Christien Meindertsma: How pig parts make the world turn

Hello. I would like to start my talk with actually two questions, and the first one is: How many people here actually eat pig meat? Please raise your hand -- oh, that's a lot. And how many people have actually seen a live pig producing this meat? In the last year?

In the Netherlands -- where I come from -- you actually never see a pig, which is really strange, because, on a population of 16 million people, we have 12 million pigs. And well, of course, the Dutch can't eat all these pigs. They eat about one-third, and the rest is exported to all kinds of countries in Europe and the rest of the world. A lot goes to the U.K., Germany.

And what I was curious about -- because historically, the whole pig would be used up until the last bit so nothing would be wasted -- and I was curious to find out if this was actually still the case. And I spent about three years researching. And I followed this one pig with number "05049," all the way up until the end and to what products it's made of. And in these years, I met all kinds people like, for instance, farmers and butchers, which seems logical. But I also met aluminum mold makers, ammunition producers and all kinds of people. And what was striking to me is that the farmers actually had no clue what was made of their pigs, but the consumers -- as in us -- had also no idea of the pigs being in all these products.

So what I did is, I took all this research and I made it into a -- well, basically it's a product catalog of this one pig, and it carries a duplicate of his ear tag on the back. And it consists of seven chapters -- the chapters are skin, bones, meat, internal organs, blood, fat and miscellaneous. (Laughter) In total, they weigh 103.7 kilograms. And to show you how often you actually meet part of this pig in a regular day, I want to show you some images of the book.

You probably start the day with a shower. So, in soap, fatty acids made from boiling pork bone fat are used as a hardening agent, but also for giving it a pearl-like effect. Then if you look around you in the bathroom, you see lots more products like shampoo, conditioner, anti-wrinkle cream, body lotion, but also toothpaste. Then, so, before breakfast, you've already met the pig so many times. Then, at breakfast, the pig that I followed, the hairs off the pig or proteins from the hairs off the pig were used as an improver of dough. (Laughter) Well, that's what the producer says: it's "improving the dough, of course." In low-fat butter, or actually in many low-fat products, when you take the fat out, you actually take the taste and the texture out. So what they do is they put gelatin back in, in order to retain the texture.

Well, when you're off to work, under the road or under the buildings that you see, there might very well be cellular concrete, which is a very light kind of concrete that's actually got proteins from bones inside and it's also fully reusable. In the train brakes -- at least in the German train brakes -- there's this part of the brake that's made of bone ash. And in cheesecake and all kinds of desserts, like chocolate mousse, tiramisu, vanilla pudding, everything that's cooled in the supermarket, there's gelatin to make it look good. Fine bone china -- this is a real classic. Of course, the bone in fine-bone china gives it its translucency and also its strength, in order to make these really fine shapes, like this deer.

In interior decorating, the pig's actually quite there. It's used in paint for the texture, but also for the glossiness. In sandpaper, bone glue is actually the glue between the sand and the paper. And then in paintbrushes, hairs are used because, apparently, they're very suitable for making paintbrushes because of their hard-wearing nature.

I was not planning on showing you any meat because, of course, half the book's meat and you probably all know what meats they are. But I didn't want you to miss out on this one, because this, well, it's called "portion-controlled meat cuts." And this is actually sold in the frozen area of the supermarket. And what it is -- it's actually steak. So, this is sold as cow, but what happens when you slaughter a cow -- at least in industrial factory farming -- they have all these little bits of steak left that they can't actually sell as steak, so what they do is they glue them all together with fibrin from pig blood into this really large sausage, then freeze the sausage, cut it in little slices and sell those as steak again. And this also actually happens with tuna and scallops. So, with the steak, you might drink a beer. In the brewing process, there's lots of cloudy elements in the beer, so to get rid of these cloudy elements, what some companies do is they pour the beer through a sort of gelatin sieve in order to get rid of that cloudiness. This actually also goes for wine as well as fruit juice.

There's actually a company in Greece that produces these cigarettes that actually contain hemoglobin from pigs in the filter. And according to them, this creates an artificial lung in the filter. (Laughter) So, this is actually a healthier cigarette. (Laughter) Injectable collagen -- or, since the '70s, collagen from pigs -- has been used for injecting into wrinkles. And the reason for this is that pigs are actually quite close to human beings, so the collagen is as well. Well, this must be the strangest thing I found. This is a bullet coming from a very large ammunition company in the United States.

