Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival

**TRZA** · 12-30-2011, 11:50 AM

Is this thing really everything the promoters make it out to be? Are they losing money every year even when they claim to be sold out months in advance? Some of the local foodie twitter people are taking shots at the organizers, maybe even organizing a protest bacon festival.

**cybsball20** · 12-30-2011, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by TRZA

Is this thing really everything the promoters make it out to be? Are they losing money every year even when they claim to be sold out months in advance? Some of the local foodie twitter people are taking shots at the organizers, maybe even organizing a protest bacon festival.

I have gone the last couple of years and had a blast... But, i think it is becoming a money grab for the organizers. Having the title sponsor being a factory farm with a history of animal cruelty has turned off alot of the local foodies who prefer higher quality product.

**capitalcityguy** · 12-30-2011, 01:46 PM

^ I'm not sure about the factory farm issue, but why in the heck would the organizers do this event if they weren't going to make money on it??

**ianoconnor** · 12-30-2011, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by longtimeclone

Thank god this isn't in capital square this year. I was working last year during this event and I had to leave work early because I wasn't getting anything done. I also thought the location was pretty small.

I think I was most angry at the amount of alcohol, bacon, and fun people were having while I was working. I really wished I could have attended.

What floor? I'm on the 7th at BH.

**bugs4cy** · 12-30-2011, 09:41 PM

We've gone the last 2 years. Had a blast in 2010 - fun crowd, good venue, lots of food and beverage. 2011 in Capital Square was a wreck. Limited seating, so stood around for hours on end. The organizers had the 'bright' idea to give out these stupid braclets with tear-off tickets. You had to stand in line and give up one of the little tickets for a couple of bites of whatever they were offering. I don't think we had the opportunity to try half of the dishes that were supposed to be there. The bathroom situatioon was ridiculous. I think the State Fairgrounds this year has the potential to be a better venue. But again they're doubling the number of people in attendance - not sure how they're going to keep up.

I think the event started out with great intentions and was a hoot back in the beginning, but greed took over and now the focus is on more revenue for the organizers.

**cybsball20** · 01-26-2012, 11:45 AM

Great blog from Raygun shirts about why alot of local pork producers, restaurants, and foodies aren't participating in Bacon Fest this year...

http://www.raygunsite.com/blog/?p=7828

**NickTheGreat** · 01-26-2012, 11:52 AM

:sigh:

**Al_4_State** · 01-26-2012, 11:53 AM

Iowa Select has rented hog buildings from family's farm in the past, and I've worked in those barns doing building maitenance.

Those animals weren't any more abused than the hogs in the small finisher we had on our farm growing up. "Factory farms" don't look much different in practice than most "family farms".

Of course, most of those protesting the cruelty of Iowa Select have probably never worked a day in their life on a hog farm. If anyone has seen Portlandia on Netflix, they're probably like the couple in the first episode that leaves in the middle of a meal to go out to the farm that the chicken they just ordered was raised on, to make sure the farmers were ethical.

I'm all about fresher, local products, but there simply isn't that much difference between what a hog in an Iowa Select barn was fed and how they were raised than there is in how most local hogs were raised. They were all raised in a pen with a bunch of other pigs eating feed from various feed mills around the state.

**cybsball20** · 01-26-2012, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by Al_4_State

Iowa Select has rented hog buildings from family's farm in the past, and I've worked in those barns doing building maitenance.

Those animals weren't any more abused than the hogs in the small finisher we had on our farm growing up. "Factory farms" don't look much different in practice than most "family farms".

Of course, most of those protesting the cruelty of Iowa Select have probably never worked a day in their life on a hog farm. If anyone has seen Portlandia on Netflix, they're probably like the couple in the first episode that leaves in the middle of a meal to go out to the farm that the chicken they just ordered was raised on, to make sure the farmers were ethical.

I'm all about fresher, local products, but there simply isn't that much difference between what a hog in an Iowa Select barn was fed and how they were raised than there is in how most local hogs were raised.

The leader of the protest is Larry Cleverly, of Cleverly Farms in Mingo. Knowing Larry I woul be willing to bet he works harder than anyone who works on any other farm in Central Iowa.

**ianoconnor** · 01-26-2012, 11:58 AM

I've tried to contact these people 3 or 4 times about transferring my ticket. Has anyone done this in the past?

I bought 2 tickets, one for me, and one for a buddy. You have to enter a person's name on the ticket when you purchase it and the guy I was originally going with ended up getting his ticket through someone else without my knowledge. I need to get that transferred over but they have been unresponsive.

Anyone have advice?

**Al_4_State** · 01-26-2012, 12:05 PM

Originally Posted by cybsball20

The leader of the protest is Larry Cleverly, of Cleverly Farms in Mingo. Knowing Larry I woul be willing to bet he works harder than anyone who works on any other farm in Central Iowa.

If Larry is actually the farmer, sure. I'm guessing most of the folks at Raygun and the Des Moines foody community are born and bred city hipsters, who have an extremely rudimentary understanding of agriculture, but they sure love their soap boxes.

I'm guessing that animals HAVE been abused in Iowa Select buildings, but that has more to do with the individuals in that building than a company-wide policy.

Free-range meat is great, and there's definitely a market for it. However, in order to feed the world, its not very feasible. It's expensive (its not just being marked up to prey on hipster wallets) to raise and harder to produce in that fashion. It's a great alternative, I'm glad we have it and that people are doing well from it. It's not the only way though.

Most hog farmers in this state, even guys who are nowhere near the "factory farm" level use some form of indoor hog barn or "confinement" to raise their pigs. It's more economical, and its really not hard to create a comfortable, humane environment for the pigs in there. The healthier the conditions, the bigger the pigs will get, the more profit will be gleaned. There's financial incentive to do so.

**NickTheGreat** · 01-26-2012, 12:36 PM

Originally Posted by Al_4_State

If Larry is actually the farmer, sure. I'm guessing most of the folks at Raygun and the Des Moines foody community are born and bred city hipsters, who have an extremely rudimentary understanding of agriculture, but they sure love their soap boxes.

I'm happy to be educated here, but where does that Raygun ***-clown get his t-shirts from? Maybe he's the one gun in the world who doesn't buy from his China