Hear hear to Andrew’s unified pork theory and Omnivore’s Dilemma reportage on pork production. Well done! We should mention that the Chinese character for home 家 (jiā) is comprised of a pictograph of a roof over a pictograph of a pig. This is how central the pig to Chinese culture.
Of course the truth is always more complex and nuanced than popular lore. Thanks for setting the record straight - though there’s no doubt and pork still figure largely in Chinese history and culture regardless of the true origins of the character for home.
Beautiful piece. An awful lot of human activity is morally ambiguous. I have read that the sapiens craving for meat is driven by our large brains. A carnivorous viewed in that light is not immoral.
Excellent stuff, Andrew. But... you don't want to give out your recipe for huiguo rou?
Twice cook pork belly home fry recipe will be the next installment, featuring the most expensive pork belly it is possible to buy in Berkeley.!
Looking forward!
Somehow I missed this when it arrived in my inbox. So happy to have found it now!
I'm glad you did!
An enlightening journey as always my friend.
Hear hear to Andrew’s unified pork theory and Omnivore’s Dilemma reportage on pork production. Well done! We should mention that the Chinese character for home 家 (jiā) is comprised of a pictograph of a roof over a pictograph of a pig. This is how central the pig to Chinese culture.
The last installment of this newsletter was an epic saga investigating that very trope!
https://andrewleonard.substack.com/p/the-impossible-dictionary-of-truth
Of course the truth is always more complex and nuanced than popular lore. Thanks for setting the record straight - though there’s no doubt and pork still figure largely in Chinese history and culture regardless of the true origins of the character for home.
oh undoubtedly. which is why we are up to PART IV of "The Cross-Stitched Pig"!
But also, thanks!
Beautiful piece. An awful lot of human activity is morally ambiguous. I have read that the sapiens craving for meat is driven by our large brains. A carnivorous viewed in that light is not immoral.
I am not opposed to eating meat. But I can no longer stomach eating meat from factory farm pigs. And I should have reached this point much earlier.