And while I was making the book, I contacted all the producers of products because I wanted them to send me the real samples and the real specimens. So I sent this company an email saying, "Hello. I'm Christien. I'm doing this research. And can you send me a bullet?" (Laughter) And well, I didn't expect them to even answer my email. But they answered and they said, "Why, thank you for your email. What an interesting story. Are you in anyway related to the Dutch government?" I thought that was really weird, as if the Dutch government sends emails to anyone.

(Laughter)

So, the most beautiful thing I found -- at least what I think is the most beautiful -- in the book, is this heart valve. It's actually a very low-tech and very high-tech product at the same time. The low-tech bit is that it's literally a pig's heart valve mounted in the high-tech bit, which is a memory metal casing. And what happens is this can be implanted into a human heart without open heart surgery. And once it's in the right spot, they remove the outer shell, and the heart valve, well, it gets this shape and at that moment it starts beating, instantly. It's really a sort of magical moment. So this is actually a Dutch company, so I called them up, and I asked, "Can I borrow a heart valve from you?" And the makers of this thing were really enthusiastic. So they were like, "Okay, we'll put it in a jar for you with formalin, and you can borrow it." Great -- and then I didn't hear from them for weeks, so I called, and I asked, "What's going on with the heart valve?" And they said, "Well the director of the company decided not to let you borrow this heart valve, because want his product to be associated with pigs."

(Laughter)

Well, the last product from the book that I'm showing you is renewable energy -- actually, to show that my first question, if pigs are still used up until the last bit, was still true. Well it is, because everything that can't be used for anything else is made into a fuel that can be used as renewable energy source.

In total, I found 185 products. And what they showed me is that, well, firstly, it's at least to say odd that we don't treat these pigs as absolute kings and queens. And the second, is that we actually don't have a clue of what all these products that surround us are made of.

And you might think I'm very fond of pigs, but actually -- well, I am a little bit -- but I'm more fond of raw materials in general. And I think that, in order to take better care of what's behind our products -- so, the livestock, the crops, the plants, the non-renewable materials, but also the people that produce these products -- the first step would actually be to know that they are there.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)

你们好。我想先问大家 两个问题，第一： 在座有多少人吃猪肉？ 请举手。 噢，真不少啊。 那么，有多少人 见过一头活的肉猪？ 是在最近一年以内。

在荷兰，我的家乡， 你根本见不到活猪，这很奇怪， 因为，我们人口有一千六百万， 而全国却有一千二百万头猪。 当然，荷兰人不可能吃完那么多头猪。 他们大概只能消耗三分之一的猪， 余下的出口到欧洲及世界其他国家。 相当一部分出口到英国，德国。

让我感到好奇的是－－ 由于在过去，人们会让猪的全身上下各个部分都派上用场， 这样就不会产生浪费...... 我很想知道 现在的情况是否跟以前一样。 于是，我用了三年时间来调查。 我跟踪调查了一头 代号为05049的猪。 一路追踪到底 并找到它最终被加工成哪些产品。 这几年，我见过了各种人， 比如说，农民和屠夫，这没什么奇怪的。 但是，我还见到了铝制模具的工人， 军火制造商 和其他各行各业的人。 最让我吃惊的是， 那些养猪户对于猪的用途 一无所知， 而对于消费者 -- 也就是我们 -- 也不知道 猪被用于制造这些产品。

于是， 我把整个调查 做成一本书 -- 列出了这头猪被制成的各类产品， 书上还把它的耳标 挂在背面。 本书共有七章。 包括猪皮、骨头、猪肉、内脏、 猪血、肥肉及猪杂碎。 （笑声） 这些全加起来， 共重103.7公斤。 为了让大家看到 一天内你们与这头猪的接触有多频繁， 我想展示一下书中的几幅插图。

