Someone Actually Invented A Bacon-Scented Meat Patch To Help People Go Vegetarian

Someone Actually Invented A Bacon-Scented Meat Patch To Help People Go Vegetarian Strong Roots

Plenty of us are trying to eat less meat these days but it’s not always easy. After all, hamburgers, sausages, bacon, and even chicken are all delicious and they’re hard to give up. However, the plant-based food brand Strong Roots has made the first “meat patch” to try and help those with meat cravings get rid of them. It’s a cool idea, but will it work?

  1. The patches are based on nicotine patches. Much like nicotine patches deliver that hit of nicotine and (theoretically) rid you of the need to smoke actual cigarettes, the idea behind Strong Roots’ bacon-scented meat patch is that it just might help you go vegetarian by scratching the meat-eating itch.
  2. They were inspired after the results of a recent survey. The survey performed by OnePoll of 2,000 adults found that many people (17.5%) consider it harder to give up eating meat than to give up smoking (15.2%) or drinking alcohol (15.1%), according to Unilad. In fact, 33% said they can’t imagine getting through the day without meat, with 11% of respondents admitting that they eat it with every meal.
  3. We’re feeling guiltier about our meat eating. The survey also found that 36% of Brits feel guilty these days after having a meal containing meat and 43% of respondents want to reduce their consumption (though 40% also said they’d find it a bit too hard to do).
  4. The meat patch could be the answer. The patch, developed by Strong Roots and endorsed by University of Oxford-based sensory expert Professor Charles Spence, smells like bacon and offers a scratch and sniff feature to help quash cravings. As Spence said, “Studies have shown that scent can reduce food cravings. Our sense of smell is strongly connected to our ability to taste therefore experiencing food-related cues such as smelling a bacon aroma, can lead us to imagine the act of eating that food. Imagine eating enough bacon and you might find yourself sated.”
  5. Does it actually work? Well, that remains to be seen. There is strong research linking scent to appetite, but so far, it’s hard to tell if something like a bacon-scented meat patch could help with this. Strong Roots wants to try, though. Samuel Dennigan, CEO and founder of the brand, said in a statement, “It’s Veganuary and we know that more people than ever are trying to adopt a plant-based lifestyle this year. However, the research shows just how many of them struggle with their resolution, so we wanted to offer a helping hand, and have developed the world’s first ever ‘meat-patch’. We hope it goes some way towards supporting all the meata-holics out there.”
  6. So far, the patch is only a prototype. This means you won’t be seeing it on store shelves anytime soon. Instead, it hopes to start a conversation around our eating habits and perhaps make us more thoughtful about our meat consumption and even inspire us to consume just a little less. Even if you don’t go vegetarian, you could still make a change.
Piper Ryan is a NYC-based writer and matchmaker who works to bring millennials who are sick of dating apps and the bar scene together in an organic and efficient way. To date, she's paired up more than 120 couples, many of whom have gone on to get married. Her work has been highlighted in The New York Times, Time Out New York, The Cut, and many more.

In addition to runnnig her own business, Piper is passionate about charity work, advocating for vulnerable women and children in her local area and across the country. She is currently working on her first book, a non-fiction collection of stories focusing on female empowerment.
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