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UPDATED: February 9, 2015 NO. 7 FEBRUARY 12, 2015
Should Bacon Smoking Be Banned to Alleviate Air Pollution?
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Xu Dafa (comment.scol.com.cn): Local environmental protection authorities seem to have missed the point in dealing with air pollution when imposing a ban on bacon smoking. In actual fact, when properly carried out, bacon smoking does not create intensive levels of smoke, so in this case, technical expertise should be provided, instead of rudely and abruptly banning all bacon-smoking practices.

Bacon smoking is a longstanding culinary tradition, which helps preserve bacon and creates a marvelous flavor. It is also a specialty characteristic of Chinese cooking. Thus, if bacon smoking is prohibited, it is tantamount to abandoning a flavor distinctive to China's southwest region, and indeed a whole realm of food culture that is highly popular among the Chinese.

In ancient times, green mountains and clear rivers lay everywhere around the country, with excellent air quality being a given. If bacon smoking had any impact on the degradation of air around them, people at the time did not notice and this practice has since been carried on for centuries. With the arrival of the industrial era, air pollution has become an increasingly severe problem and one that threatens human health. The fundamental cause of air pollution and of smog, the most tangible derivative of air pollution, is industrial waste discharge, rather than bacon smoking. At the very least, local authorities should not so abruptly impose a ban on the practice without first bothering to offer residents technical support to improve their smoking methods.

Changing outdated practices

Li Xiaopeng (Qianjiang Evening News): As its name suggests, bacon smoking necessitates smoke, and usually, the thicker that smoke is and the longer the process lasts, the better the results. With the approach of the Spring Festival, more and more people are engaging in the practice, and thus the PM2.5 ratings issued by Chongqing's environmental authorities are credible, which show that local people's everyday practices, including bacon smoking, now account for 16 percent of PM2.5 emissions, rising from the previous 10 percent.

Some argue that bacon smoking is a treasured local tradition. However, when the preservation of a certain kind of tradition is to be at the expense of the environment and people's health, the insistence to continue it appears foolish. When the environment is under threat from methods native to certain types of traditional cuisine, it's necessary for the public to wave a fond farewell to such outdated techniques.

Zhang Tiankan (The Beijing News): Particulates from bacon smoking do appear to have played a role in the deterioration of local air conditions. The pollutants from bacon smoking will easily mix up with other pollutants and cause even more severe pollution.

It is argued that local people have had smoked bacon for centuries, and no environmental problems ever arose in relation to this custom. Here, we must take into account the accumulation of pollutant factors. In the old days, there were no auto vehicles, fossil fuels or various industries, but today, all of the factors have together aggregated to exacerbate air pollution. Meanwhile, we should take into consideration the twin factors of seasons and surroundings. Winters tend to see people burn fuels to keep warm, in particular coal. In addition, tall buildings in cities block free dissipation of pollutants into the surrounding air. On top of all these contributing factors, now we have particulates from bacon smoking, and as a result, smog forms all too easily.

The banning of bacon smoking should be a temporary policy. After all, it's not so wise to all of a sudden outlaw a traditional way of life. The best exit strategy for local authorities would most likely be to encourage residents to use clean energy such as natural gas to prepare their delicacies. Alternatively, people could go to spacious open areas in the countryside in order to smoke bacon, where pollutants will be able to dissipate faster and more easily.

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