Strong Foods Creates Meat-Patch To Help Plant-Eaters Curb Fleshy Cravings

There are a lot of reported positives that come with changing to a plant-based diet, both to one’s health and the health of the planet, as plants require fewer resources like water and land than animals per gram of protein. 

Plants also don’t fart greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to the growing climate crisis. New plant-based alternatives to foods like milk and meat have closed the gap in taste, texture, and overall experience but sometimes the temptation for some fleshy goodness can be overwhelming and lead newly initiated herbivores to stray, something plant-based brand Strong Roots wants to lend a hand with via a patch designed to quench that thirst for meat.

They designed the meat-patch to deliver the decadent scent of bacon to the wearer, satiating the desire for meat through smell. If it sounds like nonsense, there is some science to it, as Strong Foods developed the meat-patch with the help of Oxford professor Charles Spence, an expert in sensory perception. As the wearer smells the bacon, they are “tricked” into believing they have eaten the sweet and smoky meat candy, thus causing the cravings to cease, as he explained to UK news outlet The Telegraph.

“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,” Spence said.

The scratch-n-sniff stickers come in a white tin with a minimal design. There are no over-the-top medical cues, just Strong Roots' brand mark, though you do have to wonder what would have been had they taken a page from Nicorette.

To keep the veggie-curious on the wagon, Strong Foods will roll through the UK in their food truck, christened “Veganuary Response Vehicle” for this campaign, distributing the meat-patch, and handing out samples of their vegan, plant-based offerings. Strong Foods has also enlisted the help of boxer, “Love Island” cast member, and meat-eater Tommy Fury to demonstrate how eating a plant-based diet isn’t as difficult as one might think.

While eating more plants is certainly better for the Earth and the body, some may remain skeptical of the efficacy of using the smell of bacon to curb meat cravings. Should you affix one of these bandages to your body, it could lead to a reverse effect, driving one towards plateful of awesomeness.