Food has the ability to comfort, to heal and to nourish. Everyone has their favorite comfort foods. For some, that may be bacon (more on that later). For me, there was nothing a bowl of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup couldn’t cure. In fact, for much of my childhood, it was what I subsisted on. As an adult – a vegan adult no less – I have to laugh at how I could have lived so long with such a limited perception of good food.
When I transitioned from meat-eating to vegetarianism, and later veganism, a whole new world of food opened up to me. Salads became more than just a vehicle for ranch dressing. And, lucky for me, the world is becoming more vegan-friendly every day. Well, sort of. One thing continues to fascinate my omnivorous counterparts: bacon.
As part of a growing trend, it seems that bacon has become the new black. Cured, salty, artery clogging bacon. The greasier and more congealed the better. Now, according to a reliable source (my mother), I used to love bacon too. When I was a nice Jewish girl growing up in New York, bagels and lox never passed my lips. But bacon was a breakfast favorite. Now, I can honestly say it disgusts me. Bacon and bacon flavored things alike.
But this bacon bonanza has got to stop. It’s gotten to the point where bacon has far surpassed the cupcake trend. I can’t swing a dead cat anymore without hitting some kind of cured pork product, and that’s just wrong. What I’m getting at here, if you couldn’t already tell, is that bacon has become inescapable. It is winding up in places that it has no business winding up in. Like Burger King’s Bacon Sundae. I can’t count how many episodes of Cupcake Wars that have featured some sort of bacon cupcake. It’s the pork apocalypse, a porkpocalypse, if you prefer. And if the pigs aren’t flying, it’s because they’re being sacrificed for bacon.
Needless to say, this is one trend that I most emphatically will not be taking part in. I’ll keep my tofu, thanks. And my bacon-free vegan cupcakes.
By Jen Weiss