This morning we went to the Iowa Pork Producers Association to learn about pork production in Iowa. I was excited to go because I had mostly only heard the side of those attacking the meat industry, and this was the first time I had heard anyone really defending any sector of the meat industry with extensive information about what happens in pork production. While they gave a very good presentation and tried to explain how the hogs were being treated humanely, it did not change my overall opinion on the pork or overall meat industry. I am still opposed to the production and consumption of meat products. What really concerned me was how Tyler Bettin talked about the hogs as if they were commodities, which is what can happen to everything, including animals, in a capitalistic system. While I understand this mindset for manmade products, I think that it can be dangerous for animals to be thought of in this way. They should be allowed to be their own autonomous beings and should not be viewed the same way that a t-shirt or other type of product would be viewed.

In the afternoon we took a tour of the Cargill Biofuel plant, where Scott’s girlfriend Becky works. While most of the chemistry that Kaitlyn talked to us about went way over my head, the things that I did understand about the production of the biofuel were very fascinating just because of how much complexity went into creating the product. I was also equally surprised by how many processes went into making vegetable glycerin, which is in many of the food products that I eat. Getting the chance to taste the glycerin kept things interesting for those of us who weren’t as scientifically minded.