Feeding 1 in 6. Vertical pork

Feed: a food systems podcast

Feed: a food systems podcast
Feeding 1 in 6. Vertical pork
May 28, 2026
TABLEdebates.org

Today China produces roughly half the world's pork. Getting there required swine genetics from multiple continents, feed from Brazil, and a disease outbreak that wiped out hundreds of millions of animals. This episode asks how they did it, and what that cost - to the household pig, to the smallholder farmer, and to ecosystems thousands of kilometers away.

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode100

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Guests

  • Ron Lane, Agricultural consultant in Beijing
  • Li Zhang, Prof in Sociology and Environmental Studies at Amherst College
  • Gustavo Oliveira, Prof in Geography at Clark University

Episode written, hosted, produced and edited by Matthew Kessler. Sound mixing by Martin Palmqvist. Music by Blue dot sessions.