# Soon we'll all have Chinese speaking pigs...



## Mucho Bocho (May 29, 2013)

Smithfield Foods has entered into a multi-billion dollar merger agreement with a top Chinese meat producer. Smithfields North Carolina hog processing plant is the largest in the world. The company already sells pork in 12 countries. But now Shuanghui International based in central China has agreed to acquire Smithfield for $4.7 billion. The total deal is valued at $7.1 billion.

Not sure what that exactly means, but outsourcing our life stock food supply can be good for US consumers?


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## echerub (May 29, 2013)

In Chinese, the word "meat" on its own always means "pork". Not surprising that a Chinese processor wants to buy up others who are big in the pork game in order to continue growing.

For anyone who is not a fan of corporate mega-processing, this doesn't actually change things much. It's still a business that responds to what kind of pork people spend their money on.


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## WildBoar (May 29, 2013)

Investors from other countries have always bought up US companies. ~30 years ago the worry was Japan was going to own the US. Smithfield is 'international', so in 11 of the 12 countries where they do business they are already 'owned' by a foreign country (the US). On a more personal note, my broker advised me to buy stock in them 5-6 years ago. Then they ran into issues with distribution deals in foreign countries falling apart. This announced deal finally gets my stock purchase back to the break even point :bliss:


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## Sambal (May 29, 2013)

Well I hope for you people in the Hew Hass Hay that the pigs are not sourced from Zhejiang Province where over 16,000 pigs were found dumped and floating in the rivers recently. The pigs were found to have a porcine virus that's not supposed to be infectious to humans. Not yet anyway.


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## boomchakabowwow (May 30, 2013)

i really need to step up my bowhunting skills with hog hunting. those things are smart!! (or give up on my vow and pick up my rifles)

most of my pork comes from the lady across the street. she gives me a live hog once a year. i just have to help with butcher duties.

the hogs will still be raised in the good ole USA right? as long as USDA practices remain..good to go..right?


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## mhlee (May 30, 2013)

The purchase isn't to bring Chinese pork into the US; it's vice versa. China wants more US pork. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324412604578512722044165756.html

As for "good" USDA practices, I'm not sure they're "good" at all. http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/24601-0001-41.pdf


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## bikehunter (May 30, 2013)

I'm sure it's an interesting article, Michael, but I'm not buying a WSJ subscription to read it. <g.


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## mhlee (May 30, 2013)

Sorry. I was able to read it earlier, but now it shows the subscription required image. 

Here's a Forbes article about it. Hopefully, it's free. http://www.forbes.com/sites/simonmo...thfield-could-be-game-changer-for-pork-trade/


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## bikehunter (May 30, 2013)

Thanks, Michael.


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## franzb69 (May 30, 2013)

> As for "good" USDA practices, I'm not sure they're "good" at all.



something we can agree on as well. aside from practices, i'm not even sure it even gets followed 90% of the time all the time.


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## Sambal (May 31, 2013)

Yes, it's to bring US pork to China. I was mislead by the topic title. You can also read about it in the NYT. Overdemand in China? Or is this caused by a shortage in China because of whatever's blighting the piggeries? Some incredibly horrific photos of masses of carcasses in the rivers there. "More pigs than fish in the river" was a quote by a fisherwoman there.


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## Dardeau (May 31, 2013)

I heard this on the radio and thought " Meet the new boss, same as the old boss". Ask the US govt to stop subsidizing corn prices and factory farms will be unable to afford to feed their stock, as well as encouraging farmers to back away from monocropping


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## Marko Tsourkan (May 31, 2013)

Buy local and know who produces your food. That's your best bet, though expect to pay higher price. 

Chinese farm-raised salmon (and Chinese farm-raised seafood in general) is another thing I would stay away from.

As long as operations are on the US soil, they will be subject to US regulations, so that at least will be some sort of assurance for safety of meat.

M


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## franzb69 (May 31, 2013)

anything edible (if it really is edible) from china i stay away from.


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## boomchakabowwow (May 31, 2013)

franzb69 said:


> something we can agree on as well. aside from practices, i'm not even sure it even gets followed 90% of the time all the time.



wait..aren't you in the Phillipines? how would you know?

i was just joking about the USDA tying to be sarcastic. but didnt they virtually eliminate trichinosis in the US pork supply? and they set guidelines for fridge temps  
they dont completely suck do they? maybe i need to re-read upton sinclair's book. heheh.


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## boomchakabowwow (May 31, 2013)

i wonder what this will do to our pork prices? the demand just got larger. china LOVES porky goodness.


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## mzer (May 31, 2013)

The demand for pork didn't change due to an ownership change at Smithfield.


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## Dardeau (May 31, 2013)

I spent almost five years butchering, or watching someone else butcher two to five pigs a week. The inside of a commodity pig makes you want to never touch pork again. The inside of a pig from a small farm, that was raised well is a thing of beauty. I am totally disgusted by the American meat packing industry.


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## bikehunter (May 31, 2013)

The inside of a pig from a small farm, that was raised well is a thing of beauty. That's quite a statement. Please elaborate. How do they differ, specifically?


