So, my deal with pork, Steph, is this: commercially raised pork is pretty horrendous. The females who have litters of piglets have to be in these tiny farrowing crates. They are iron cages no bigger than their bodies on top of concrete. The mothers cannot turn around, can't get any exercise other than stand-up-lay-down, and can't even really see their piglets. The supposed reason for this is so that the mothers don't accidentally squish the piglets (in the farrowing crates the babies can move about and out of the way, even if the mommies can't). However, anyone can see that keeping an animal in such captive confinement is cruel.

There is quite a bit of debate about this issue, not just in the PETA-type circles, but also in the American Veterinary Medical Association, whether we should come out as a profession against the crates or turn a blind eye. I can't justify it anymore with my personal dollars (just like I'll never buy eggs that aren't at least nominally free range anymore).

I'll still eat prosciutto (because most European farmers don't use such mass-production oriented methods, and certainly not for the pigs destined to be prosciutto!), and I will eat Berkshire pork from Peach Creek Farms. They get to run around and root in the mud all day, and farrow in hay-lined stalls - a veritable maternity suite compared to the crates. I also ordered the carnitas from Chipotle because they only buy from farms with these kinder, saner methods. But no more bacon, chops, or tenderloin from HEB or Costco. The tenderloin I felt guilty about last week was from the freezer, bought before my self-imposed boycott.

So, here is the guilt-free meal we had tonight, thanks to the Austin Farmers Market and Peach Creek Farms!