The pig , known as also pig domesticates ( Sus scrofa domesticus ) or pig of the cities is a domestic Mammifère Omnivore of the family of the Porcin S, near to the Sanglier. It is generally raised by the man for the consumption of his meat, but not only (see below).

The adult female is the sow , the young female raised for the reproduction is a cochette , the male is the boar and the young pig (before the weaning) is called piglet , jack , goret (or Cochon of milk in the plate), the young separated pig names nourrain (or nourrin). The term indicates also the Viande provided by this Animal, which is the meat most consumed in the world and in Europe. The production concentrates in three zones: the Europe (including the Russia), the Asia (in particular the China) and the North America (the United States). China with 46 million tons (2003) almost produced half of the world total.

The pigmeat is at the base of the Charcuterie. According to the well-known Proverb of Brillat-Savarin, “all is good in the pig” (see heading popular expressions).

The pig also provides its grease, the Saindoux, largely used in kitchen. Its silks are used with manufacture as brushes. Its skin provides a Cuir used for the manufacture of clothing, shoes and varied fine leather goods.

The pig is as used for its sense of smell in the research of the truffle S. It is sometimes, but seldom, a pet, cleaner as one could not it believe when the conditions of breeding allow him.

Its anatomical and biological constitution near to the man and his facility to breeding, made that the pig is used in medical research and in therapeutic applications: cardiac surgery, production of insulin, heparin against hypertension, pigskin for the treatment of the badly burned persons, etc

Domestication

Its domestication probably goes up towards. It was domesticated well after the Ovin S and the Bovin S because unable to transplant and thus to follow wandering human groups. Its domestication thus corresponds to the sedentarisation of the men and the appearance of agriculture. It probably begins in Asia Mineure and is attested with the Bronze Age at the Égyptiens and the Mésopotamie NS. Its facility of breeding and reproduction, the abundance of its meat will make its expansion very fast through Asia and Europe. For the Semitic people whose Jews and many African people, the pig was regarded as impure. The Jews and the Moslems, in accordance with their religious texts, ate only ruminant animals with the divided shoes, like the bovines and the lambs.

Because of the strong demand, the large white pig almost completely évincé the woolly Porc at the 20th century.

Intelligence

Many people are unaware of that the pig is one of the most intelligent animals of planet, after the Dauphin S, the Grand monkey S, the corbel X and the Perroquet S. the pig has a large brain indeed. The pig is, for example, one of the only animals to further make its needs possible from the place where they eat. It is, contrary to its reputation, one of the cleanest animals. A pig is more intelligent than a dog or a cat.

Etymology

The etymology of the word “pig” is dubious. The majority of the terms being used to describe or indicate the pig are of Latin origin. But the word pig, as for him, comes neither from the Latin , nor of the Germanic languages or Celtic. It appears in French about the 11th century and becomes current as of the 13th century. But at that time, it indicates especially piglet and mainly in the speeches of Langue of oil. It takes its current direction and is spread in all the French areas only starting from the end of the 17th century.

The following table gives an outline of the etymology of the various words known in French to indicate the pig. When the term is not mixed, the kind of the indicated animal is indicated between brackets.

Economic statistics

Production

The worldwide production of pigs is into 2003 of approximately 955,5 million animals, produced in Asia 577,2 million, in Europe 198,8 million, North America 93,5 million, South America 59,5 million and Africa-Oceania (Australia mainly) 27,5 million.

The worldwide production is in constant progression and one estimates at +15% his increase at the limit in 2012.

It is in lose speed in certain Western countries which know the overproduction due to the competition of country with labor less better remunerated.

Systems of breeding

Traditionally, each hearth of peasants raised some pigs for his food and these pigs trailed freely with the accesses of the farm. They were often only nourished, with what they could find by fouinant the ground with their face mask, in the search of worms, roots and refuse in all kinds. The births took place in spring, which made it possible to fatten them with the autumn with the nipples and sweet chestnuts.

The pig of outdoor

The control of the pigs in the open air consists in outside raising pigs all the year on a meadow and placing them in adapted huts. A heavy lattice constitutes the enclosure external of the production site, a resistant vegetable cover ensures the cover of the ground, of the adapted feeding troughs provide drinking water and of the shaded zones the harmful effects of excessive heats limit.

In breeding, the sows are separate, by physiological stage and band, with electric fences. The meadow is divided into parks of gestation and maternity of which the number is function of the size of the breeding and the type of control in bands. The huts are posed with same the ground.

