Food Integrity Campaign Blog

Announcing: Bacon Defender (with Veggie Mode)

March 20, 2018

The Food Integrity Campaign (FIC) is excited to launch Bacon Defender (bacondefender.org), our newest advocacy tool in the effort to stop Trump-era deregulation of the pork industry. We created this satirical game to challenge Trump’s pork rule by 1) raising awareness about how the rule endangers public health, animal welfare, and worker rights, and 2) empowering players to take action to stop the rule. Irreverent and fun to play, game sharing spreads a serious message about corporate greed and corruption in our food system.

An absurd rule that will not go unnoticed

Americans are obsessed with bacon, it’s practically a food group among millennials. But under Trump, bacon’s about to include some unexpected ingredients—think toenails, hair, and feces. We know that if the average American knew about this rule, and what it actually entails, they would not support it. But unlike legislation, regulatory changes and rule proposals often go unnoticed by the general public. Bacon Defender is challenging that paradigm by shining a spotlight on the absurdity of this proposed rule that claims to benefit food safety by letting companies slaughter pigs at impossibly fast speeds while simultaneously reducing the federal inspection force.

Vegans and vegetarians, Bacon Defender is for you, too

Bacon Defender isn’t just for meat eaters – vegetarians and vegans are alarmed by Trump’s pork rule, too. Think about it, the pork industry is obviously bad news for pigs, but it also pollutes the environment, injures its immigrant workforce, and its polluting hog farms disproportionately harm communities of color. So, fight on sufficiently outraged plant-based friends! The game’s “Veggie Mode” allows you to toggle to herbivorous play; where, with the help of a heroic eggplant, vegans and vegetarians can defend all decent food—not just bacon—from Trump-style deregulation.

It’s a game. And it’s not a game.

Sure, you’re shooting poop emojis that fire out from Donald Trump’s golden coiffure, and frankly that’s awfully fun, but you’re learning, too. Even a novice Bacon Defender player quickly learns that at higher speeds feces can contaminate your food more easily. Game players also get to take aim at corporate lawyers. A tongue in cheek reminder that the rule is about corporate influence and privatization, not actually promoting public health.

After a few rounds of Bacon Defender, game players are encouraged to stay engaged. Follow the storyline of the game further on social media, where @bacondefender1 and @trumporkinc provide humorous and shareable tweets, and challenge your friends to etch their names on the “Loserboard”. Join our Bacon Defender email list to stay current with the latest on Bacon Defender and Trump’s Pork Rule. Finally, visit the campaign headquarters: Stop Trump’s Pork Rule, where we’ve collected powerful affidavits of meat inspectors, campaign multimedia, and even more ways to take action against Trump’s greedy, corporate pork rule.