Sunday, August 15, 2010

Free Mangalitsa in NYC

NYC paleos - they eat a lot of meat, fat and veggies.
Photo by Tony Cenicola - by way of New York Times.

There a paleo dinner in NYC, as covered here, by the organizer, Melissa McEwen (seen in above photo). With the help of DeBragga, our New York Distributor, Heath Putnam Farms (bka* "Wooly Pigs") is donating Mangalitsa pork to the event.

Here's a New York Times article about them - it communicates how healthy and animal-fat friendly they are:

The caveman lifestyle, in Mr. Durant’s interpretation, involves eating large quantities of meat and then fasting between meals to approximate the lean times that his distant ancestors faced between hunts. Vegetables and fruit are fine, but he avoids foods like bread that were unavailable before the invention of agriculture...

Perhaps he'll roast and eat that leg, and then fast for a while. If he cured it, he could eat it in slices, like these Mangalitsa products, instead of having to eat it all at once.

John Durant - a lot of paleos look like this.
Photo by Béatrice de Géa - by way of New York Times.

Over the years, I have noticed that pretty much everyone wants a free sample of Mangalitsa. They've heard it is the best and they know it is rare. Even if they don't ever intend to buy - as that would require changing their purchasing habits - they want to try.

Similarly, a lot of people have heard that Wagyu beef is the best. They want to try it, even if they won't buy it again.

Hence, as a rule, I don't give out free samples.

However, in the course of selling in Seattle, I've met paleos and Weston A Price foundation members. Here's what I've noticed:
  • They are healthy! They look healthier than 99% of the people I meet. You couldn't pick better poster children for our pigs, given how fat-prone they are. Look at the photos of them above! Then look at a photos of vegetarians, for comparison.
  • They are fat-friendly. If some young, polite well-dressed people come up at the farmers market and ask for a tub of lard, they are probably paleos or Weston A Price Foundation members. The foodie paleos might want the Speck or the lardo - in any case, they want what we've got: super-high quality animal fat.
  • They are generally conscientious, polite and well-educated.
  • They share information with others about food and what's good.
  • They are informed about food, fat composition and quality. They care about what we do.
A lot of people might complain that a Mangalitsa belly (even a free one) is too fatty. I know that these people won't. A lot of people might think that we are skimping by giving them a tub of lard (instead of a case of tenderloins) - but these people won't.

Hence Wooly Pigs (via DeBragga) is happy to donate some stuff to NYC paleos. My only real request was that attendees know what they are eating and that DeBragga can get them more.


* bka = better known as

1 comment:

Dr. B G said...

Mmmm... can't wait to get my LARDO! *smack my lips*