Have you ever eaten ice cream from Baskin and Robbins? Well, John Robbins' father and uncle started the famed ice cream business together many years ago. John was set to inherit the whole shebang, but took another path, turning down any money from the venture. In his book, Diet for a New America, he wrote about a pig farmer he met while researching how animals were raised for food in this country. I have never forgotten that chapter. It made quite an impression on me.
I have posted the assignment for you to read the chapter, with an update, on John's website.
In memoir, the writer changes as a result of writing about and revisiting an experience. How did John change? How did he feel about the pig farmer at the beginning of the story? At the end?
Why is telling this story important? What is the take away? What does the reader gain from reading it? What did you gain? Did you change? Explain.
Let's have a discussion.
http://johnrobbins.info/blog/the-pig-farmer/
In the beginning of this very moving story, John did what most people do and judged the pig farmer based on one aspect of his life. He figured this was a cruel and heartless man based on the conditions he kept his pigs. He began to question his harsh judgments when “the wife” invited him to dinner, but then when the farmer got angry at dinner, John got scared. That was right before he realized his feelings and assumptions about the farmer were all wrong. He came to see that the farmer was actually a really sensitive man who was coping his way through life with a childhood trauma he didn’t realize he was affected by. John saw the soft side of this man and changed his judgments completely because he knew the man was not a cruel soul, but simply subconsciously still trying to get his father's approval. He wasn’t a mean man, just very sensitive.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of this story, all I could think about was being disgusted with meat. I eat meat now but that only started a year ago, before that I was a vegetarian for six years. When I got farther into the story and realized it was less about farming and more about basic humanity, I really was captivated. This story was obviously important for John to tell because he wrote about it in his book and then more detailed in this blog post. I think the biggest takeaway is that just because one aspect of someone is negative, does not mean that they are a bad person. Judgments are really common in our society and not looked down on as they should be. Ideally, we should be learning all we can about someone before we place harsh judgments on them. This is especially true in instances like John’s. He judged a man’s personality off his career. He didn’t know anything about his family life or his childhood when he was making those harsh judgments. When he learned about the other aspects of his life is when he realized this was not a bad man.
I think this piece makes the reader really think about their judgments. I know that is what I took away from it the most. I gained a helpful reminder to remember “you can’t judge a book by its cover” or in this case “you can’t judge a man by his career.” I don’t think it changed me, other than considering being a vegetarian again. Like I said, it really helped to give me the reminder that everyone should hear daily- not to judge others.
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ReplyDeleteFirstly, thank you for the moving story. And Happy Valentines Day!
ReplyDeleteJohn changed a lot about his attitude and thoughts to the pig farmer. The change did not come as a sudden, but gradually as he knew the farmer more and more. At the beginning, the image of the farmer in John’s mind was “at least 240 pounds”, “be made out of concrete”, “ his language seemed to consist mainly of grunts”, this was not comfortable for a research write who came from city. What’s important, “he was a cold and closed human being”, “ mercilessly”. However, fortunately John got the truth later, “quite the opposite: it was a sign of how sensitive he was underneath.” “grateful for whatever it was in him”. At last, he saw the farmer’s spirit, something inside but extremely valuable: the courage to change life with uncertainty but with faith-to do the right thing, to change to lead a right life without any fears or worries.
The farmer’s change shocked me a lot. I thought he was just a farmer with little education, leading a just about feeding and sleeping, without dreams. But finally, I find I am wrong. Yes, he did not turn out to be a wealthy man who makes a large donation to others like many other story, but he had the courage to change lifestyle under certainty without fears. Most of people are not brave as him, even though they want to be.
What’s my dream or simply, what’s the thing I want to do? Why not do it now? Do I worry something like if I do it I will lose something? The thing I need to worry most about is something I should do while I stay there without action because of worry, fear or hesitation. One word, please do something right with the strong determination and courage. Thus, I will be proud of what I have done and I will benefit from it too.
I think that the imagery in the very beginning, while very well written, gives the impression that all pig farms are ran like a slaughter house. As I continued reading the story venture completely from what I was expecting. I was honestly surprised that he thought a person could completely lack all compassion. It takes serious hormonal imbalances to able to feel nothing towards living things. He does what he was raised doing and has made a very respectable career out of it. The story the farmer told of his childhood surprised me but I completely understand the lesson his father was trying to teach him. As terrible and morbid as this sounds, it showed him that life does have an ending and that we lose things we love all the time. Im glad that the farmers wife invited him in and actually gave an opportunity for real insight. I personally believe that small town people are the best. And towards the end he states that not knowing someone just based on there appearance is one of the most beautiful parts of life and i could not agree more.
ReplyDeletejohns first impression of the pig farmer is that he is a ruthless and had no sympathy for his livestock. But after seeing the hospitality of his family and hearing the story of the farmers childhood, he realizes that the farmer is only doing what he knows to make a living. He knows it's wrong, but it's the only way to provide for his family and keep up with larger corporations. He realizes that the farmer has been hiding all of this grief up for all of his life only because of what he was forced into. John is moved by this man because the farmer left his way of life and sold his stock, to move and follow his dreams, and teach children that pigs are actually more intelligent than we take them for. I feel moved to follow my personal beliefs in pursuing a career that I decide for myself, and not to be what my parents want me to be, because I won't be as happy in life.
