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Ark of TAsTe116 almanaCAround this time, at a travelling zoo for children, he saw for the first time a very small breed of pig, and he realized that the tiny pig had the same genetic characteristics as the by-now very rare Agū. He received other specimens from an agriculture lecturer friend, and so Takada began raising the Agū pigs and founded an association to protect the breed.a cornerStoneof food cultureAfter meeting with Slow Food, Taka- da changed his farming practices. Until 2012, the Agū pigs were given a feed mix containing genetically mod- ified corn from Canada. Having un- derstood the importance of animal nutrition, Takada contacted experts who helped him to put together an ad-hoc GMO-free feed for his pigs, and now a local grain company pro- duces it especially for him.The Ryūkyū Agū pigs had almost completely disappeared, partly due to the disastrous effects of the warThe danger of extinctionThe Worldwatch List of Domestic Animal Diversity, published forthe first time in 2000 by the FAO and UNEP, is a reference point for domestic breeds at risk of extinction around the world. Every week, two farmed animal breeds become extinct. And once a breed is extinct, it is gone forever.on Okinawa, but now a new genera- tion of producers of this native breed is emerging. They will be followed by another generation, and then an- other. All of this is thanks to Takada’s obstinacy. Despite the lower eco- nomic return of these small native pigs – their weight, around 100 kilos, is less than that of Western species – he has persisted in raising them.“In the past the native animals were farmed in a way that respected the local traditions,” he says, “while to- day they are replaced by non-local varieties with a higher economic val- ue. As a result, the native breeds are being ignored. But the selection of breeds based on potential earnings leads to the depletion of natural re- sources.” The Agū pig, on the other hand, represents not only a corner- stone of Okinawa’s food culture, but also has an important value in tra- ditional society. The Agū’s skin and bones, for example, are used in ritual ceremonies (shimakusarashi) to drive away or avert epidemics and for the sacred ritual rope (shimenawa) used to protect towns and villages from similar dangers.In Okinawa, the pig is considered the origin of everything: food, soci- ety, philosophy. And the Okinawa pig is the Agū. This is why Takada is delighted that his pigs, in which he has invested so much of his life and heart, have joined Slow Food’s Ark of Taste.© arChIVIo Slow Food