From the McDonald's McGriddle to Wendy's "Baconator" to "baconnaise" to bacon-infused vodka, bacon has become a ubiquitous ingredient in many diets in this era of extreme food combinations. Arun Gupta of
The Indypendent writes, "Behind the proliferation of bacon offerings is a confluence of government policy, factory farming, the boom in fast food and manipulation of consumer taste that has turned bacon into a weapon of mass destruction."
Amy Goodman: We're joined here in our firehouse studio by Arun Gupta, journalist, editor of
The Indypendent newspaper in New York. He's writing a book on the decline of American empire for Haymarket Books. His latest article is published at Alternet.org and
The Indypendent, and it's called
"Gonzo Gastronomy: How the Food Industry Has Made Bacon a Weapon of Mass Destruction," looking at how industrial farming is central to the processed food industry. Arun also happens to be a trained chef, a graduate of the French Culinary Institute.
As well, we're joined from Link TV's studios in San Francisco by Dr. David Kessler, who is the former FDA commissioner, has written the book
The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite.
