Vegan-Friendly Solution For Meat Cravings

Just because a person decides to go vegan for whatever reason (animal rights, environmental concerns, etc), it surely doesn’t mean that they won’t ever have any cravings for meat. For many, this is especially true when it comes to bacon, an American breakfast staple. And that’s exactly why the bacon patch was born. So what is it? Drawing inspiration from nicotine patches that help smokers wean themselves from smoking, Oxford professor and author of Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating, Charles Spence has created a patch for meat-eaters looking to cut out animal products from their diet. It’s actually a wearable patch that contains bacon flavor in order to help reduce cravings for meat. The unique and innovative bacon patch was created by a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford together as a joint effort with Strong Roots, a plant-based food company. 

“Studies have shown that scent can reduce food cravings,” said the professor. “Our sense of smell is strongly connected to our ability to taste therefore experiencing food related cues such as smelling bacon aroma, can lead us to imagine the act of eating that food. Imagine eating enough bacon and you might find yourself sated.” When the patch is scratched, it releases a smell very similar to that of bacon. Mmm, we’re dreaming about bacon from just reading this. But in all seriousness, this rather strange and unique design was created based on the belief that our minds are connected to our smell and taste. So in turn, if we smell the bacon, it can reduce our cravings to actually consume it, therefore helping us keep up with our commitment to eating a strictly vegan, animal-free diet. It’s been referred to as the world’s very first meat patch and can be compared to a nicotine patch.

At the moment, the patch has yet to be released and is being tested in the United Kingdom before it’s released to the public for use.  The team behind the project is very confident about its success, while others have responded to the whole idea with some skepticism, believing that by smelling the bacon, they will only be even more tempted to actually eat the bacon. Well, time will have to tell if this bacon patch will ever encourage veganism or making it all that much more of a challenge?