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Blaming air pollution woes on smoked pork a bunch of bull, says NPO

Young volunteers in Southwest China are challenging an official claim that makers of smoked pork, a local delicacy, are behind the high air pollution levels choking the region, local media reported on Wednesday.

The campaign follows an announcement by environmental protection authorities in Dazhou, Sichuan Province last week, who said the high levels of PM2.5 pollutants were a result of the numerous meat smoking kilns in the city.

Volunteers at the Bayu NPO Development Center, a local NPO in Chongqing, tested PM2.5 levels with various equipment in more than 10 different areas known to produce smoked pork.

Their findings revealed that fumes produced in the smoking process are only detectable within a 50-meter radius.

 "Smoking pork increases air pollution but … kilns are scattered throughout the city, so it should have a limited effect on air quality," said Zheng Jian, a director at the center, which aims to give young people work experience.

Smoked pork, a seasonal delicacy in the city of Chongqing and Sichuan Province enjoyed during Spring Festival, is traditionally made by the burning of sunflower seeds, peanut shells and other organic matter.

Blaming smoked pork as the main contributor to the city's air pollution woes triggered heated discussion online.

"We have made smoked pork in this way for hundreds of years. Why is it only now that it's polluting the environment? How ridiculous these "talented" officials can be!" commented a NetEase user.

"According to this logic, we could attribute pollution to burning straw, smoking pork, traffic emission, cooking or even farting, while factories emitting large amounts of smoke have nothing to do with pollution," wrote another Net user.

"Every city's smog has its own flavor, and Dazhou's smells like smoked pork," a Sina Weibo user posted.