Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet on His Kansas Farm Upbringing and Longtime Love of Pigs (2024)

Eric Stonestreet has a few things he'd like to clear up about pigs — yes, pigs.

In honor of October's National Pork Month, the Modern Family alum has teamed up with the National Pork Board to help correct some misconceptions about pig farming. Stonestreet, 50, grew up farming in rural Kansas, hence his involvement with the campaign.

"I thought it was a great opportunity to do a full-circle moment, where I'm able to use my name and face to help shine some positive light on the pork producers of America," he tells PEOPLE. "So that's where the relationship started, and what the goal is — busting some myths and just really educating people and hopefully inspiring them to have ... an understanding of where their food comes from. I think people would be surprised so much about so many different things about a modern pig farm."

For starters, Stonestreet says, there are the "little idioms that we all grew up saying in our vernacular."

"Like, 'sweating like a pig,' or, 'when pigs fly,' or 'pigsty,' or, 'slop in the pigs' — things like that, that you don't think really mean anything," he says. "But to a pork producer and a pig farmer, they kind of can indicate sort of an untruth about the actual animal and about the operation of pig farming."

He continues: "Let's take 'sweating like a pig' — pigs don't even sweat. They don't have sweat glands. This notion that pigs sweating is some disgusting thing might lead someone to say, 'Well, I don't want to eat pigs because pigs are all sweaty.' Well, that's not true."

As for the notion that pigs are dirty animals?

"Pigs naturally are very clean animals," Stonestreet says. "And then when you add in the consciousness and care that farmers put into raising pigs on a moderate pig farm, they're a very clean animal. They're raised in temperature controlled barns with nutrition being paid attention to at the highest degree making sure that the pigs eating well-balanced meals daily."

Back in the day, Stonestreet won a "grand champion ribbon" at the Wyandotte County Fair in his home state "by taking a picture of all the pigs sniffing my tennis shoes" and titling it, "And you say we smell?"

"I think pigs are an incredibly smart, intelligent, funny animal. And I have so many memories of just being in the pen with my pigs and taking pictures of them," he says. "Looking back at all the good times I had working around the farm with my dad, with my friends, bringing my friends over and letting them see a sow farrow pigs. Most of my friends didn't grow up in that environment. So being able to bring friends over and say, 'Well, this pig's three hours old,' that's new territory for a lot of [people]."

Stonestreet, whose Modern Family character Cam was partly inspired by the actor's upbringing, has stayed in touch with the cast since the series concluded last year.

"We all have our text threads going ... and we all celebrate each other's birthdays and special moments," he says. "It does feel weird [not being on set], I'm going to be honest. ... I didn't go to acting school, but one thing they for sure don't teach you is how to be on a show for 11 years and then all of a sudden say goodbye to everybody that you built relationships with."

"So it was a challenge, but thank God that [we have] social media [to] stay in touch with a lot of the crew," he adds. "Thank God for texting."

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And needless to say, he's glad the show wrapped before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I just keep telling myself that had we been shooting Modern Family, it wouldn't have felt the same. It wouldn't have been the same," he says. "So we're just lucky we got it in before the pandemic hit."

Modern Family ran for 11 seasons on ABC from 2009 to 2020. The cast also included Ty Burrell, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ed O'Neill, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould and Rico Rodriguez.

During the series finale, Stonestreet's character uprooted his family with husband Mitch (Ferguson) to Missouri in pursuit of his coaching dreams.

"I think there was an opportunity for a spinoff," Stonestreet tells PEOPLE. "But I think that window closed."

For more information on National Pork Board's pig farming myth-busting campaign, go to Pork.org/RuralDictionary.