The term Landrace pig or Landrace swine refers to any of a group of
standardized breeds of
domestic pig
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...
, and in this context the word ''
Landrace
A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolatio ...
'' is typically capitalized. The original breed by this name was the
Danish Landrace pig, from which the others were derived through development and crossbreeding. The breed was so-named because the foundation stock of the Danish Landrace were specimens from the local, free-breeding, non-
pedigreed
Purebreds are "cultivated varieties" of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be " pedigreed". Purebreds breed true-to-type which means the ...
stock of swine, i.e. the regional
landrace
A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolatio ...
native to Denmark. The modern breeds are not themselves landraces, since they are formal breeds maintained through
selective breeding
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant m ...
rather than
natural selection
Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Cha ...
. The establishment and spread of the Danish breed gave the word ''
landrace
A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolatio ...
'' to the English language (it had already existed in Danish, German, Dutch and some other Germanic languages).
[ Based on the ''Random House Dictionary''.] Sources from the mid-20th century often mean the Danish Landrace swine in particular when referring to "Landrace" pigs, as most of the others had not been developed yet.
List of Landrace pig breeds
The most common Landrace pig breeds are:
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American Landrace pig
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Belgian Landrace pig
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British Landrace pig
The British Landrace is a British domestic breed of pig and one of the most popular in the United Kingdom. It is pink with heavy drooping ears that cover most of the face and is bred for pork and bacon. The breed originated in the 1949 importati ...
*
Bulgarian Landrace pig
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Canadian Landrace pig
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Danish Landrace pig
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Dutch Landrace pig
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Estonian Landrace pig (a.k.a. Estonian Bacon pig)
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Finnish Landrace pig
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French Landrace pig
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German Landrace pig
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Italian Landrace pig
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Norwegian Landrace pig
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Polish Landrace pig
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South African Landrace pig
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Swedish Landrace pig
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Swiss Landrace pig
Several have selectively bred varieties, and many have alternative names.
References
{{Landrace pig breeds navbox
Pig breeds