Today, pork occupies an unshakable position in our country. With less than 1/5 of the population, we consume nearly half of the world’s pork.

In fact, before the Ming Dynasty, Chinese people did not like pork very much. At that time, mutton was more popular. There was a saying in the Song Dynasty, "If Su Wen is cooked, eat mutton; if Su Wen is raw, eat vegetable soup." In "Knowledge", which is set in the Song Dynasty, the main meat food that appeared at that time was also mutton.

Moreover, Su Shi also wrote about the current situation of pork at that time in "Ode to Pork": Huangzhou had good pork, but the price was as low as dirt. The rich don't want to eat, the poor don't know how to cook. They get up in the morning and take two bowls, so full that the king doesn't care.

The reason why pork has become a national delicacy today is inseparable from my country's agriculture. We know that during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, my country's population had been growing exponentially, and an increase in population meant an increase in demand for crops, which led people to reclaim land and convert pastoral areas originally belonging to animals into farming areas.

When the area of ??cultivated land increases, the advantages of pigs will become apparent. We know that if the soil wants to maintain its fertility, it needs to be fertilized regularly. In the past, there were no chemical fertilizers and people could only use farmyard manure. Pigs are a good helper in producing farmyard manure.

A book in the Qing Dynasty wrote: "One pig is raised at the age of 10, and only the original part is taken after selling it. Twenty carts of manure are accumulated in one year. The price for the larger pig is based on the cart, and the smaller pig is used for the pig." Compensation for selling pigs."

In addition, pigs are omnivores and can feed on agricultural by-products, such as wheat bran, straw and even grass. Because of this, since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, pigs have It began to flourish in our country. In addition, our country has a vast land and rich resources, and is very good at cooking, which has unlocked many ways to eat pork, making pork more closely integrated with our dining tables.