Ryan Tatsumoto
Hawai‘i Herald Columnist
A little over a month ago, MW Restaurant on Kapi‘olani Boulevard hosted a dinner featuring the prime product of David Wong’s Mountain View Dairy, Inc., namely his naturally raised pork. With the planned closing of Shinsato Farm at the end of the year, the 50th does need another source for locally raised swine, and in the case of Wong’s Mountain View Dairy, the animals are raised the Korean Natural Farming method. Remember the line from that California Dairy Association commercial: “Happy cows make better milk, which makes better cheese,” or something to that effect. Well, happy pigs make for tastier pork.
The Korean Natural Farming Way
The philosophy behind Korean Natural Farming is that natural indigenous microorganisms fortify and enrich the soil so that plants raised in it are heartier and contain more nutrients, thus making them better food sources for humans and animals. No commercial fertilizers are used and nutrients from plant by-products are recycled back into the soil.
But what does natural plant production have to do with pork production? For starters, better animal feed leads to a healthier and often tastier animal.
One of the most unusual consequences of Korean Natural Farming in a piggery is the complete lack of that traditional “piggery smell.” I’ve never visited Mountain View Dairy, but, according to David Wong, there is no smell, whatsoever. In fact, David said that when he first applied to raise pigs commercially at his farm, the EPA almost kicked him out of their office when he said there would be no traditional piggery smell.
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