Why do we like to eat pork?

Many people think that people in European and American countries like to eat beef, drink milk, and eat cheese because they are developed countries and they can afford foods like beef, milk, and cheese. The reason why Chinese people like to eat pork is because we have a long history of eating pork, such as Dongpo pork, braised pork, and twice-cooked pork. It can be said that if there is no pork on the Chinese table, then we don’t know how to cook.

Although this explanation is in line with people's intuition, geographers will tell you that there are other reasons why Europeans and Americans eat pork and Chinese people eat pork.

Why do Europeans like to eat beef?

The climate in Europe is actually not suitable for the development of agriculture or the growth of pigs, but it is very suitable for the growth of cattle. This is because the local climate in Europe is mainly Mediterranean climate and temperate maritime climate. These places are affected by the westerly wind from the ocean all year round, so they are not too cold in winter and not too hot in summer. In addition, there is a lot of rainfall here and there is no obvious dry and wet season. We may have heard a joke that you must bring an umbrella when you go out in the UK. This is because it can rain at any time.

This kind of climate is not conducive to agricultural production, but it is very suitable for grazing. This is because the mild and rainy climate all year round is conducive to the growth of pasture all year round. Therefore, the livestock industry in Europe is very developed, and many high-quality pastoral areas are located in Europe. Here, the price of local beef is low, and the by-products of beef, such as milk, cheese, etc., have also become the daily diet of local people.

Pigs and Beef in the United States

The United States is different from Europe. The United States is actually a big pig-raising country and a big cattle-raising country, but its own people prefer beef and the demand for pork Not so much that a lot of pork is exported to China.

The reason why the United States is suitable for raising pigs is because their country is vast and sparsely populated. The United States’ land area is not much smaller than that of China, but its population is much smaller than that of China, so they have large areas of land to use. Farming.

Furthermore, their climate is very suitable for the growth of soybeans and corn (our country is suitable for the growth of wheat and rice). In addition, their country’s agricultural technology is highly technological, which means that they use less manpower. They can manage hundreds of acres of farmland, which allows them to produce agricultural products at a lower cost and sell them at cheaper prices.

In fact, most of the feed consumed by our country’s livestock comes from the United States, Mexico and other countries. The reason is that the price of imported soybeans is cheaper than the price of our own production.

In addition, the advantage of raising pigs in the United States is that the meat-to-feed ratio is low. The meat-to-feed ratio is how much feed is invested and how much meat the pig can grow. The lower the meat-to-feed ratio, it means that the pork can grow with the least amount of food. Pork with more energy production. The meat-to-feed ratio in the United States is 1.91:1; in my country it is 3:1.

In other words, American pig farmers are actually good at it. If this is the case, then why do Americans also eat beef?

In fact, in the early days, Americans also ate pork. However, after the development of the west, the western region was vast and sparsely populated, and the climate was suitable for the growth of pasture. Therefore, the western United States began to raise cattle. This also Indirectly, the price of beef is reduced, making the price of beef consistent with that of pork, or even lower.

In addition, many Americans are descendants of Europeans. They have retained their country’s eating habits and have a greater demand for beef.

In addition, due to the rise of fast food culture, the emergence of beef burgers in the 1950s made beef the main edible meat for Americans, while the sales of pork continued to fall. Today it has become a marginal food on the American table.

The status of pork in China

Today, pork occupies an unshakable position in our country. With less than 1/5 of the population, we consume nearly half of the world's pork.

In fact, before the Ming Dynasty, Chinese people did not like pork very much. At that time, mutton was more popular. There was a saying in the Song Dynasty, "If Su Wen is cooked, eat mutton; if Su Wen is raw, eat vegetable soup." In "Knowledge", which is set in the Song Dynasty, the main meat food that appeared at that time was also mutton.

Moreover, Su Shi also wrote about the current situation of pork at that time in "Ode to Pork": Huangzhou had good pork, but the price was as low as dirt. The rich don't want to eat, the poor don't know how to cook. They get up in the morning and take two bowls, so full that the king doesn't care.

The reason why pork has become a national delicacy today is inseparable from my country's agriculture. We know that during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, my country's population had been growing exponentially, and an increase in population meant an increase in demand for crops, which led people to reclaim land and convert pastoral areas originally belonging to animals into farming areas.

When the area of ??cultivated land increases, the advantages of pigs will become apparent. We know that if the soil wants to maintain fertility, it needs to be fertilized regularly. In the past, there were no chemical fertilizers and people could only use farmyard manure. Pigs are a good helper in producing farmyard manure.

A book in the Qing Dynasty wrote, "A pig is raised for a year, and only the original part is taken after selling it. Twenty carts of manure are accumulated in a year. The larger pig will be priced according to the cart, and the smaller pig will be sold." Compensation for selling pigs."

In addition, pigs are omnivores and can feed on agricultural by-products, such as wheat bran, straw and even grass. Because of this, since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, pigs have It began to flourish in our country. In addition, our country has a vast land and abundant resources, and is very good at cooking, which has unlocked many ways to eat pork, making pork more closely integrated with our dining tables.

Although nowadays we don’t need pork to provide farmyard fertilizer, and there is also feed for raising sheep and cattle, people’s love for pork has not declined at all, so that the rise and fall of pork prices has even become an issue affecting our people’s livelihood. important factors.