The piglets are classically separated at 28 days of age (in biological mode of production they are it later). At this stage, they can join the mode of production in pigsty or continue their life with the great outdoors for 6 weeks of post-weaning and 4 months of fattening. To weaning, the sows buckled with the face mask are transferred out of building from insemination. They pass all their life thus outside, except during the short period which goes from the weaning of piglets to the diagnosis of gestation.

Fattened in the open air, the piglets are placed in adapted huts and have access freely to a meadow. Particular requirements of production are dictated by the schedule of conditions of the die for which the pigs are intended. An attention specific is given to the setting to jeun. They are cut down with a weight generally higher than in the traditional die.

Exports

In 1999, the international exchanges of pigmeats (except exchanges will intra Community) related to 6,4 million ton are equivalent carcass (t.e.c.), representing the processed meats and products. In 2004, the principal world pigmeat exporters are in the order of importance Europe (Denmark, Netherlands, France), Canada, Brazil, the United States. This situation could develop in the next years to see the share of European exports decreasing with the profit of Brazil, Canada and the United States.

Imports

The principal meat importing countries of Porc are the Japan and the South Korea, imports coming from Europe and of Canada. China (and HongKong) first world producer of pigs, but for which the needs are in continuous increase because of improvement of the purchasing power of the populations. The Russia whose system of production is still unable to ensure the needs which are also in increase, the imports come from the Brésil and Europe. The United States, for which the requirements are met mainly by the Canadian production. The Mexico is also pigmeat importer de coming from the United States and Brazil.

Symbolic system of the pig

The pig belongs to the animals having a rich person vocabulary in French, in practice, this interdict is respected only by some Protestant Churches of American origin.

In the Buddhism Tibetan, the pig represents ignorance, Avidya, person in charge of all the misery of the world.

Positive

For the people sino-Vietnamese, the pig is on the contrary a symbol of prosperity and abundance. The calendar zodiacal Chinese comprises one year of the pig (亥 hài: 12^e of the 12 terrestrial branches): The natives of this sign patient, are basically balanced and laid out well towards their next.

Symbol of abundance, the pig is traditionally represented in the form of moneybox.

One can also quote Pierre Magnan: “the pig is the animal nearest to the man. He nourishes it but he leaves him all the remorse of them. One can be the quiet aware after having occis a lamb or a calf, but never a pig. Each evening, when on thick soup the pork rind of bacon appears, it is as if the pig of the year came to speak to you about his kindness. ”

Many characters of Cartoon and Cartoon are pigs: Porky Pig the buddy stammerer of Daffy Duck, Miss Piggy the cochonne in love with the frog Kermit in the Muppet Show, Porcinet the buddy of Winnie the Bear cub, the Three small pigs, etc

Popular expressions

• the time of pig is a gloomy weather. This term would come from the fact, that formerly, the setting with the salting tub of bacon was made in cold weather and wet ideally.
• Cochon which retracts it is an expression meaning the side closes in the conclusion of a market.
• In the pig, all is good except the cry. Expression which indicates that all the parts and pieces of the pig have a utility, culinary or different. As for the cry, it is one of most powerful and unpleasant animal world. The distress cry of a pig can go up up to 115 Décibel S.
• not to have kept the pigs together. is said when two people do not know each other long time, and cannot thus have familiar behaviors (like the use of the use of the tu).
• When the pigs fly. Anglo-American Expression indicating an event which will never arrive. (Anglo-American equivalent of Pigs might fly. )
• To be buddies like pigs. To be very friendly.

See also animalist Idiom.

Various popular names of the pig

• the cayon in From the Dauphine
• the mouchu in the Cantal
• the goret in Poitou-Charentes
• Différentes denominations with political connotation were given to the animal according to the place and the time: the Kaiser , Adolph …
• in Arabic, it is said to khinzir , it is of course an insult being given the symbolic system even more pejorative of this animal in Eastern civilizations than in Western civilizations.

Others

• the festival of the Saint-Pig is celebrated with Saint-Martin-on-Ocher, in the Loiret.
• a gingerbread cake in the shape of pig is traditional at the time of the festivals of Saint-Aignan to Orleans.
• the museum living of the pig, located at Chambonas in the department of the Ardèche, is exclusively devoted to all that turns around the pig: mythology, arts popular, cinema, objects various and varied. It presents also mini-firm with miniature animals. See the site.

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