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Bacon

Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig.It is first cured using large quantities of salt,either in a brine or in a dry packing;the result is fresh bacon (also known as green bacon).Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air,or it may be boiled or smoked.Fresh and dried bacon is typically cooked before eating.Boiled bacon is ready to eat,as is some smoked bacon,but may be cooked further before eating.

Bacon is prepared from several different cuts of meat.It is usually made from side and back cuts of pork,except in the United States,where it is almost always prepared from pork belly (typically referred to as “streaky”,“fatty”,or “American style” outside of the US and Canada).The side cut has more meat and less fat than the belly.Bacon may be prepared from either of two distinct back cuts: fatback,which is almost pure fat,and pork loin,which is very lean.Bacon-cured pork loin is known as back bacon.

Bacon may be eaten smoked,boiled,fried,baked,or grilled,or used as a minor ingredient to flavor dishes.Bacon is also used for barding and larding roasts,especially game,e.g.venison,pheasant.The word is derived from the Old High German bacho,meaning “buttock”,“ham” or “side of bacon”,and cognate with the Old French bacon.

Ethics of eating meat

Ethical issues regarding the consumption of meat can include objections to the act of killing animals or to the agricultural practices used in meat production.Reasons for objecting to killing animals for consumption may include animal rights,environmental ethics,or an aversion to inflicting pain or harm on other sentient creatures.Some people,while not vegetarians,refuse to eat the fl esh of certain animals,such as cows,pigs,cats,dogs,horses,or rabbits,due to cultural or religious traditions.

Some people eat only the flesh of animals which they believe have not been mistreated,and abstain from the meat of animals reared in factory farms or from particular products such as foie gras and veal.Some people also abstain from milk and its derivatives because the production of veal is a byproduct of the dairy industry.The ethical issues with factory farming relate to the high concentration of animals,animal waste,and the potential for dead animals in a small space.Critics argue that some techniques used in intensive agriculture can be cruel to animals.Foie gras is a food product made of the liver of ducks or geese that has been specially fattened by force feeding them corn.Veal is criticized because the veal calves may be highly restricted in movement;have unsuitable flooring;spend their entire lives indoors;experience prolonged sensory,social,and exploratory deprivation;and are more susceptible to high amounts of stress and disease.