This holiday season might be the last for Boar’s Head.  For over 100 years Boar’s Head has provided the finest quality meats and cheeses to local grocers, though most shoppers complain the product line is over-priced.  Thanks to the work of one attentive meat-eating movie lover, who spoke on condition of anonymity, it appears something is amiss.

It is now clear that Boar’s Head’s recent growth, beginning in the early 2000s, is all due to a deliberate marketing campaign involving one of Hollywood’s most awarded directors.  Oddly enough, Peter Jackson released the first of his hugely successful Lord of the Rings trilogy in 2001.  At first, it only seemed strange to Jonathan*, but in 2002 he could not longer deny the coincidences.   What really caught his attention was when, in 2002, the prices of Boar’s Head jumped over a dollar a pound, for all products.  Jonathan refused to believe the company when they told him it was simple economics, and instead began to do a little digging on his own.

It turns out that Peter Jackson is a carnivore.  He only eats animal products–no plants.  He just won’t touch the stuff.  And Jonathan discovered that in the late ’90s, Jackson began using his growing wealth to promote carnivorism as a counter to the growing vegetarian/vegan trends.  That’s also when he first was pitched on Lord of the Rings.  Like any decent Hollywood personality, he couldn’t avoid including his own personal agenda in his art.  Jonathan picked up the trail as he watched The Two Towers in 2002, and heard an Uruk-hai announce, “Looks like meat’s back on the menu, boys!”

With Jackson’s films gracing the theaters again this winter, Jonathan finally gathered enough evidence to merit Jackson’s attention.  Public pressure mounting, yesterday, Jackson tweeted a response:

“It’s true.  I purchased Boar’s Head in 1998, and proceeded to craft the LOTR films in a way that made meat look normal and right to eat.”

Other than the fact that the Boar’s Head name and logo completely influenced the costumes and makeup of the LOTR films, it appears that nothing unethical has taken place in the company.  We do wonder, however, how many other choices we’re making have been influenced by the Hollywood elite.