A hog's tale

The one thing that the Cebu hog industry feared the most finally happened --the African Swine Fever infection. Although it does not harm humans once ingested, it is a nuisance for breeders. Similar to the COVID-19 virus, it also attacks the hog's immune system. There is no cure for it. Once the hog is infected, it will exhibit symptoms of deteriorating health until its death. It is highly contagious and can damage a farm, or even the whole city. If it spreads, the effect is even worse.

This issue has been talked about since 2019. The province along with the highly-urbanized cities, have always made it a point to protect the hog industry that is worth billions. We have banned the entry of pigs and pork products from countries which are highly infected. When parts of the country also tested positive, we banned the entry of pork as well. Confiscated items were incinerated, as a symbol of the government's eagerness to turn the virus away.

According to the Department of Education, one of the reasons why ASF is contracted by hogs is because they eat swill. In the local dialect this is called "lamaw" or mixed food. These are leftover food from restaurants and homes. When gathered together, they are fed to pigs then the owner gets to save on the expenses. Buying feeds may be expensive but it is worth the health of the hogs.

Now we are faced with another problem --the increased prices of pork. As demand dwindles due to border controls, we face an increase in prices which would hit the budget of every Filipino. Sure, we can say that we can buy alternatives for meat. However, this shouldn't be the case. An ideal Filipino life should be one that has access to everything, including food.

I don't think there has been a month in the past year when the Department of Agriculture was not in question. They are facing so many controversies concerning food security which is a very pressing matter. Filipinos need to eat and survive, we cannot just wait on false promises. We were assured a better life; we should have it by now. Sugar, onion, now hogs, I wonder what will be next?

They say this is the best time to go vegetarian as the price of pork is on the rice. This shouldn't be a choice we have to make because of the circumstances. We choose our diet because it is our will to do so and we know the benefits of it. I only hope the small backyard raisers and lechoneros will be able to cope from this chaos. We will in times where nothing is certain, even businesses in relation to pork are threatened. The ban may help to a certain extent, but we also must be prepared for what is to come.