Vladimir McTavish: Eating bacon is bad news for your health – and terrible for pigs

Bacon sandwich is the UK's favourite according to Foodhub surveyBacon sandwich is the UK's favourite according to Foodhub survey
Bacon sandwich is the UK's favourite according to Foodhub survey
I have not knowingly eaten meat since I was in my mid-twenties. However, I have never been one of those holier-than-thou vegetarians who constantly pontificate about the moral bankruptcy of carnivores. Eat what you want.

However, over the years, I have learned much more about the health benefits of quitting flesh and about the damage that meat production can cause the planet.

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Commercial livestock production is is one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, alongside the automotive industry. But does this stop people eating meat? I’m guessing even Tesla drivers will enjoy the odd steak or burger now and again.

Yet, a report out this week could potentially change some people’s minds. Eating as little as two slices of ham a day can raise one’s chances of developing type 2 diabetes, one of the greatest health challenges currently facing the developed world. Type 2 diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, strokes and lower limb amputation.

So that’s the damage a few slices of ham can cause. But, guess what? The damage to the pig is even greater. Someone eating two slices of ham a day will result in a 100 per cent increase in fatality to the pig involved.

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We live in a world now where every supermarket claims to be more ethical than their rivals. Walk into any branch of Waitrose and you will read posters making self-satisfied claims about the good deal they give to pig farmers, without any mention of what a crappy deal the pig is getting.

I am not one to get on my high horse. I know a number of lapsed vegetarians who were tempted back to meat by the smell of a bacon sandwich. I have done gigs in countries in the Middle East where eating pork is forbidden and the Brits really crave it.

A number of years ago, I did a tour of Kuwait, entertaining British workers who lived out there who had no access to pig meat. The organiser contacted me before I left home asking me if I could smuggle pork pies into the country.

That sounds like an interesting anecdote until you consider the logistics of fitting six pork pies in a condom up your back passage.

Enjoy your Saturday morning bacon sandwich.

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