Smoked bacon off the menu as city says it’s making the air bad
Print Edition
RESIDENTS in southwest China’s Chongqing have been banned from making smoked bacon after it was blamed for causing foul air in the city.
Many households traditionally make smoked bacon before the Chinese lunar new year, which is on February 19 this year.
However, the city’s environment protection bureau has outlawed the practice and also prohibited making fires outside and cooking “firewood chicken,” a delicacy cooked using lots of firewood.
Anyone caught violating the rules will face a fine of up to 5,000 yuan (US$805), the bureau said on its website.
It said it had received scores of complaints from residents about bacon smoking recently. Chongqing’s PM2.5 readings have soared lately, and the bureau cited smoking bacon, making fires in the open air and firewood chicken as major contributors.
PM2.5 refers to particulate matter less than 2.5 micrograms in diameter which causes hazardous smog.
Chongqing’s “anti-bacon” campaign came days after an official in the neighboring city of Dazhou caused controversy when he blamed lingering smog on smoked bacon.
Rao Bing, deputy head of Dazhou Environment Protection Bureau, said the practice was one of the causes of the city’s acrid smog.
Dazhou’s chengguan, enforcers of local regulations, are raiding and forcibly demolishing meat-smoking sites.
However, volunteers at the Bayu Public Welfare Development Center, a non-government environmental protection organization, said smoking meat, while contributing to air pollution, does so to only a small degree.
Their conclusion was reached after a three-day survey at a dozen bacon-smoking sites.
“The impact of the smoking process is confined within a 50-meter radius,” a volunteer told the Chongqing Evening News.
The Chongqing campaign has invited public ridicule and skepticism on the Internet, with many comments saying that the government should probably ban cooking too because that activity also generates air pollution.
“Maybe we should stop breathing because it pollutes the air,” was another.
It’s not the first time government officials have suggested controversial explanations for smog.
In October, environmental watchdogs in Beijing and adjacent Henan Province blamed the persistent smog on farmers burning straw, an agricultural practice with a long history.
In recent years, swathes of the country have frequently reported heavy smog, slashing visibility and posing health hazards.
China has taken a variety of measures to contain severe air pollution, including restricting industrial production and vehicle use.
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