And this little piggie was incorporated into over 185 different products...

September 20, 2010 12:56 PM

Over the course of three years, designer Christien Meindertsma tracked the products that had been made from the remains of a single pig. In doing so, she discovered that the skin, bones, meat, organs, blood, fat, brains, hoofs, hair and tail of a single pig might be used in more than 180 very diverse products, from shampoo, medicine, tattoo ink, munitions, cardiac valves, matches, desserts and bubblegum, beer and lemonade, car paint and brake discs to pills and bread. TED Talk. TED Bio. Vimeo video: Reading through the pages of Pig 05049. Exhibition (in Dutch). Design Observer: Pig 05049. Amazon: Pig 05049

‘Products are given an important value when we know where they came from, how they were made, the effort that has been involved’, states the Dutch designer Christien Meindertsma. 'The starting point for my projects is a particular place. A place is the location, the vegetation, the people and animals.'

Meindertsma is known for creating usable objects and clothing, and providing a link for the end user back to the animal they originally come from. So, she creates "One Sheep Rugs" and includes a little tag and photo to the sheep who gave its wool. Also: One Sheep Sweaters, which use wool from a single sheep. She also takes multiple "One Sheep Rugs" and makes larger "One Flock Rugs" It's all part of her ongoing Design for a Living World project. Interview. Additional info.

posted by zarq (24 comments total)

Let me be the first one to say "one pig bacon".

there, we got that out of the way.
posted by HuronBob at 1:05 PM on September 20, 2010

Wow, we're great, just like the Native Americans. We use every part of the pig! Because we respect it.
posted by grobstein at 1:06 PM on September 20, 2010 [3 favorites]

“(Lisa) "I'm going to become a vegetarian"
(Homer) "Does that mean you're not going to eat any pork?"
"Yes"
"Bacon?"
"Yes Dad"
"Ham?"
"Dad all those meats come from the same animal"
"Right Lisa, some wonderful, magical animal!"”
posted by 445supermag at 1:11 PM on September 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Less cynically put perhaps, but sure, if by repsect you mean value. If it has worth, it get used. One of the key parts of being "green" is finding worth in everything. Reduce comes first before reuse and recycle because it's the most important of the three.
posted by bonehead at 1:14 PM on September 20, 2010

How many more uses if you also use the baby monkey?
posted by davejay at 1:17 PM on September 20, 2010 [5 favorites]

George Washington Carver : Peanut :: Christien Meindertsma : Pig
posted by Horace Rumpole at 1:26 PM on September 20, 2010

Also she has the most adorable accent.
posted by ghharr at 1:39 PM on September 20, 2010

Also she has the most adorable accent.

She does, doesn't she? It's captivating.
posted by zarq at 1:43 PM on September 20, 2010

Did you watch the part about steak!? Apparently they take all the little non-sellable steak bits, GLUE THEM TOGETHER WITH PIG PARTS, and resell them... as steak! What a country!
posted by r_nebblesworthII at 1:54 PM on September 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

As they used to say: Everything but the "oink."
posted by ZenMasterThis at 2:16 PM on September 20, 2010

Being a vegetarian just got a lot tougher.
posted by londonmark at 2:16 PM on September 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Previously on Metafilter.
posted by jedicus at 2:32 PM on September 20, 2010

I'd prefer to skip drinking lemonade made out of dead pig bits.
posted by chadmalik at 2:56 PM on September 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

And yet people say Americans are so wasteful. :)
posted by thorny at 3:08 PM on September 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

...dead pig bits

I would like to hear a chiptune band with this name.
posted by davejay at 3:30 PM on September 20, 2010

that's nice, a very lot of uses for left-over pig parts, considering the large number of pigs slaughtered every day in America, maybe a alternate fuel could be discovered and incorporated into powering a vehicle, again creating less dependency on Arab Oil.
posted by tustinrick at 4:17 PM on September 20, 2010

This depresses the hell out of me. I don't eat pig (or octopus) because they are so smart. It does not make me feel better that this sensitive and intelligent animal is killed and used for more than food.
posted by bearwife at 4:57 PM on September 20, 2010 [4 favorites]

Tattoo ink, eh?

Seems like vegan tattoos are a market waiting to happen...
posted by madajb at 5:34 PM on September 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Wait, what about the bullets? I was waiting for her to explain about those...
posted by rachaelfaith at 7:46 PM on September 20, 2010

Previously on Metafilter

Hardly a double though - my post is weak sauce compared to this, and I thank zarq for fleshing it out (ha, get it? ok) - it fascinates me, as does a lot of her work.
posted by hypersloth at 2:30 AM on September 21, 2010

Previously on Metafilter.posted by jedicus at 5:32 PM on September 20 [+] [!]

Ouch. *sigh* My fault. I should have searched for her main site url, not a sub-page.

Hypersloth, that's kind of you to say. Sorry to steal your thunder, though. Will flag. If this does get deleted I'll rewrite/reframe it around her "flock" wool project instead and resubmit. It's no big deal.
posted by zarq at 4:40 AM on September 21, 2010

I guess this is pretty much a nightmare for any observant Muslim or Jew, never mind vegetarians.
posted by Skeptic at 6:25 AM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

I was given this book for Xmas and it is as beautiful as it is fascinating.
posted by ob at 6:25 AM on September 21, 2010

Just amazing how many unsuspected uses there are for just one pig! And yeah, kind of a problem for obsevant Muslims and Jews and real vegans.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 9:02 PM on September 21, 2010