Most of us never see how our food is raised. The system we’ve built feeds livestock instead of people, and people are still going hungry. Change starts with our next meal.
Over ten years ago, I overheard a colleague say, "Pigs are smart." At first, I couldn’t believe it. How could pigs be as intelligent as dogs, or even as smart as a 3 to 5-year-old child?
That realization stuck with me. It was troubling, especially when I thought about our aging Pug who needed to see a cardiologist. I couldn’t shake the contrast: we have doctors for dogs, yet we eat pigs, animals who are just as intelligent.
Behavior change is complex. But for some reason, those three words, "Pigs are smart," sparked my curiosity. They led me to start rethinking my food choices. I began reading, learning, and making small shifts.
Eventually, I shared my story with others. And over time, many of them began to reconsider their own choices too.
Then in 2020, I came across Tim Ferriss’ Tribe of Mentors. He asked, “If you could have a gigantic billboard with any message, what would it say?” Instantly, I knew: “Pigs are smart.”
Our Mission: Pigs Are Smart helps people eat more whole plant foods and less meat and dairy, one meal at a time, at whatever pace works for them. Factory farms harm our communities, our planet, and the animals who suffer inside them. Each meal without animal products shifts demand toward a food system that improves health, builds living soil, and feeds more people well.
Here’s what’s easy to miss: small steps add up to something real. The system we’ve built uses enormous resources to feed livestock instead of people. But demand can shift, and it already is.
Food is tied to our culture, our families, and our habits, so change can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Each step you take counts.
My faith has always shaped my values. But for years, I didn't connected it to food. So I started asking quiet questions. About compassion. About stewardship. About honoring the body I've been given. Should any of that show up at dinner?
"If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday."
Isaiah 58:10
I have this verse taped on my desk lamp where I start each day. It's there to remind me that creating a more just food system, caring for the earth, and living out faith are one thing. That's why there's a faith edition of my newsletter, Rooted in Faith, for anyone whose faith shapes their everyday life.
Tammy Messina founded Pigs Are Smart to help people take small steps toward eating more whole plant foods and less meat, however that looks for each person. Her path began in the humanitarian sector, where nearly twelve years of fundraising showed her how powerful a good story can be for connecting people to meaningful change.
Certified in Plant-Based Nutrition through the T. Colin Campbell Center, Tammy grounds Pigs Are Smart in real science and lived experience. Over a decade, she changed her own eating habits and learned what stuck, what didn’t, and what actually matters.
As a mother of five, she cares about food, health, and the world she’s passing on. Based in Los Angeles, she and her husband, a composer and director, keep their home always open. Think annual ping pong tournaments, Christmas caroling with the neighbors, and homemade pizza nights.
Her journey led her to ask why some animals are loved as companions and others end up on our plates. She began wondering why eating animals became the default when plants are possible for so many of us, and how little of that process most of us ever see.
Pigs Are Smart exists for others to ask those questions at their own pace. You can explore them in The Smart Bite and The Smart Bite: Rooted in Faith, two newsletters that arrive every other week with thoughtful ideas and practical tips.
No overhaul. No pressure. Just your next meal, made a little simpler.
"Easy to skim. Relevant and useful. I save them."
Heather, Mission Viejo, CA