Environmentalist Abby Rockefeller recently announced her intention of bringing the People's Pig from its suburban Beijing farm home to upstate New York. Ms. Rockefeller said that her intention of bringing this particular breed of swine into the United States is part of her effort to restore the breed's natural qualities.
The breed called People's Pig, widely known in China as "dongbei minzhu", is well known in the country for their fatty meat, virility, and the natural ability to endure extremely cold climates. While this particular breed of pigs was once popular in China, domestication and cross-breeding have reduced some of their impressive qualities. Today, conservative estimates put the People's Pigs number to be around 2,000.
Ms. Rockefeller is planning to buy four of these People's Pig, namely Little Black, Little Gray, Little White, and Old White, from a farm in suburban Beijing. She said that she paid $1,400 for these four People's Pigs.
It is important to note that in recent years, China has been aggressively promoting the urbanization of the country. Additionally, the country also started to embrace modern farming techniques. These two factors alone have severely affected the conservation and breeding grounds of the once popular People's Pig.
Due to health restrictions, these pigs are prohibited to be transported from their current home. While some Chinese conservation experts have extended their effort to save the People's Pigs, some local officials have threatened to just bury the pigs alive. The threat of African Swine Fever also threatens these the future of these pigs.
The People's Pig breed originated from the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang. This particular breed of pigs have been described by local experts are tastier than foreign pork products. Even China's Ministry of Agriculture has listed the People's Pig breed into what it calls as "national team" - a list of breeds and pedigrees that have shown excellence and whose genes are to be protected.
According to China Agricultural University in Beijing Professor Wang Chuduan, there are around 2,000 of these purebred pigs left in China. That is a significant boost compared to its numbers in the 1990s which were pegged at about 100.
The People's Pigs that Ms. Rockefeller aims to bring to the U.S. live at the Green Cow Farm which is located in the outskirts of Beijing. The farm is co-owned by American Lejen Chen who started the organic farm about 14 years ago. The main reason for establishing the farm was to supply her two restaurants with not only pork but also chicken and milk.
