Bacon Crackdown Does Nothing For Sichuan's Smog Problem

Earlier this year a Sichuan official banned residents from smoking bacon in his city in the hopes of improving air quality. Now, a month later, it turns out the anti-bacon crackdown was ineffective, and the residents went without bacon in vain.

According to Shanghaiist, last month the deputy head of the Dazhou Environment Protection Bureau banned smoked bacon in Dazhou, saying the smoking and cooking process was to blame for Dazhou's terrible smog problem. The order did not sit well with most of the population, as smoked bacon is a longstanding regional tradition, especially during the Chinese New Year. Also, most people thought the effect of bacon on Dazhou's smog would be negligible at best. But still, officers were sent to break up bacon smoking sites and residents were denied their delicious pork products.

Now, a month later, the results of the anti-bacon crackdown are in, and it was officially a giant waste of time and bacon. The Air Quality Index showed no improvement during the crackdown, and everyone missed out on their bacon for nothing.

Since the results have come in and vindicated the bacon, at least one anonymous Dazhou official has come up with another idea about what could be causing all the pollution and suggested that maybe, just maybe, the pollution has something to do with the Dazhou Steel Group producing 3.5 million tons of pig iron in the city every year.