Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Washington, DC – Today, the Food Integrity Campaign (FIC) released an online game, “Bacon Defender.” The game is FIC’s newest advocacy tool to fight the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) New Swine Slaughter Inspection System (NSIS), a rule that deregulates pork inspection and in the process threatens worker safety, public health, and animal welfare. Bacon Defender shines a spotlight on the absurdity of a rule that claims it benefits food safety by letting companies slaughter pigs as fast as possible, all while reducing the inspection force. Scores of activist groups have already railed against the proposed rule, and over a quarter million people have signed petitions vehemently urging Trump’s USDA to withdraw the rule from consideration.
Satirical and fun to play, the game spreads a serious message about our food system. Through game play, players learn about the dangers of NSIS and what lack of regulation means for the pork industry. Players who wish to challenge the Trump-era regulation are invited to join the Bacon Defender community to discover ways they can become more involved in the “food fight” to stop the rule.
FIC Director Amanda Hitt underscores the unprecedented way Bacon Defender encourages individuals to learn about and ultimately stop NSIS:
Trump may not have made good on every campaign promise, but he has been aggressively pursuing his deregulatory agenda. Trump’s success in deregulation is due in large part to the relatively low profile of administrative rules. NSIS is a rule that actually deregulates the pork industry and is one that most Americans would pass on if they knew more about it. The Bacon Defender game is putting a poop emoji spotlight on a definitely disgusting, and likely dangerous, Trump era rule.
A public that is knowledgeable about how our nation’s food system operates is one that is better prepared to keep itself healthy and the government more accountable and transparent. Studies have routinely shown that people are increasingly concerned about where their food comes from, and how those animals were treated before and during processing.
With games such as Bacon Defender, FIC hopes to pioneer an effort to entertain and empower new advocates who are willing and able to speak out against injustices within our food system.
Press / Media Kit (download):
https://drive.google.com/uc?authuser=1&id=1hFrcjZ0_3pisdgVx0I_9O_oJY37nzp44&export=download
Main Site:
https://www.foodwhistleblower.org/campaigns/bacon-defender/
Supported Platforms: Mac / Windows
Price Point: FREE
Contact: Amanda Hitt, JD, MPH
Phone: 202.457.0034 x159
Email: amandah@whistleblower.org
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