Children are notoriously picky eaters. If you don’t drown their chicken nuggets or their eggs or their pasta in ketchup, then you might as well give it to the pigs.
That’s exactly what Maine has decided to do.
A new law allows schools to take students’ leftover food and give it to pig farmers. The lead sponsor of the law, state Sen. Stacey Guerin, a Republican, says schools have actually been doing this for decades. “In Maine, that was a common practice when I was growing up,” the former teacher told the Associated Press. “Hog farmers would come to the back door and take the waste at the end of the day.”
But these days you can never tell what good deed will get you punished by a federal, state, or county regulator. So, legislators want to explicitly legalize the practice.
Farmers say it’s cheaper to give them food scraps rather than sending it to a landfill, and the Environmental Protection Agency agrees. “Food scraps for animals can save farmers and companies money. It is often cheaper to feed animals food scraps rather than having them hauled to a landfill,” the EPA’s website reads. “Companies can also donate extra food to zoos or producers that make animal or pet food. There are many opportunities to feed animals, help the environment and reduce costs.”
Giving pigs food waste used to be even more common, until researchers linked trichinosis infections in pigs to the bacteria from human scraps. But the solution for that is simple: cook for the pigs. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “In order to kill any harmful viruses or bacteria, this food waste must be cooked to 212 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes before feeding it to the pigs. Licensed producers receive routine inspections … to make sure that garbage fed to swine undergoes proper cooking and handling to prevent possible disease transmission.”
Thanks to the Maine law, schools save money and don’t have to worry about getting in trouble if they accidentally give their leftovers to an unlicensed pig farmer. Farmers save money by getting free food for their pigs, and kids don’t have to feel so guilty about not finishing everything on their plate.
