The soothing sound of grease flying against a hot pan, the mouthwatering aroma, the salty taste as it hits your tongue and the addicting chewy texture. It can only mean one thing; bacon.
The first time I noticed North America’s obsession with this meat was when everyone was sporting the Kevin Bacon t-shirt. But no one really expected it to turn into what it is now.
On average, Americans each eat about 18 pounds of bacon a year, according to SFGate health news, which means they are consuming approximately 5, 760, 000, 000 pounds of pig strips across the country.
Bacon has been globally loved since we found we could eat it, but how has bacon grown into such a trend? knowyourmeme.com states that the bacon fandom began with the increase of bacon ‘food porn’ on internet sites, which started the wave of bacon memes and inventions of bacon accessories.
So what impact does all this bacon eating have on a human? Elaine Maggee, MPH, RD for WebMD, stats in her column that 68 per cent of bacon’s calories come from fat, and each ounce of bacon contributes 30 milligrams of cholesterol which can increase risks of heart disease and strokes.
But then again, it is better to choose bacon over sausage at breakfast as pork sausage links contain 140 calories and 12 grams of fat.
The bacon popularity has gained the attention of local restaurants as well as the communities hungry citizens. Denny’s has introduced a Maple Bacon Sundae which includes maple flavoured syrup, vanilla ice cream, and lots of diced hickory-smoked bacon sprinkles.
Eater.com writer, Josh Ozersky calls this era “the Periclean age of bacon.”
But the bacon fad doesn’t stop with different varieties of food, it also gets more intimate than that. Maple Leaf Foods conducted a study that concluded 43 per cent of respondents said they would rather eat bacon than have sex: good news participants, you can now have sex with bacon.
J&D Foods pride themselves in devoting bacon to every aspect in life, and have invented the bacon condom and bacon lube. Now much else to say about that.
A debate on the bacon fad at sodahead.com has an equal amount of both negative and encouraging comments. User lucythetooth says her love for bacon has nothing to do with societies love for bacon. “I don’t know about the whole combining bacon with practically every food known to mankind, but I like bacon and will continue to eat it regardless of public opinion on the matter.”
In light of the bacon fad, vegetarians and vegans alike have joined together on the Facebook page “Bacon-loving Hipsters can Kiss my Vegan Ass” (Creator unknown) to support the protection of pigs everywhere.
Now, whether you genuinely love bacon, just like it because of the fad, or down right hate it; always be careful of what you’re putting into your body. Just because it tastes good, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good for you.
