About this episode

Greg Gunthorp discusses his journey as an independent hog farmer and the evolution of meat production in America.

Surviving Consolidation, One Pig at a Time Greg Gunthorp, a fourth-generation Indiana hog farmer, joins Nate for a wide-ranging conversation about survival, stubbornness, and adaptation in the American meat industry. Greg grew up raising pigs on pasture as part of a diversified family farm, using livestock as a tool to care for the land and keep the operation afloat. But by the early 1990s, the writing was on the wall. In 1994, Greg’s father, Theodore, told him that the era of the independent hog farmer was over. Greg didn’t accept it. Determined not to be the last Gunthorp to raise pigs, he bought the sow herd from his father and struck out on his own on 65 acres just down the road. Then the market collapsed. By 1998, Greg was selling pigs for less than what his great-grandfather had earned during the Great Depression. Walking away would have made sense, but instead, a chance conversation after a conference changed everything. Someone suggested he call a Chicago restaurant that was buying whole hogs. Greg picked up the phone, not knowing who Charlie Trotter was. “Bring me a pig,” the chef said. That delivery, into one of the most celebrated restaurants in the world, marked…

People in this episode

Host: Nate

Guest: Greg Gunthorp

Topics covered

• meat production
• sustainable farming
• foodservice
• farm-to-table
• hog farming
• agriculture adaptation

Keywords

• meat industry
• hog farmer
• sustainable agriculture
• farm-to-table movement
• foodservice
• adaptation
• Indiana farming

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Gunthorp Farm, Chicago restaurant

Places: Indiana

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