Daniella Smith: I know it’s wrong, but I can’t stop loving bacon
I love the crispy, greasy—but not greasy enough to pool onto your plate like a congealed puddle—kind of bacon. The kind that begs to be dipped into the last smear of ketchup. The sizzling, popping, burns your finger as you try to steal some out of the pan kind of bacon. I love bacon because of its perfect balance of salty, smoky, and sweet that explodes onto my taste buds with every last bite.
I love bacon, but I’m a hypocrite.
Despite being nearly three-quarters into my university degree, with ample access to information from around the world, I ignore, rationalize, and disregard cold hard facts about the environmental consequences—not to mention the state of most slaughterhouses—to satisfy my craving. I know better, but I can’t resist bacon. That’s what I tell myself anyway.
Research suggests I am not alone in this struggle. According to a Canadian study published in the Human Ecology Review, “approximately 72% of respondents ‘self-report’ a gap between their intentions and their actions”. These results indicate that I am just one of many Canadians who holds environmentally aware values, but does not act accordingly.
So if we know we should be doing better, what’s stopping us?
Perhaps our actions are less calculated than we’d like to think. Marketing has satisfied our plight to go green by promoting purchasing based on the label. The fixation on buying things that appear environmentally friendly have left our eyes scanning for words that lead us to believe we have chosen the superior product.
Not all products are created equally. Labels can be deceiving. There is not always a big difference in the products that are being labeled as green, and the products we used to buy.
Excessive packaging is often unnoticed when purchasing items. We fall into the trap of buying something different instead of just buying less. Reducing consumption, recycling, and up-cycling are overlooked in favour of modified purchasing habits that leave us feeling like we’ve done our part to help Mother Nature. Then we load up our vehicles and drive our new purchases home.
Our disengaged behaviour can be attributed in part to psychological factors. Establishing a new habit can be difficult. Old habits are often automatic responses, with extra energy and thought required in order to make significant changes to daily routines. They are hard to break. Disassociation between the information we know and what we want creates internal conflicts.
Developing self-awareness takes time, but is possible.
I could continue to enjoy bacon with minimal immediate consequences, but the accumulative effects of our unsustainable actions add up. Climate change is becoming more apparent in the world today, and can no longer be ignored. The effects are becoming increasingly apparent in Canada. This year’s unseasonably warm weather on the West Coast may have us in our T-shirts and shorts early, but the mountains are bare and there will be economic and environmental consequences from the lack of winter. The East is facing a different kind of extreme with snow so high and temperatures so low they resemble the stereotypical jokes about living in Canada.
I love bacon. But I also know that I am contributing to a much bigger and complex problem. My actions are small, but they are part of a tangled and intricate web.
Perhaps I can accept that bacon and I are better suited to be causal acquaintances instead of passionate lovers. And when we do cross paths, I can choose where I decide to buy my meat. Like friendships, lovers, or even a good pair of heels, it is the quality, not the quantity that counts. Limiting my intake seems like a reasonable alternative to cutting bacon out of my life completely, which seems unlikely. Being self-aware is the first step in making any long-term changes to my habits. The little things matter and they do add up. This is what I will be telling myself the next time bacon starts calling my name.
Comments
10 Comments
Mike Angell
Mar 23, 2015 at 2:48pm
Wonderful thoughts! In my local grocer's, there is only commercial pork available, so I will not purchase any. Ever. The rare occasion that the label suggests otherwise, it tells me that the meat is raised without antibiotics, without ever mentioning the conditions in which the animal was raised. I only buy bacon from sources I have researched. I encourage others to do the same. Urban Digs Farm and Pasture to Plate are two possible sources for quality meat that is raised optimally in the Vancouver area.
Jon Q. Publik
Mar 23, 2015 at 3:46pm
I liked this part of your commentary piece "Climate change is becoming more apparent in the world today, and can no longer be ignored" but I am sorry to inform you that people are ignoring it on a daily basis. Reality is many people could care less where their next meal comes from as long as they get fed. Becoming self-aware is a great step forward for oneself but unfortunately is often a luxury of the haves but not the have nots.
Tom Edwards
Mar 23, 2015 at 4:44pm
Years ago, I had some bacon for breakfast...the next day I went for an afternoon massage and halfway through the masseuse asked me if I had been eating bacon...incredulously I said I had and told them when, then asked how they had known? "I can smell it coming out of your pores" was the answer on what turned out to be the last day I ate any animal products...
life is short
Mar 23, 2015 at 4:54pm
Do what makes you happy.
Fartcatforever
Mar 23, 2015 at 8:53pm
Didn't know they sold university degrees in narcissistic self-loathing.
Shane Scott
Mar 24, 2015 at 11:29am
Why let your palette make your ethical choices for you? Do what is right to end suffering. Pigs deserve at least a modicum of dignity, they're intelligent & loving animals that want to live.
Edward Bernays
Mar 24, 2015 at 11:41am
Birds do it, cats do it. Even frogs and chimps and bats do it. Let's do it. Let's eat some flesh. The lion doesn't weep for the gazelle. The real problem is overpopulation. Want to help the planet? Don't have children. Simple.
@Edward Bernays
Mar 24, 2015 at 2:19pm
Or we could start eating children.
Lion King
Mar 25, 2015 at 10:10am
Yes, lions eat flesh. They also sniff each others' @sses. Guess that means we should follow suit?
Abe Stinkin
Mar 29, 2015 at 12:17pm
The Rules Of Bacon
1. There must always be bacon in the fridge. Always
2. There does not exist a food that does not go well with bacon.
3. There are 2 kinds of people in the world: those who like bacon and those who will be used as fodder in the case of a zombie apocalypse.
4. Even pigs like bacon. Fact.
5. Crispy and chewy are both acceptable ways to cook bacon. Thou shalt not discriminate.
6. 90% of the world’s problems can be solved by cooking more bacon.
7. Bacon presents exactly zero health risks. Shut up.
8. If your computer is antiquated and slow you can feed it bacon through the floppy drive to make it run faster.
9. Meals without bacon are rarely worth eating.
10. When given a breathalyzer, the number they give you is your BAC. This is short for “BACON” and is equal to the number of slices of bacon you should eat divided by 100.
11. Thou shalt always consume bacon on the Sabbath. And the Mondath, and the Tuesdath. And the…
12. Bacon gets you laid.