We Live in a Time of Bacon— Resistance Is Futile

Pork suppliers told to phase out hog crates

(NEWSER) - McDonald's is winning praise from animal welfare groups for taking action to create a more humane McRib. The fast food giant has told its suppliers to come up with plans for ending the use of gestation crates for adult female hogs, the Wall Street Journal reports. Most breeding sows in the US spend their entire lives in the tiny pens, which are so small that they cannot turn around. McDonald's says it has decided the pens are "not a sustainable production system." More»

On list of top sodium sources, salty junk food comes in a distant No. 10

(NEWSER) - If you had to bet $5 on whether more salt in your diet came from bread or chips, you'd probably be out five bucks. Potato chips, pretzels, and popcorn actually rank a distant No. 10 on the CDC's list of the top 10 sources of sodium, released yesterday. Bread and rolls claimed the top spot, with the CDC revealing that they account for more than twice as much sodium as salty junk food—about 7% of the salt that the average American eats in a day. And while it's recommended that we ingest only 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day, the CDC report notes that we consume around 3,300 milligrams. More»

A pound is up to a record $4.77

(USER SUBMITTED) - October retail bacon prices were up 33% over last year's figures and increased for the fifth month in a row. A pound is now $4.77—the highest monthly average, unadjusted for inflation, since records started being kept in 1980, reports Pork magazine. And pork isn't the only meat commodity on the rise—beef has also been increasing, both because of shrinking cattle and hog herds. More»

Reviewers not so fond of latest fast-food monstrosity

(NEWSER) - Congratulations, KFC, your Double Down stunt has gotten more publicity than a Nazi-themed romp with Jesse James. So here's a little more, in the form of what the reviewers are saying:

• The Double Down "arrives at a new low," writes Sam Sifton of the New York Times . Even the chain's signature chicken is "a slimy and unnaturally moist thing, with flavor ginned up in a lab. It is, in all, a disgusting meal, a must-to-avoid."

'Big Food' and 'Big Tobacco' have a lot in common

(NEWSER) - After decades of anti-smoking campaigns, Big Tobacco has been brought low and ashtrays have “gone the way of spittoons,” writes Ellen Goodman of the Boston Globe. It’s high time we gave Big Food the same treatment. “Now that two-thirds of Americans are overweight, the lethal effects of fat are catching up to those of cigarette smoke." More»