Stoned swine? Marijuana feed giving local pigs pot bellies
May 20, 2013, 1:27 PM | Updated: 4:24 pm
William von Schneidau, who owns the BB Ranch butcher shop at Pike Place Market in Seattle, is the first in the state to offer pot-fed pigs. (BB Ranch/Facebook)
(BB Ranch/Facebook)
Some Washington state farmers are giving new meaning to the term pot-bellied pig, feeding marijuana to their porkers.
Talk about the munchies. Farmer Susannah Gross says the pigs are eating a lot more after chowing down on the excess stems, leaves and roots from local pot growers, Reuters reports.
Gross says four pigs who ate the left-overs grew up to 30 pounds heavier than their pot-free fellow pigs that came from the same litter.
The pot by-products come from a local medical marijuana supplier who hopes the idea can grow since I-502, legalizing marijuana, took effect in December.
“We can have pot chickens, pot pigs, grass-fed beef,” Matt McAlman told Reuters.
The pot-fed pigs ended up at a Pike Place Market butcher in March.
William von Schneidau offered the swine at his first ‘Pot Pig Gig’ at his restaurant, BB Ranch, where a five-course dinner quickly sold out. He doesn’t know if the swine were stoned, but he does say their meat was “redder and more savory.”
He plans another pot pig out later this summer.
