Pork Needs Better PR

90-second read

I’ve always believed that pork got a raw deal in society. It’s basically the outcast of the meat family.

Yes, it spoils fast in hot climates. And it’s a serious vector for dangerous parasites and pathogens. I get that part.

Then I watched an episode of River Monsters, where the excellent Jeremy Wade was in Papua New Guinea investigating fish attacks on locals.

A villager told him that pork was the closest match to human flesh, and that insight helped him understand why the fish were targeting humans. There’s a folktale of someone angering a god, and then being turned into a pig. These myths reinforce the idea that eating pork is, symbolically, like eating a person.

it doesn't help that pigs will eat literally anything, so you can start to see why pork is taboo in some cultures.

We’re not going to relitigate the religious reasons for banning pork, because there was actual solid, practical logic behind it.

Marvin Harris, in Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches, argues that pigs were inefficient in hot, arid climates. They don't graze, they compete with us for food, and they drink too much water. The taboo wasn't about purity. It was survival math.

But we now live in an era of modern vet care, better food preparation, refrigeration, better feed etc. The conditions have changed, but pork’s reputation hasn’t.

Which is strange, because pork itself may have a reputation problem, but bacon, ham and ribs seem to be doing just fine.

So how does pork fight back?

Maybe it borrows from politicians. Here's a couple strategies that could help:

The Pivot: “Ahem, before we discuss pork, can we talk about what beef is charging?”

Whataboutism: “Excuse me, you’re calling me unclean while chicken needs its own chopping board?”

The Rebrand: Pork stops calling itself pork.

Bacon becomes ‘breakfast protein.’ Pulled pork becomes ‘slow cooked comfort food.’ Ham was already ahead of the game and smart enough to get its own name.

The Surrogate: Pork sends bacon out to speak on its behalf, its approval ratings are already through the roof.

So maybe pork doesn’t need better PR after all. Bacon’s been doing the job for years.