The Pig and I

The Pig and I

A conflicted bacon-loving journalist labors for six months at an industrial pig farm in this compelling investigation into the long relationship between humans and swine.

In this eye opening and lively book, journalist Kristoffer Hatteland Endresen of Norway follows a litter of piglets from birth, all in the hope of understanding what goes on inside an industrial pig farm and whether humans can ethically justify eating pork. He mucks out pig pens, cuddles a piglet, and narrowly escapes being trampled.

Drawing on history, literature, archeology, and myth, Endresen interweaves his piggery experience with surprising insights into the long and star-crossed bond between pigs and humans. Sharing new science on video-game-playing swine and pig heart transplants, he asks if pigs really are as smart as we think.

After convincing a skeptical pig farmer to take him on as a hired hand for six months, Endresen follows a litter of piglets from birth to slaughter of the most consumed animal protein in the world.

Both an engaging saga of an overlooked animal and a provocative exploration of the ethics of industrial meat, The Pig and I asks us to consider not only where our food comes from, but also the tangled history that first brought it to our plates.

The Pig and I is an intelligent, surprising and engaging saga that may change the way you think about your breakfast, that BLT at lunch or pork chops for dinner.

Endresen is a historian and journalist who has worked in the fields of writing and teaching. This is his first book.