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## Dardeau (May 31, 2013)

One is farmed catfish, the other is top grade tuna. The stuff you run into in a commodity pig is horrific. Stop reading now if you are easily grossed out, please. Tumors for one. In those years maybe ten percent of those hogs were commodity, zero percent for the last three, and almost all of the commodities had tumors and infected lymph nodes, none of the well raised pigs had infections, maybe three or four had tumors. A quality hog smells good and has firm lightly marbled muscle. Think of a mushyass Smithfield loin from the grocery store. They are like that off the pig, it isn't something that happens in cryovac. Push it with your thumb and it compresses. A top quality loin will give them bounce back. One is a faberware Walmart knife, the other a DT.


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## bikehunter (May 31, 2013)

Thx. I wasn't disagreeing with you as I'm one of the largest critics of big agribusiness. I don't know what my question had to do with catfish or tuna.


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## Dardeau (May 31, 2013)

Didn't mean to have the rage. I ******* hate these guys. Even more I love the farmers who make my life and living possible. I used catfish and tuna because one is mushy, colorless, and bland and the other is tender yet toothy, pink, and complex.


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## bikehunter (May 31, 2013)

Don't worry about the rage. I goi nto one any time I hear the words Conagra (making the food you love) or Monsanto (lover of food labeling). But I should shut up, as I could quickly and easily get way too political, even for the off topic room ;-)


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## franzb69 (May 31, 2013)

> wait..aren't you in the Phillipines? how would you know?



do you really want me to get started? how would i know? news is global, monsanto is globally hated. your FDA, a good number of your justice department and a good number of your politicians are pretty much controlled by Monsanto. the world knows what goes on.

just because i'm in the Philippines doesn't mean I'm ignorant of what goes on in the rest of the world.

this will be my last comment on this issue. and fine i'll shut up about your country's goings on.


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## Dardeau (Jun 1, 2013)

I hate the fact that my food, and the food of the people in my country is politicized. That is all.


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## Duckfat (Jun 1, 2013)

franzb69 said:


> something we can agree on as well. aside from practices, i'm not even sure it even gets followed 90% of the time all the time.



Why would you say this about the USDA? IMO that's a bit out there. News may be global but it's also globally manipulated. The USADA is far from perfect but lets keep it real. I have no idea how you are finding an analogy here with Monsanto.
Food is political. Any one that thinks the USDA is not monitoring Satellite images of worldwide food crops and "movement" must be living in the 50's. 
The Chinese already control our banks. Letting Chinese corps take over our food supply is a serious National Security issue. I'll be very surprised if the SEC lets this deal go through considering it's been all over the news in the last week that the Chinese have been busted yet again hacking our military computers.

Dave


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## mhlee (Jun 1, 2013)

Duckfat said:


> The Chinese already control our banks.



???


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## Burl Source (Jun 1, 2013)

[video=youtube_share;n-FuNqL-V20]http://youtu.be/n-FuNqL-V20[/video]


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## shaneg (Jun 1, 2013)

Clean/freerange pigs should have pretty much no odour, one thing I hate is vacuum packed meat, and wet aging beef. 
Anyway, we are currently in the midst of banning sow crate raised pigs so all of the pigs will have to be freerange again.
Which is pretty.. pretty.. pretty.. good. For us and the pigs.

One question, when did intensive farming take off? Early 90's?
It seems like overnight all farms switched over to intensive style farming.


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## shaneg (Jun 1, 2013)

mhlee said:


> ???



NWO, Chinese edition. Haha


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## Dardeau (Jun 1, 2013)

1996. The grain reserve was dismantled, so the price of corn rapidly dropped. That made intensive farming economically viable, mostly effected pigs, but chickens ramped up then too. A few weeks ago the number of chicken kills per minute went up again. Farm policy makes my head hurt. I've found that the leaf lard in some pigs smells pleasantly like hay. I miss that part of my old job.


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## boomchakabowwow (Jun 1, 2013)

franzb69 said:


> do you really want me to get started? how would i know? news is global, monsanto is globally hated. your FDA, a good number of your justice department and a good number of your politicians are pretty much controlled by Monsanto. the world knows what goes on.
> 
> just because i'm in the Philippines doesn't mean I'm ignorant of what goes on in the rest of the world.
> 
> this will be my last comment on this issue. and fine i'll shut up about your country's goings on.



just a honest question brother. i cant type in emotions..if i could it would have been a happy inquisitive type question..typed out in pinkish font 

living here, i honestly see some of the stuff going on..i like standarized safety temps in fridges..butchers washing hands, etc. maybe not exactly FDA type stuff, but some of it works. 

i honestly wasnt even thinking of monsanto. i was just wondering what your prospective of our FDA was coming from. i couldnt imagine what our food would be like if there was no FDA.


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## evilknievel1028 (Jun 2, 2013)

Isn't it Smithfield, like Smithfield VA? I know there's one in NC too, but my buddy who works there said the home plant is the biggest... Sad to see the Chinese are after our pork as well...


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## Duckfat (Jul 26, 2013)

The CFIUS has blocked the sale of Smithfield to the Chinese for an additional 45 days citing national security concerns. It looks very probable at this point that the sale may be blocked.


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## WildBoar (Jul 26, 2013)

There is some humor in all this. There is one thread going on how big producers such as Smithfield produce crap meat that no one wants to buy/ eat, and another thread displaying outrage that the company could get chinese owners :lol2:


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