indiana farming find thatto be a thing?

Speaker 2 (02:53):
yeah, so as so as we look at it, you know, not only
here in the state of Indiana andreally across all the US,
there's a commitment to the weepcare principle.
So we care for the animals, wecare for the people that help us
, because at our farm it's morethan just my family that can
care for our pigs.

Speaker 1 (03:13):
How many people typically employed, or how many
does it take to operate a commonfarm?

Speaker 2 (03:19):
It really depends on the size and scale.
How about yours?
On ours, we have a group of ahalf a dozen people that help us
each and every day, and it'syou know we have several pigs,
but it comes down that we'reproviding care for each and
every pig there every day, andour livelihood depends on their
good caretaking, and we want toprovide the best environment

(03:40):
that we can to give them theopportunity to do what they do.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
So you're looking at their food, what they're being
fed, all that stuff comes downto the waters they're drinking.
Everything comes down to that,right, it all comes down to the
final product.
Really, the final product isthe meat on the plate.
Yeah, the meat on the plate.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
that, right, it all comes down to the final product,
really, the final product isthe meat on the plate, yeah, the
meat on the plate, that youknow, whether that meat's served
at my table each night or myneighbor's or someone across the
world, that it matters.
And you know you talked aboutthe pig's nutrition.
You know how often do you gosee a nutritionist or have a
nutritionist put specializes inpig nutrition, really, and in

(04:18):
that as that pig develops, fromwhen it's first born to when it
reaches market weight, it may befed eight, nine, ten different
feed rations that meet itsbiological needs.
During that time.

Speaker 1 (04:30):
So I'm assuming safe to say your favorite animal to
eat is big or do you have apreference?

Speaker 2 (04:36):
oh you, know I got it .
I'm a meat eater, um, no doubt.
But you know, uh, what's nearand dear to our family's heart,
and our table is um pork,because we depend on uh, you
know them to make our livelihoodand they depend on us each day
to provide the care that theyneed.

Speaker 1 (04:54):
Preparing it.
What's your favorite way?
How does Indiana or how do youprepare pork?
What's?

Speaker 2 (05:00):
your style.
Oh man, you can't beat.
Pork off the smoker.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
Everybody says that Is it the butt you like?

Speaker 2 (05:07):
No, smoked pork, belly Pork, butt, there you go.
I mean, everybody loves bacon,why not we're?

Speaker 1 (05:13):
classing it up here.
I love a good smoked pork belly.
I know your time is limitedhere, but I just wanted to.
We just want to talk about thisand is there anything you want
to say?
In representing or or sayingwhat you want to say here?
What would you, what would yourfinal words be if you had to?

Speaker 2 (05:27):
say, uh, here at the world food championships and
just watching the creativity ofthe chefs and what they can do
with, you know, a simple cut ofmeat, and and a pork belly is
not a pork belly everywhere,it's all in how it's prepared,
and pork is such a versatileprotein, and being able to see
just why each one of theseindividuals are able to do with

(05:47):
that protein to make a uniquedish, that is just amazing.
It's been very cool to see and,uh, you know, great uh for
those that you know take in thiscompetition to look and see,
you know, what ways they can gohome and prepare pork for their
family and their table, uh, in aunique way.
Um, that can really make itmore than just eating been an
experience sure so.

Speaker 1 (06:09):
So when I go, lastly, here, when I I'm envisioning
here that you're gettinginspired, so when I need
inspiration in Smithfield, wecan go, I can go talk to the
farmers, we can go to thefarmers of vegetables and we can
go get all this things that arethat are indigenous to our area
, and we get inspired to cookthe product.
So, as a farmer, though, whenyou come to something like this,
you go home thinking, okay,these chefs, serious, they know

(06:31):
what they're doing, they'rereally taking pride in what
they're doing, and it mustinfluence you a little bit to go
deeper in what you're doing.
Right, to give a better product?

Speaker 2 (06:39):
I would, I would hope right, yeah, and just looking
at the opportunity to bridgethat gap of you know.
Pairing with these chefs andreally understanding you know
what attributes of the pork youknow that they desire to get the
outcome that they want in thatdish and that eating experience
for their customers is veryinteresting and you know any way
that we can increase thepopularity of pork on people's

(07:03):
dinner plates is pretty awesome,sure.

Speaker 1 (07:05):
Awesome.
Well, thank you so much forbeing here, chris.
Do you have anything you wantto ask the team?

Speaker 2 (07:08):
I don't know, it's great to have you here and we
got to have one of the winnersof the bacon competition.
It was on the show already sowe've got to see some of those
products.

Speaker 1 (07:16):
You can't win with bad bacon.

Speaker 2 (07:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (07:19):
Gotta love it.
One of my favorite foodsAwesome.
Well, thank you so much forbeing here, man.

Speaker 2 (07:23):
Thanks for having me on.

Speaker 1 (07:24):
Thanks for having me here with us.
So thanks again.
Pork life, rolling pork life.
Pork life, pork it up.
All right, ciao for now.
Thanks.