ReplyDeleteJohn changed tremendously throughout the encounter. This was an animal rights activists who was undercover and found himself face to face with a rigid, brick wall of man who was fully prepared to speak his mind.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the story John is clearly a bit intimidated by this Pig Farmer. He describes him to look "made of concrete" and to possess "the fluidity and grace of a brick wall". Therefor John originally had his specific feelings toward pig farmers in general, and this particular farmer showed no potential in changing his mind at all...until "The wife" extended John an offering to stay for dinner, this changed the entire plot of the story, and his life. After hearing the Pig Farmer's story, his opinion changed completely. John learned a lesson in never judging a book by its cover and always determining the substance of a man before assuming his motives in life based on current position. By the end of the story the Pig Farmer was John's hero. He could not help but respect this man with every fiber of his being.
The story is important because its a first hand account of how amazing the world can be when you truly make an effort to get to know all people despite first-sight. The take away from this story is to appreciate every situation you find yourself in because you never know if that could be the very situation to change your life forever. I was raised to never judge person's character before thoroughly getting to know them simply because growing up as a young black man in the south, I cant honestly afford to, however I still gained a bit from this story. I learned to not reject situations that may not seem too appealing to start off with, because John was mortified when the farmer's family left to let them hash out this argument like men. Surely there was no where else the farmer would rather be at that time, while John could barely breathe...but somehow he still managed to come out of that dining room a changed man. This changed me because before reading, I was quick to avoid unpromising situations, but now I've been inspired to endure the storm just in case a mysterious rainbow may come out of the whole thing.
At the start of the story when John was recounting the events it seemed like as though he had already arrived at the pig farm with a strong and biased opinion. As the day proceeded, what he viewed only strengthened this opinion but things changed once he was invited to dinner by "the wife". At dinner he learned more about the pig farmer, why he does what he does, also about the farmers past. Now John understands the pig farmer and his lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteThis is why story telling is so important, it conveys the message to the reader. The message in this case being that yes, John arrived at the farm very biased and one sided on his views on pig farms but after learning more about the farmer, John now sees their lifestyle differently. I'm not sure if I took anything away from the reading but maybe just gratitude that I'm not one of those "save the world" type people that always want to point a finger at someone.
In the beginning of the story, John feels as though the farmer does not care for his livestock at all. This seems to be true, but as John hears more about the farmer and what his life has been like, he realizes that the farmer is only doing what he has to do to help his family live. The farmer happens to know that what he does is wrong, but it is the only way that he can keep his own family living. John is very intrigued by the farmer because he decided to ditch his old way of life and continue to follow his dreams and what he really wanted to do. This story makes me think about what I want to do in life and how I want to follow my dreams as well. I feel like I have to do something I enjoy, otherwise I will be stuck doing something that I do not enjoy for the rest of my life.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of this story, John described what the pig farm looked like, which was intolerable to the eye. The conditions were really awful that reflected John’s first impression of the pig farmer who was merciless. But after knowing the farmer’s family and childhood, John saw the man’s soft side. All the man did was just followed the thing that he had been telling by his father since he was little to make a living. Then John changed his mind of this man. I learned one thing from this story that is don't judge anybody by just seeing what he does. Maybe there is a moving story behind.
ReplyDeleteThis assignment was different than I expected. I thought I would read a random story and then answer some meaningless questions afterwards, but I was surprised at the effect this story had on me. It made me realize that, much like the author, I can sometimes be too quick to judge some people. In the beginning of the story, John thought that he was encountering another pig farmer who didn't care about the animals he was raising, and was just in it for the money. Later while he was talking after dinner he realized that the farmer had just buried his memories of loving animals in a subconscious attempt to please his father. Once John realized this, his attitude towards the farmer changed, and actually started to idolize the farmer for changing his life despite concern for the financial stability of his family.
ReplyDeleteTelling this story can help people realize that they shouldn't be too quick to judge other people, and that they can be the opposite of your first impression. I know it helped me notice times in the past when I have judged first and talked later.
This story took a different turn than i expected and it grew on me. The author provided vivid images on the repercussions of mass production of meat and the cruel practices of the industry. At first one could immediately prejudge the farmer to be evil because of how he treated the animals. Its almost impossible to make out that the farmer had a psychological phobia of being weak due to the incident involving his father. The author of this memoir takes us through his own perspective of the father, immediately describing his putrid smell, poor health, and his rather apathetic behavior towards the maltreatment of the pigs. Ultimately his perspective of the farmer became better, and in turn which our perspectives also improved of the farmers intentions. It wasn't until the farmer broke now and poured the contents of his heart out in front of the undercover author did her view of him change completely from complete utter disgust to a subtle appreciation and respectful view of him. This particular memoir was very inspirational and heartfelt, and it definitely left an impact on me.
ReplyDeleteJohn realized that he judged the pig farmer prematurely as a heartless, cold, callous man because of his profession and he didn’t look or act like someone who believed in treating animals kindly. What John found out was that this man was extremely sensitive, even had a pet pig when he was growing up, and that the man felt his profession and the cruelty to his stock was unavoidable. They turned have overlapping beliefs about how repulsive factory farming is, and by the end of the article, John had reversed his extreme disapproval to admiration and respect. A single event can change a person’s life. The pig farmer, if he hadn’t had this interaction with John, may still be factory farming. Since his wife invited John to dinner, this pig farmer’s entire life changed. This story is a perfect example of a turning point.
ReplyDeleteMy attitude about pigs was not very informed. I had heard that pigs were intelligent, but Id never spent much time around them to appreciate their intelligence firsthand. This is why I used to still eat them time to time, especially in the form of bacon. Since reading this article, I have chosen not to eat pork. After being to PETA’s website, I learned about the terrible abuse of chickens and have been only eating free range eggs and poultry when offered a choice at the grocery store. So this article has changed a small part of my eating habits.