Stewart Truelsen
Focus on Agriculture
Bacon is
Big
Stewart Truelsen
Bacon is undoubtedly America ’ s best-loved and most maligned meat product . It has been the subject of studies trying to link consumption of large amounts of processed meat with some cancers , and nutrition consultants often discourage clients from eating bacon because of its fat content .
Yet , bacon hasn ’ t lost any of its sizzle . The American Meat Institute reports that bacon has an almost cult-like following with dozens of Facebook fan pages and blogs with tens of thousands of readers .
For some reason , bacon just can ’ t seem to stay out of the news . As the nation ’ s severe drought wore on this summer , consumers became worried about higher food prices and shortages . What food product did they fear losing the most ? Why it was bacon , of course .
The bacon scare began in the British press and made headlines everywhere despite the lack of any real basis in fact . The Huffington Post Blog called it “ aporkalypse ,” the beginning of the end for bacon lovers . But , analysis by American Farm Bureau Federation economists showed pork supplies will decrease slightly going into 2013 and the idea of widespread bacon shortages was really overblown .
Refrigerated bacon is a $ 2 billion industry , one in which sales actually rose during the nation ’ s severe economic downturn a few years back . In stores and on the Internet shoppers can buy flavored bacons and hand-crafted bacons made by artisans using old fashioned curing methods and hand labor . This premium bacon is two or three times the cost of regular bacon , which is usually inexpensive .
Bacon also is the star of one of the most popular recipes on the internet — the Bacon Explosion , a barbeque dish the size of a football . A Bacon Explosion consists of bacon wrapped around a filling of spiced sausage and crumpled bacon . It is then smoked or baked .
The Bacon Explosion notwithstanding , bacon can be part of a diet to lose weight . The Atkins Diet is based on the premise that a person can lose weight by eating meat and eliminating carbs . Now there is also the Paleo Diet , which mimics what cavemen would have eaten during the Paleolithic Age before the dawn of agriculture . Bacon and other meats are in , but grains are out with this diet .
The idea behind the Paleo Diet is that we are genetically programmed to be healthier if we eat what our distant ancestors ate . Whether huntergatherers actually ate bacon is arguable . However , wild boars are indigenous to Europe , so a successful hunter with a sharp stone , fire and salt could have cured meat .
Pigs were domesticated at least 7,000 years ago . The Chinese get credit for being the first to salt pork bellies around 1500 BC . The English gave it the name bacon in the seventeenth century .
Today , there are low-sodium , lean and turkey varieties of bacon available . If you love bacon there is no reason you can ’ t find some that is suitable for your health , nutrition and enjoyment .
Stewart Truelsen is a regular contributor to the Focus on Agriculture series and is the author of a book marking the American Farm Bureau Federation ’ s 90th anniversary , Forward Farm Bureau .
18 West Virginia Farm Bureau News