Adam, you cannot ruin bacon.
Bacon is not just the key ingredient to my nachos.
It's my thing.
Oh, yeah, dude! Same shirt!
Everything's better with bacon.
I too love the flavor combination of animal fat and salt.
But the only reason bacon became a pop culture meme factory
is that the pork industry waged a massive marketing campaign
to pump our bellies full of pig parts
and to cover up the health risks.
Oh, sure, it's a big pig conspiracy.
Give it up, Adam.
Nobody cares if bacon's a little fatty or whatever.
Oh, lots of people cared 30 years ago.
(all screaming)
In the fat-phobic '80s, the Pork Board was able
to market the heck out of the leaner cuts of the pig,
(pig squeals)
Okay, which fit person got the other white meat?
Oh, me. Me!
Aww, a meat queue.
If you ask me, the '80s were the height of low fat
and the golden age of rom-com.
But the Pork Board couldn't figure out how to sell
the largest part of the pig, the fat-filled pork belly,
which is where cuts like bacon come from.
Anybody want this?
Hmm? Hello?! Eww!
So, to solve their big, fat problem,
they teamed up with the fast-food industry
to create a bacon bonanza.
Like so many American mistakes,
the plan was conceived poolside in Orlando.
In the early 1990s,
the Pork Board's national marketing manager
was schmoozing with Hardee's president Bob Autry.
Now, what the hell am I gonna do
with all this pork belly?
Nobody wants to eat it!
Oh, I'll make them want it.
I'm gonna come up with a sandwich
with the grease dropping down their chin,
and we'll see what they say.
Gross.
But also delicious maybe.
After this meeting, Hardee's debuted
the game-changing Frisco Burger.
(announcer on TV) Introducing Hardee's Frisco Burger.
Melted Swiss, sizzling bacon, and sliced tomatoes.
It wasn't long before other fast-food joints
got in on the greasy animal-fat action.
It's a bacon club Chalupa. Guys love bacon.
(announcer on TV) With bacon strips, bacon jam, and bacon crumbles.
The smell of fresh-cooked bacon.
It just moves you.
Come try a Wendy's Baconator.
And finally, after years
of being told how epic bacon is,
we turned it into a pop culture phenomenon.
There's bacon cupcakes, bacon bars,
bacon lip balm, Baconnaise,
bacon soda, bacon bandages, bacon lube,
bacon wrapping paper, bacon air freshener,
and even bacon film festivals.
The fad was so huge that, in 2008,
seven out of every million baby boys were named...
(baby cries)
Oh, I just love love.
So I built my entire personality
around liking bacon
because the Pork Board told me to?
Pretty much.
But while they were shoving bacon down our throats,
they neglected to mention that bacon can cause cancer.
There is overwhelming evidence
that consuming processed meats, like bacon,
increases your risk of cancer.
Health groups even rank them a group-1 known carcinogen.
Even if you eat just one club sandwich or hot dog a day,
estimates show it increases your risk
of colorectal cancer by 20%.
(bell dings)
Aww, but I'm so good at eating hot dogs.
Someone must warn Kobayashi.
Processed meats have also been linked to obesity,
diabetes, and heart disease.
But Big Meat is fighting like hell
to make sure you don't hear about it.
(doorbell rings)
Hey! Stop that, you little punk!
Let me talk to you for a second, huh?
(metallic scraping)
The pork and beef industries have known since the '70s
that their food poses serious health concerns.
But they've bullied the USDA
and Department of Health and Human Services
into downplaying the risks.
In 1977, these guys were basically allowed
to make their own line edits to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
See that word?
(Adam) The chairman of the National Cattlemen's Association
even pressured them into removing
any reference to decreasing meat consumption.
We don't like that word.
(metallic scraping)
Worse.
He's gonna hit him with the lobbying money.
(cash register bell dings)
♪♪
Here. Buy yourself something nice.
When the U.S. was gearing up
to write its 2015 Dietary Guidelines,
the meat industry spent approximately $10.8 million
in contributions to political campaigns,
and another $6.9 million in lobbying.
Oh, hi. Sorry.
It's, uh, cold in here, and I'm... really scared.
(all screaming)
(all gasp)
Wow!
I can't believe my love of bacon
was manufactured by a capitalist conspiracy.
And to think, we've been wearing these silly shirts
that normalize a known carcinogen.
I mean, maybe instead of Murph's nachos,
we should eat, I don't know... vegetables.