The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is once again crusading against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Class AAA; International League) and bacon, so the team is responding by putting broccoli on the menu — deep-fried bacon-cheddar broccoli, that is.
As you’ll recall, last year the PCRM took out a billboard near Coca-Cola Park, asking that bacon be banned from the ballpark. The PCRM is back, once again asking that the team eliminate bacon and pork products in favor of veggies like broccoli. So the team’s response: putting deep-fried bacon-cheddar broccoli bites filled with broccoli florets, real bacon and sweet onions in crisp potato breading on the menu, beginning April 23. From the team:
While Coca-Cola Park has continually offered a wide array of healthy food options on the Capital BlueCross Healthy Family Fun menu — such as fresh whole fruit, salads, black bean burgers, bean burritos and an entire gluten-free kiosk — the club also prides itself on catering to its entire fan base and has dozens of bacon-related choices as well, such as the brand-new maple candied bacon on a stick option, consisting of a ¼-pound of bacon sliced from smoked pork belly that’s bathed in maple and coated in brown sugar.
“We believe in bacon and think that as part of a balanced diet it is a tremendous healthy food option,” exclaimed IronPigs President and General Manager Kurt Landes. “Ultimately though, our organization is not in the business of dictating to people what they should or shouldn’t eat as that decision should be left to each individual and their family.”
It is important to note that bacon does include many important nutrients such as Vitamin B and Vitamin D, Niacin (which has been shown to lead to a longer life span) and is also an excellent source of protein.
Following the club’s successful “Smell the Change” rebrand in 2014 that included the introduction of a bacon strip on-field cap among other various on bacon-related elements, the IronPigs have doubled-down on bacon, adding a “Bacon, USA” theme to their 2015 campaign. The club’s bacon-themed uniform can be viewed at SmellTheChange.com.