2 Comments Written by Uncle David Jester on April 5, 2010 – 9:00 am

Hello there everyone in we make stuff good land. It’s your old grotty friend here, Jester. This is the first episode of ‘Where did I come from, mummy?’ which is where  we explore the origins of basic western meals that have become mere staples over the years. Have you ever wondered how the meat pie, pavlova, fried chips, chocolate milkshake or the jam doughnut came wheezing and coughing into our lives?… You haven’t? Well, it’s time for some perverse enlightenment!

Today’s episode breaks into the world of the bacon and egg breakfast…

We have all fallen victim to this heart stoppin’, urine blockin’, artery cloggin’, belly floggin’ breakfast treat. Whether you are a tradesman, office worker, uni student, retail assistant, artist or a sleep deprived party animal consoling your inner child after a weekend of bass-filled soul abuse, bacon and eggs have boogied their way into your lower intestine as some stage or another.

Edward Bernays was the man that brought bacon and eggs into the popular public eye back in the 1920s when the bacon trade started to slip. He was approached by the head honchos of the bacon world (ironically, as Bernays is a Jew from Vienna) and was paid to ‘convince’ society that eating the cured pig meat was a great start of the day for the whole family. Bernay conducted a swine survey and sent the results to over 5000 physicians, highlighting results that included a recommendation to eat a  ‘heavy breakfast’. He then ’suggested’ bacon and eggs as the perfect option.

Along with being the nephew of Sigmund Freud, Bernays has been affectionately coined the ‘godfather of public relations’. The fried furor was keen on using ‘third party authorities’ to persuade the world to do, act and buy whatever was on his agenda at the time. In this case it was the physicians and mother media. His agenda? Pig.

“If you can influence the leaders, either with or without their conscious cooperation, you automatically influence the group which they sway”– Edward Bernays

So, the next time you immerse yourself in a porky pig breakfast trance remember young Eddie and his philosophy on life and nutrition. Until the next time we speak, that is where your bacon & eggs came from.

Lots of love,
Mummy Jester