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- Panel 7-3 Examining the Use of the Heirloom Agu Breed in the Development of Premium Pork Brands in Okinawa /Ben Schrager
Panel 7-3 Examining the Use of the Heirloom Agu Breed in the Development of Premium Pork Brands in Okinawa /Ben Schrager
Ben Schrager
Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, School of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University, Japan
Originally introduced through trading relations with China, Agu is a black lard variety of pig grown in Okinawa. It has formed part of the traditional cuisine and domestic life in Okinawa for hundreds of years, including for ceremonial purposes and as household livestock. Agu’s role in indigenous culture and food systems has evolved alongside processes that are reshaping ideas of good meat, including the recent emphasis on sustainability. According to official Japanese government statistics, in 1906 Okinawa raised 110,000 pigs, which accounted for 39% of Japan’s overall pig production. In mid-20th Century Japanese books on the swine husbandry, Okinawan breeds including Agu were regularly cited as the only exemplars of Japanese pig breeds. Even as other regions within Japan sought to industrialize the swine husbandry, the leading prefecture of Okinawa was often overlooked or criticized for unhygienic practices. WWII inflicted devastating losses of life and hardship on Okinawa. Under US occupation and in the aftermath of WWII, the number of Agu dwindled as it was supplanted by more productive breeds like Chester White and Berkshire. In the 1980s, a coalition of Okinawan organizations launched a breeding program to revitalize Agu, and it now provides the basis for numerous premium pork brands. Given this complicated legacy, the Agu story reveals insights into the multiple ways that we might think of sustainability as an idea that spans across cultural practices, companion species, and capital-intensive industries.
Keywords: Okinawa, heirloom, pork, sustainability, indigenous food system, branding
Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, School of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University, Japan
Originally introduced through trading relations with China, Agu is a black lard variety of pig grown in Okinawa. It has formed part of the traditional cuisine and domestic life in Okinawa for hundreds of years, including for ceremonial purposes and as household livestock. Agu’s role in indigenous culture and food systems has evolved alongside processes that are reshaping ideas of good meat, including the recent emphasis on sustainability. According to official Japanese government statistics, in 1906 Okinawa raised 110,000 pigs, which accounted for 39% of Japan’s overall pig production. In mid-20th Century Japanese books on the swine husbandry, Okinawan breeds including Agu were regularly cited as the only exemplars of Japanese pig breeds. Even as other regions within Japan sought to industrialize the swine husbandry, the leading prefecture of Okinawa was often overlooked or criticized for unhygienic practices. WWII inflicted devastating losses of life and hardship on Okinawa. Under US occupation and in the aftermath of WWII, the number of Agu dwindled as it was supplanted by more productive breeds like Chester White and Berkshire. In the 1980s, a coalition of Okinawan organizations launched a breeding program to revitalize Agu, and it now provides the basis for numerous premium pork brands. Given this complicated legacy, the Agu story reveals insights into the multiple ways that we might think of sustainability as an idea that spans across cultural practices, companion species, and capital-intensive industries.
Keywords: Okinawa, heirloom, pork, sustainability, indigenous food system, branding