Carnism

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Carnists are eating more pig belly than ever

© Photabulous!

Demand for pig bellies, the flesh otherwise known to carnists as "bacon", is high.

So much so that prices are 80% higher than last year according to Marketwatch.

Pig farmers in the US are struggling to keep up with demand. The national hog herd rose to a seasonal record of 71.7 million head in early June, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, up 3% from a year earlier. But it hasnâ€™t been enough to satiate bacon demand.

For those who eat animal products, there is a known disconnect between the flesh, dairy or eggs and the animal it comes from. The marketing boards and food industry work on maintaining this disassociation with tales of "happy" chickens and "humane" meat.

And carnists prefer to keep the blinders on. A 2016 UK study revealed how extensive this ignorance is. When Britons were asked "Do you know where your bacon comes from?", a quarter said they had no clue. Furthermore, one in five did not know eggs came from chickens and 26% were unaware that milk came from cows.

If you are not vegan yet, here are 3 reasons to stop eating pigs:

Pigs are sentient social intelligent beings.

They are smarter than dogs and have the mental capacity of a 3 year old human. In fact, pigs are extremely clever animals who form complex social networks and have excellent memories. A life to be respected not eaten.

Watch this YouTube video: Pig's IQ is of a 3yr old child, Would you treat a child like this?



Most pigs are treated horrifically, raised on factory farms, transported inhumanely and then killed en masse.

Over 97% of pigs in the US are raised in horrific conditions on factory farms according to PETA. "Factory farms are pure hell for pigs and their babies. Mother pigs, for example, spend most of their lives in tiny â€œgestationâ€ crates, which are so small that the animals are unable to turn around or even lie down comfortably." They are repeatedly impregnated until they are brutally transported to slaughterhouses and then killed en masse, sometimes as many as 1,100 per hour at a typical slaughterhouse.



Eating animals can lead to chronic disease and premature death.

Bacon, and the saturated fat and cholesterol it contains makes you sick, and is classified by the World Health Organization as a carcinogen, or something that causes cancer. Pork products are loaded with artery-clogging cholesterol and saturated fat which increase your chances of developing deadly diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and osteoporosis.

Considering pig bellies are among the poorest cuts of meat, being very fatty and needing "curing" to be tasty, the popularity of bacon is very surprising and very sad too.