Somostpigsnowspendtheirentirelivesindoors.Theyare
born and suckled in a farrowing unit,raised initially in a
nursery,andbroughttoslaughterweightinagrowing-feeding
unit.Unlesstheyaretobeusedasbreeders,theyaresentto
marketatbetweenfiveandsixmonthsofageweighingabout
220 pounds.
Thedesiretocutlaborcostshasbeenonemajorreasonfor
theshifttoconfinement.Withanintensivesystem,onemanis
said to be able to handle the entire operation, thanks to
automatedfeedingandslattedfloorsthatallowthemanureto
dropthroughforeasydisposal.Anothersaving,withthisas
withallotherconfinementsystems,isthatwithlessroomto
moveabout,thepigwillburnuplessofitsfoodin“useless”
exercise,andsocanbeexpectedtoputonmoreweightfor
each pound of food consumed. In all of this, as one pig
producersaid,“Whatwearereallytryingtodoismodifythe
animal’s environment for maximum profit.”^78
In addition to stress,boredom, and crowding, modernpig
confinementunitscreatephysicalproblemsforthepigs.One
istheatmosphere.Hereisaquotationfromtheherdsmanat
Lehman Farms, of Strawn, Illinois:
Theammoniareallychewsuptheanimals’lungs....Thebad
air’saproblem.AfterI’vebeenworkinginhereawhile,Ican
feel it in my own lungs. But at least I get out of here at
night. The pigs don’t, so we have to keep them on
tetracycline, which really does help control the problem.^79
Noristhisaproducerofparticularlylowstandards.Theyear
beforethis statementwas made, Lehman had been named