We Fed Coal to Pigs

Coal, you ask? Yes, coal. We did need the coal for heat. Most of the time if it was something we needed, we had to sneak and do it. Feeding pigs coal was according to the adults, good for them. I am not sure the adults knew how it was good for them. Probably something their mama or daddy told them. It was brought in a dump truck and piled close by the pig pen. Since we had pigs and coal and a lot of free time we naturally combined them into one fun adventure. I guess they liked the coal. They ate it. But they ate everything. I wonder if they ever got a belly ache. As they ate it the crunching was like me eating a piece of hard peppermint or a bad mannered-smacking redneck. I wonder if it hurt their teeth. One pig in a pen will only eat until full. We always had two or three; therefore our pigs were in competition to keep the others from eating all the food, causing them to eat more; getting really fat. The main thing we did with the meat was cut into pieces and ground for sausage. The fat content was not an issue then. Fat pigs were not as good if you were going to use for ribs, or pork chops as most people do now. We did have that one wonderful meal of fresh tenderloin and biscuits they day of hog killing. Why didn’t the sausage we made taste like coal? If a cow ate wild onions the milk tasted terrible. We used to give the pigs more than Grandmother knew - they'd just eat it up like candy. Grandmother said it helps them get rid of worms. Don't know about any of that, but the meat was wonderful.
I have done some research since it was something Grandmother and them thought was good for pigs.
Most of what I read suggests that Pigs eat coal just because they like it. Kinda' like rabbits eating carrots; Cats liking milk or goats eating paper and tin cans.

This is from Time Magizine:
coal. Many a mid-western porker sees the black lumps of bituminous coal constantly before him supplied by his indulgent master. If munching effectively and with gusto is a mark of enjoyment, then the pigs actually enjoy this unusual foodstuff, apparently considerably more than the average American enjoys his daily slabs of charred bread at breakfast. I wish to point out, however, that enjoyment and digestion are not synonymous. In the case of the hog the coal passes through well pulverized, but it is doubtful if he digests it, for probably no noteworthy chemical changes take place in the process. He is given coal to "tone him up" and aid his alimentary wellbeing. The exact function of this carbonaceous material is not known. It probably has the same effect as charcoal which is put into prepared dog foods— whatever that may be.
Link

Speaking of Pork
I stopped by the Toyota Dealership yesterday for a look at the new Tacoma . Just for fun, I took it out for a test drive. I wanted to sense that new "feel" before they become extinct...

The salesman (wearing an Obama "change" lapel pin) sat in the passenger seat describing the truck and all its "wonderful" options.
The seats were of particular interest. He explained that the seats directed warm air to your butt in the winter and directed cool air to your butt in the summer heat.
Feeling like messing with his mind, I mentioned that this must be a Republican truck.
Looking a bit angry, he asked why I thought it was a Republican truck. I explained that if it were a Democrat truck, the seats would blow smoke up your a$$ year-round.

I had to walk back to the dealership........damn guy had no sense of humor.