Pig farmer goes vegan and quits farming saying veganism is the “future of farming”

Gustaf Soderfeldt was a pig-farmer and owner of a meat shop in Sweden, but thanks to watching hard-hitting videos on Youtube with his wife, he has gone vegan – a move which he says has changed his life.

Speaking with Swedish paper Aftonbladet he explained the reasons behind his transition, stating that veganism the “future of farming.”

“It turned out that vegans wanted the same thing that I did: for animals to have a good life,” he wrote.

“This was what mattered to me as a pig farmer. But vegans had gone one step further than I had in their thinking: if you really care about animals, you shouldn’t breed them at all!”

Humane myth

Soderfelt also talked about how growing vegetables is far more rewarding than raising animals only to them slaughter them for meat, and spoke honestly about the myth that animals can be killed humanely.

The farmer, who used to manage a small-scale ‘humane’ meat business, said:

“Our customers loved to hear that the pigs had had ‘a good life’.  “But of course, they didn’t want to hear about the ugly side of raising the animals. 

“If I’d told them that a mother sow didn’t want to be separated from her babies or that the pigs screamed with anguish as they were loaded onto the lorry bound for the abattoir, I wouldn’t have kept a single customer. 

“No one wants to know about the nasty parts of the meat industry. Everyone just wanted to hear about how ‘good’ and ‘humane’ our meat was.”

Hidden truth

Söderfeldt then goes on to say:

“There’s nothing fun about raising animals to kill them – even the most ardent meat farmer would agree. You do it because you think you have to, but inside, you feel awful. You learn to switch off your emotions.

“Most of our customers bought meat from us to silence their own consciences.

“People don’t want to admit to themselves that they’re supporting an industry that treats animals horribly.

“If you care about animals, the answer isn’t ‘humane meat’. The right thing to do is to stop breeding animals for food.”

Vegan farming is kinder

Soderfelt also added that vegan farming is:

“Kinder, healthier, more efficient, less wasteful, and more climate-friendly” and called on other farmers should do the same, suggesting that the transition isn’t as difficult as many would expect. 

“There’s now a growing community of vegan farmers around the world who are spreading the message that there’s a better and smarter way to farm, and they’re developing knowledge and methods to enable a revolutionary shift – to vegan farming.

“It’s a journey that has just begun, and we need many more passionate people to join us.

“November is World Vegan Month – a great opportunity to switch to vegan living or to let others know why and how to make the change.”