The intensive meat industry is one of the most complex man-made-systems ever created. Nowadays we are creating more and more laws and guidelines to keep this ‘monster’ under controle. Together with input from society the government puts a lot of effort into creating laws to look after animal welfare, protect the environment and control food safety.

 

However, that is not the only thing our society cares about, in it’s role of consumer we are also very focused on the price, we want -and are used to eating lots of meat for a relatively cheap price. We can’t have both.

 

These obviously contradictory desires, those of enough legislation combined with the desire for a low meat price, are hard to explain. After all, humans belong to the most intelligent beings on earth.

 

So do pigs. Out of all the animals on earth, pigs are ranked at number 7th when it comes to their intelligence and their complex social behaviour.