--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pigs prefer to wallow in clean mud, but…" description: "\"Pigs prefer to wallow in clean mud, but if nothing else is available, they will frequently wallow in their own urine, giving rise to the notion that th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/marvin-harris-21953_animal_pigs-prefer-to-wallow-in-clean-mud-but-i_707259.jpg" --- # Pigs prefer to wallow in clean mud, but if nothing else is… ![“Pigs prefer to wallow in clean mud, but if nothing else is available, they will frequently wallow in their own urine, giving rise to the notion that they are dirty animals.” quote by Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/marvin-harris-21953_animal_pigs-prefer-to-wallow-in-clean-mud-but-i_707259.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/marvin-harris-21953_animal_pigs-prefer-to-wallow-in-clean-mud-but-i_707259.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/marvin-harris-21953_animal_pigs-prefer-to-wallow-in-clean-mud-but-i_707259.jpg) > “Pigs prefer to wallow in clean mud, but if nothing else is available, they will frequently wallow in their own urine, giving rise to the notion that they are dirty animals.” [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pigs will use whatever mud is available, even urine, challenging the idea they are inherently dirty. **In simple terms:** Animals adapt to dirty conditions Key Takeaway Adaptability over purity Themes animals adaptation misconception Mood educational analytical Type scientific observational When to use this quote - zoo management - environmental education - wildlife observation Key Concepts ecology behavioral flexibility Questions to Reflect On - How does environment shape animal behavior? - Can we separate cleanliness from survival? A Different Perspective Assuming animals have moral cleanliness is anthropomorphic ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Available](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/available/) [Clean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clean/) [Dirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirty/) [Dirty Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirty-animals-5586458/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Mud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mud/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Pigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pigs/) [Pigs Prefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pigs-prefer-5586457/) [Wallow Clean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wallow-clean-5586459/) [Wallow Urine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wallow-urine-5586456/) ## Related quotes > [ This \[the movie Babe\] is the way Americans want to think of pigs. Real-life 'Babes' see no sun in their limited lives, with no… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morley-safer/this-the-movie-babe-is-the-way-americans-want-to-think-of-pigs-real/) [Morley Safer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morley-safer/) > [“More often than not, expecting to lose weight without first losing the diet that made the weight loss necessary is like expecting a pig…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/more-often-than-not-expecting-to-lose-weight-without-first-losing-the/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [When you get in the mud with a pig, you get dirty and the pig gets happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/when-you-get-in-the-mud-with-a-pig-you-get-dirty-and-the-pig-gets/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [I have grown weary of literature: silence alone comforts me. 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Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [One may not doubt that, somehow Good Shall come of Water and of Mud; And sure, the reverent eye must see A purpose in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-brooke/one-may-not-doubt-that-somehow-good-shall-come-of-water-and-of-mud/) [Rupert Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-brooke/) > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## More by Marvin Harris > [There are very important and practical issues raised by following this alternative route which says, let's look to material conditions, to the systems of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/there-are-very-important-and-practical-issues-raised-by-following/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [I think that by following the route that I have tried to outline, one gets into a much more interesting and productive series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/i-think-that-by-following-the-route-that-i-have-tried-to-outline-one/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [Ethnography literally means 'a portrait of a people.' 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Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Pigs prefer to wallow in clean mud, but if nothing else is available, they will frequently wallow in their own urine, giving rise to the notion that they are dirty animals.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marvin Harris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/pigs-prefer-to-wallow-in-clean-mud-but-if-nothing-else-is-available/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/pigs-prefer-to-wallow-in-clean-mud-but-if-nothing-else-is-available/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/marvin-harris-21953_animal_pigs-prefer-to-wallow-in-clean-mud-but-i_707259.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/marvin-harris-21953_animal_pigs-prefer-to-wallow-in-clean-mud-but-i_707259.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8f/marvin-harris-21953_animal_pigs-prefer-to-wallow-in-clean-mud-but-i_707259.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Pigs prefer to wallow in clean mud, but if nothing else is available, they will frequently wallow in their…” — Marvin Harris", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Marvin Harris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Pigs prefer to wallow in clean...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/pigs-prefer-to-wallow-in-clean-mud-but-if-nothing-else-is-available/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/pigs-prefer-to-wallow-in-clean-mud-but-if-nothing-else-is-available/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```