Patio Pondering: Pork, The Pyramid, Your Plate

I want pork to succeed. Ever since I bought my first pig from Howard Faulstick in Monroeville, Indiana, in 1987, I have wanted pork to succeed. From those first pigs forward, I have spent my career believing I could help make pork succeed.

That belief is exactly why I struggle with the mixed signals our industry continues to send.

I listen to industry leaders talk about promoting pork and increasing pork sales. That word choice matters. Sales are not the same as consumption, and they are not the same as demand. Much of the current conversation centers on positioning pork at the center of the plate, competing directly with beef steak.

If that is truly the goal, then we need to be honest about what wins that battle.

Beef does not dominate the grill or the steakhouse because it is the lowest-cost protein. It wins because consumers expect a rewarding eating experience and are willing to pay for it. Marbling matters. Consistency matters. Confidence matters.

Today, the typical pork loin contains roughly three percent intramuscular fat, while the high-quality beef featured in steakhouses ranges from five to more than eleven percent. At the same time, we continue to reward pig farmers for leanness, not marbling. We talk about taste, but we still pay for something else. Add to that the consistency of meat color beef delivers, compared with the ongoing challenges we face with pork loins.

We are still living with the legacy of Pork. The Other White Meat. That campaign solved a problem of its time, but the lean premiums it reinforced never really went away. Our messaging has shifted toward flavor, experience, and center-of-the-plate relevance, yet our incentives have not kept pace. We say one thing and pay for another.

This contradiction deepens when paired with the continual push that producers must always be the lowest-cost option. Cost discipline matters. No one disputes that. But lowest cost does not equate to quality. You cannot ask producers to optimize solely for efficiency, cheapest inputs, and maximum leanness, then expect a premium eating experience to appear at retail or foodservice.

Center-of-the-plate relevance is not won by shaving pennies.

It is not surprising, then, that much of our promotion leans into applications where pork is effectively disguised—carnitas, tacos, bowls, pulled pork. These are important markets, and pork performs well in them. But they are also forgiving formats. They rely on seasoning, sauces, and preparation methods that cover for inconsistency rather than expose excellence.

A pork chop on a plate has no place to hide.

I recently heard the argument that per-capita consumption is no longer a useful metric. The explanation was that total pork consumption continues to grow, even if per-capita numbers remain flat.

That deserves scrutiny.

If per-capita consumption is flat while the population grows, then we are not creating new demand—we are simply feeding more people. And if a growing pork-eating Hispanic population is not pushing per-capita consumption higher, we should be willing to ask where pork is losing relevance elsewhere.

Metrics are not the problem. What they reveal is.

The timing matters. New nutrition guidelines put pork in a strong position to grow demand. The health narrative has shifted. Demographics should be helping. The door is open.

The question is whether we have a plan to walk through it.

If we continue to produce pale, poorly marbled pork while telling consumers to “taste what pork can do for you,” promotion will be forced to work harder and harder to sell around the product instead of with it. Nutrition creates permission. Taste creates repeat purchases. Incentives determine whether we ever get there.

I want this industry to be bullish—but I want that bull to be Babe the Big Blue Ox, not Ferdinand. Babe pulls real weight. Ferdinand is pleasant, but he does not move the load.

If pork is going to win at the center of the plate, it will not be because of word games, reframed metrics, or lowest-cost absolutism. It will be because we finally align genetics, production systems, incentives, and promotion around delivering a consistently great eating experience.

That is how demand is built.

Everything else is just keeping pace.