National Pig Day

Saturday, March 1, is National Pig Day.

I just found this out and I ended up giving it quite a bit of thought. This was especially so after I was reading Michael Pollen's follow-up to The Omnivore's Dilemma - In Defense of Food.

I grew up loving the lower quality pork products (i.e., hot dogs, sausages from the Sausage Guy at Fenway, and grilled bologna and cheese sandwiches). Ironically, I've never favored the "better" pork dishes like pork chops, etc. During college, however, I completely gave up pork after Dan-O showed me how unhealthy it was-which is true. Pork has a high fat content and low protein (for meat standards)...so the Case-gymers and I traded pork for baked beans, grilled chicken, and MetRx bars.

Now. It's amazing how quickly things change. I couldn't imagine eating a MetRx bar with all those faux ingredients and I rarely eat things out of a can. Grilled chicken is (and always has been) about as tasteful as tofu. Recently, I've found myself devouring pulled-pork sandwiches in New Orleans and anything full of "carnitas" in Mexican restaurants. In fact, I'd say pulled pork is my second favorite meat after a grilled steak.

It's a bit scary. I'm not sure if I'm following trends or I am correcting a mistake that I made during college. I remember "putting-up" with the taste of protein bars-but I don't ever remember preferring them. I also know that I gave up pork for nutritional reasons, not taste reasons. Who could actually prefer PowerBars over carnitas burritos at Anna's Tacqueria?

I'm curious if the other Case-gymers have had this same transition.