I believe one of the speakers said, "abattoir," or slaughterhouse, not "avatar," as was reported in the article.

I don’t know about you, but I am plenty engaged. I am really and truly enjoying all the columns, videos and articles.

One thing that I am especially enjoying is the outrage of all the vegetarians and vegans who are just flat-out offended by this series. I mean, all the “shut up about pork” and witty posts like “pork pork pork pork pork” are nice but the righteous indignation claimed by some of you is just laughable.

First off, I would like to make a suggestion and I promise you that it is made in good faith. If you don’t like all the pork articles, stop reading them. If you are a Salon premium subscriber, you should probably cancel your membership as well. I have been told in other letters threads throughout Pork Week that “hey, it’s [my] right” to eat pork by people who would absolutely legislate that right out of existence if they had the chance. So let me tell you that, hey, it’s your right to not read articles you find offensive and it’s also your right to not pay to support any forum that publishes such content. Why are you still reading these articles? I mean, I can understand how on Monday you might have thought that a liberal publication like Salon might publish some sort of pro-vegetarian screed (even though the column that kicked this all of was about the joy of bacon), but why did you keep reading when it was clear that it wasn’t going to happen.

One of my favorite things that certain posters have brought up ad nauseam is the argument that Salon has a responsibility to publish articles arguing for the “side” of vegetarianism. I would like to again point out that Pork Week has been about the pleasures of eating pork. I wonder, (yes, nkennedy, I am talking to you) does a publication like Vegetarian Times have a responsibility to publish articles admitting to the fact that lots of dieticians and nutritionists believe that eating meat is an excellent way to get protein, iron and B vitamins in their diet? Of course not. That is ridiculous. But you are so indignant about the fact that Salon doesn’t publish your “side” of this argument. Hell, Vegetarian Times won’t even print a letter I write to their editors telling them how much I like pork and that I find that eating it is an easy way to balance my diet and that I work really hard to buy sustainable pork that is well-treated prior to its slaughter. But no matter how many times various Salon writers and posters admit to a certain ambivalence about eating meat, no matter how may times they acknowledge the contradictions (and I’m sure your life has absolutely no contradictions in it just as I am sure you compost your own meat-free feces rather than dump it into a sewer where it’s “treated” in a lagoon before being unleashed as a toxic stew onto unsuspecting playgrounds at Montessori academies), no matter how often they say that they are just DOING THEIR BEST, it’s not good enough for you. You cannot handle it that people don’t see things the same way you see them and it makes you so fucking angry.

I recognize that your “side” exists and has some compelling arguments. I worry about factory farming techniques and I do feel badly about the slaughter of animals. But that’s not good enough for you. It’s not good enough for you that I struggle with my conscience about this issue, you demand submission to your moral and intellectual superiority. It’s kind of like abortion: I am a pro-choice liberal but I struggle with my feelings on abortion. To the right-wing anti-choice Republican Party, I am an abomination. They don’t accept that I struggle with my conscience on the issue because if I truly did, I would have no choice but to agree with them. They don’t believe that it’s possible, once all the facts are considered, that a person of conscience and good faith could remain pro-choice. You’re like them; you just cannot wrap your mind around the notion that meat eaters like myself actually consider their choices and the impact of those choices and would still choose to eat meat.

Well, my conscience is clear. I have thought about the issues and will continue to think about them. I have read every letter posted during pork week. I have participated in the slaughter and butcher of pigs. I know what I am doing and I still sleep at night. If you can’t accept that the best I can promise you is that I will never rule out vegetarianism as possible future for myself, there is nothing more I can do for you.

On a final note, to Sarah Hepola, I think that Peter Kaminsky, in his last sentence, is referring to a local abattoir, not a local avatar. An abattoir is a slaughterhouse.

I think it's pretty obvious that the writers who contributed to Pork Week were both thoughtful and provocative in their choice of subject and in their research. I learned a great deal about the growth of ethical farming practices as well as about good food preparation. I plan on searching out locally raised pork, beef, and chicken and making sure I minimize my intake of industrially produced meats. It's also great that Salon can tackle a contentious subject among liberals without pandering. I've enjoyed reading the letters section almost as much as the articles and video clips themselves.

As for the price of high-quality, low-production pork, it seems like the answer is in buying in bulk. Half-hog prices are as low as $2.50/lb from some of the ranches in my area. This is for heirloom-variety pigs raised without confinement in natural conditions that allow them to forage.

For anyone wondering just what to do with all those pig parts, here is an excellent and entertaining link:

http://carolcookskeller.blogspot.com/2008/05/head-to-toe-part-two-pigs-head.html