你可能起床之后会洗个澡。 那么，肥皂里的脂肪酸 就是由高温煮沸的猪骨脂 所提炼出的，可用作硬化剂 还能打造出肥皂的珠光效果。 接着，如果你环顾一下浴室， 就能看到更多类似的用品， 如洗发水、护发素、 抗皱霜、护肤乳 还有牙膏。 在用早餐之前， 你就已经跟这头猪亲密接触好几次了。 到了早餐时间， 这头猪的毛，或者说从这头猪的毛里提取出的蛋白质 被用作面团的优化剂。 （笑声） 生产商是这么说的：“它能让面团更美味。” 当然啦。 在低脂黄油，实际上，在许多低脂产品中， 当其中的脂肪被去掉之后，实际上产品的味道和质感也就丧失了。 为此，生产商会加入明胶 以保持产品的质感。

当你下了班，你看到的路面底下，或建筑物下面， 很可能铺有微孔混凝土， 这种混凝土很轻， 其中就有从猪骨头中获取的蛋白质。 它还能被重复利用。 在火车的制动器里，至少在德国产的火车制动器里， 有一个零件 是由猪的骨灰制成的。 在起司蛋糕和各种各样的甜点 比如巧克力慕斯，提拉米苏，香草布丁， 以及超市所有冷藏的食物里， 都添加了明胶来保持食物美观。 骨瓷－－这个很经典。 当然，骨瓷中的骨粉 给瓷器增添了一层蒙胧感 同时让瓷器更坚固， 这样才能制作出这些精美的造型， 就像这头小鹿。

在室内装修方面，这头猪的贡献尤为显著。 它被用来控制颜料质感， 和光泽度。 砂纸中把砂和纸粘在一起的胶水 实际上就是骨胶。 再来就是猪毛做成的刷子， 很显然，猪毛是非常适合用来制作刷子的， 因为它很耐磨。

我不打算给你们看关于猪肉的图片， 因为，当然啦，这本书一半的篇幅都在讲猪肉， 你们也都知道猪肉的用途。 但是，我想让大家看看这张图， 因为......这叫做“控量切割肉”。 这实际上是在超市的 冷鲜区出售的肉。 这是牛排。 在牛肉区出售， 然而，事实上，当一头牛被宰杀之后 -- 至少在屠宰场里是这样的情况 -- 会剩下零碎的牛排肉 但是这些碎肉又不能作为牛排出售， 于是，屠宰场就用猪血中提取的纤维蛋白 把这些碎肉粘在一起 制成一个硕大的肉肠， 把它冷冻，再切成小片 最后把这些肉片作为牛排出售。 一些金枪鱼和扇贝也经过这样的处理。 吃着牛排，你可能还会来点啤酒。 啤酒在酿造的过程中，会产生大量浑浊物， 为了除去这些浑浊物， 一些酿酒公司 会把啤酒倒入一种明胶过滤网 来把浑浊物去掉。 红酒和果汁的酿造过程中也有这道工序。

希腊有一家公司 生产这种香烟。 它的过滤嘴中含有猪的血红蛋白。 这家公司称， 他们在过滤嘴中植入了一个人造肺。 （笑声） 因此，这是一种更有益健康的香烟。 （笑声） 注射用胶原质 -- 十九世纪七十年代以后，猪的胶原质 -- 被用来防止皱纹的产生。 这是因为猪和人类实际上很相似， 我们的胶原质也很相似。 这是我最奇特的发现。 这颗子弹 是美国一家规模很大的军火公司生产的。

当我写这本书的时候， 我联系了所有产品的制造商， 让他们给我送一些实物样品 和实物标本。 于是我给这家公司发了封邮件 我说：“您好，我是克莉丝汀。我在做这项研究。 您可以给我寄来一颗子弹吗？” （笑声） 我可没指望他们会给我回音。 结果他们回复了我， 说：“感谢您的邮件。您的故事很有意思。 请问您跟荷兰政府有什么关系吗？” 我觉得很奇怪， 好像荷兰政府经常乱给人发邮件似的。

（笑声）

我发现的最美的产品， 至少我个人认为是本书里最美的，是这个心脏瓣膜。 它有技术含量低的一面 同时又是个高科技产品。 说它技术含量低，是因为，它实际上就是把一个高科技的 带有记忆功能的金属网 套在一个猪的心脏瓣膜上。 这个瓣膜无须开心手术， 就能被植入人的心脏里。 一旦进入正确的位置， 金属网便被移除， 这样，心脏瓣膜，就变成了这个形状， 这时，它立即就开始跳动。 这真是非常神奇的一刻。 这是一家荷兰公司。 我给他们打电话，我问： “我能向你们借一片心脏瓣膜吗？” 这个产品的制造商非常热心。 他们说：“好的，我们会把它放在一瓶福尔马林里面， 这样可以借给你了。” 太好了。但是，过了好几周，一直没有他们的音信， 所以我又给他们打电话， 我问：“请问那个心脏瓣膜什么时候到啊？” 他们回答说：“公司的主管 决定不把它借给你了， 因为他不想让别人把这个产品 跟猪联系起来。”

