A Question of Scale

Although we all know that pigs are primarily raised to produce pork, we often forget the scale of this enterprise, especially when we think about the cultural pig, the "pigs of the imagination" as I call it in the book. So, as a reminder, here's the latest update on U.S. pig meat production last month, courtesy of the USDA's National Agriculture Statistics Service (full report in pdf format here):

U.S. pig meat production totaled 1.95 billion pounds in September 2011, up 4% from September 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hog slaughter totaled 9.69 million head, up 4% from September 2010. The average live weight was unchanged from 2010 numbers, at 270 pounds.