Sichuan Official Blames Pollution On Bacon

Pollution is a terrible problem in many cities, and one official in China's Sichuan province has decided to do something about it, not by cracking down on industrial emissions, but by blaming the whole thing on bacon.

According to Shanghaiist, Sichuan official Rao Bing, who is also the head of the Dazhou Environment Protection Bureau, of all things, said part of the blame for Sichuan's terrible pollution problem came from traditional pork smoking methods. Most households in the area make smoked bacon before the Chinese New Year, which will fall on February 29 this year, but because of the official's words, local police have reportedly started breaking down pork smoking sites around the city.

Other air pollution experts reportedly say that while smoking bacon does contribute to air pollution,very little of the overall contribution to Sichuan's smog problem is due to pork. Most of the pollution problem reportedly comes from industrial smog and vehicle emissions.

"The impact of the smoking process is confined within a 50-meter radius," one volunteer from the Bayu public welfare department said.