Pigging Out: Mexican Government Employees Eat Pork To Ease Fears About Swine Flu

Mexican officials in DF gorged themselves on chicarrones and carnitas at a Labor Department party in an effort to assuage fears surrounding the swine flu outbreak and to let people know it is still safe to consume pork. Which is funny because pretty much the only time we don’t want to ram pork products down our gullet is when we see other people eating chicharrones or bacon, pork fat glistening on their chins and bellies distended with remnants of oily pig carcass. 

Also? The Labor Department either has a a dark sense of humor or did not totally think the party’s theme through, because the food at the event was served by waiters dressed in black vests and blue surgical masks. So far, China, Russia and the Ukraine have banned Mexican pork since the flu outbreak and worldwide sales of pork have decreased.

Now that we think about it, pork is actually a pretty hard sell: Piglets are often cute and vaguely resemble human babies, pork products often look disgusting when consumed by people in public, and many foods made from pork are widely known to be bad for your health. We just don’t want to think about the fact that we’re eating something that was once kind of cute or that is going to make our hearts explode by the time we’re 32. Additionally - and maybe this is just us - we don’t want to think of our food as “sexy.” Example:

We guess maybe a carnitas-eating convention is a good idea after all. Given the alternatives.

Mexico officials pig out on pork to ease flu fears [NY Daily News]