Pig 05049 by Christien Meindertsma
Image courtesy: christienmeindertsma.com
Pig 05049 is a book by Christien Meindertsma, who spent three years researching afterlife of a single pig, number 05049, identified by its ear tag. After it’s death, it was shipped in parts throughout the world, and they were used for making soap, cigaret, gloves, pcb panel, ceramic glaze, injectable collagen, beauty mask, beer, bullets, anti-freeze, heart valves, energy bar, liquorice, chewing gum, the book’s own cover as well as foodstuff.
Christien Meindertsma at TED: How Pig Parts Make The World Turn on YouTube
PIG 05049 on Vimeo
I once heard similar story about a cow, that the cow fat is used for more than anything we can imagine: from facial cream to shoe wax. Although my project is about beef, where the other parts are used is certainly interesting as we all live in a world where we can’t care less how all the products are made, what they are made of, and who made them.
Until yesterday I thought the leather used for my shoes was byproduct of meat production but not anymore as I have watched Earthlings. One good question may be “how then we could make the most of the parts we get from a cow” and “if that will help us reduce the whole beef consumption” as some societies seem to favor certain parts and not eat the whole parts.
