But he admits it’s anecdotal, not scientific, evidence that the pigs are performing better.
The farm at Forest Grove, Oregon, grows marijuana and has long fed food-industry waste to its pigs.
“Feeding byproducts of the legal marijuana industry is of interest to many in the pork industry,” says Anna Dilger, associate professor of meat science at the University of Illinois. “To my knowledge, there is no real research on this yet.”
Dilger says the interest in feeding byproducts of legal marijuana is two-fold.
“In addition to the scrap ag products (plants), there is also interest in the bakery waste leftover from making marijuana brownies or cookies,” Dilger said.
“These are typically the edges or scraps that are not offered for sale or products that have gone stale.”
Although bakery waste is a common feed ingredient, Dilger says it’s an additional challenge when the bakery waste has THC in it. THC in the diet is of interest to some, scientifically, because the appetite stimulation by marijuana could increase feed intake in pigs.
Dave Hoyle, owner of Moto Perpetuo Farm, says, “We do feel that we see an increased appetite and the pigs seem to be gaining weight faster than the same breed fed a similar free-choice ration without the cannabis.”