（笑声）

最后，我准备向大家介绍书中的一个产品是可再生能源 -- 这其实回答了我的第一个问题， 猪的各个部位是否都派上了用场， 答案是肯定的，因为余下不能再做它用的部分 全被制成了一种燃料 可以用来做可再生能源。

我总共在猪身上找出了185中产品。 从这些产品中我有一些感触 首先， 我们没有把猪 当成宝贝 那就太奇怪了。 第二，我们根本不知道身边各种产品 是由什么制成的。

你可能以为我对猪很感兴趣， 但是 -- 可能有一点吧 -- 我更感兴趣的是 各种产品的原材料。 我认为，想要更好地利用 制造产品所需的资源 -- 牲畜，庄稼，植物， 不可再生资源， 还有生产者 -- 我们首先必须意识到他们的存在。

非常感谢大家。

（掌声）

你现在和猪在一起生活着！演讲者用三年时间追踪一头编号05049的猪，发现“猪农和消费者完全不知道这头猪在这些年经历了什么”，“我们的生活中其实充满了猪”，面包，牙膏，汽车，肥皂，导弹，药品都不离开猪的贡献~很有趣的听力素材，不要错过哦 ~

你从来和猪一起生活过吗？你恐怕没有那么经验。除了一部分的宗教以外，家畜猪的形象只是一块猪肉。其实在我们发达国家人们的身边中，有很多与猪有关的产品。

有一个科学家花了3年的时间，跟踪研究一只猪。它到底会怎么样变化，又变成什么东西？这项跟踪研究成果——除了那快猪肉以外，只有一只猪可以变成“大约190种类的产品”。比如，你早上起床了，吃猪、用猪刷牙后、穿着猪上班。（面包、牙粉、衣服、皮靴）

在上班的路上，你在“猪路”上走或者骑猪去或者坐猪去公司。（柏油路、自行车、汽车）

下班了，喝猪，吃猪，又吃猪后，用猪洗澡。（啤酒、猪肉、健康食品、肥皂）正在发生着战争的国家内，一边用猪打击敌人，一边用猪治疗。（导弹、药）

※上述的东西都利用关于猪的材料制造的意思。

科学家指出：为了猪，我们应该保护环境维持漂亮的地球。因为我们与猪的关系很密切。你既然知道了这样情况，也许晚上就会做关于猪的梦。

Christien Meindertsma, author of "Pig 05049" looks at the astonishing afterlife of the ordinary pig, parts of which make their way into at least 185 non-pork products, from bullets to artificial hearts.

Christien Meindertsma uses art (and craft) to expose the hidden processes and connections of our modern life.

Why you should listen to her：

Dutch artist Christien Meindertsma explores raw materials in thoughtful ways, making simple books and products that lay bare complex and once-hidden processes. For her first book, Checked Baggage, she purchased a container filled with a week's worth of objects confiscated at security checkpoints at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport after 9/11. She meticulously categorized all 3,267 items and photographed them on a white seamless background. Her second book, PIG 05049, documents the astounding array of products that different parts of a pig named 05049 could support -- revealing the lines that link raw materials with producers, products and consumers that have become so invisible in an increasingly globalized world. PIG 05049 was acquired by New York's Museum of Modern Art this winter.

With her product designs, Meindertsma plays with ancient, natural materials and processes. In a project for the Nature Conservancy last year, she made the sensuous Idaho rug, knitted from inch-thick felted wool yarn from the fleece of sheep at Lava Lake Ranch in Idaho. Each panel of the massive rug was knitted (on giant wooden needles) from the fleece of one sheep, using a different stitch per animal to display the personalities that make up a flock.

"What Meindertsma and [collaborator Julie] Joliat so elegantly illustrate is the level of disconnect, physically and psychologically, consumers have from the production of objects we use on a daily basis."

——Paul Galloway, cataloguer, Department of Architecture and Design, MoMA