"basilisk" wrote

There is no way to know if the pork you buy in the store came from
a large commercial producer or not, a farmer can show up at the packing
house with one hog that was raised in bad conditions and they will take it
no questions ask as long as it is on its feet.

That may happen in a small independent store, but it is not going to happen
in chain store. No way they would take the risk buying a single hog from a
stranger. Commercial hogs are raised in factory conditions. A fellow I know
has been doing some work for a hog butchering place in Iowa. They slaughter
18,000 hogs every 12 hour day. Then they spend six or more hours with a 200
man crew cleaning and sanitizing. Those hogs never saw a real farm.