This reminiscence was prompted by a report in last weekfs Wall Street Journal to the effect that our national craving for bacon has pushed U.S. pork-belly prices to record highs. Prices for the part of a hog used to make bacon have risen around 80% this year, while frozen reserves are at a six-decade low. Americans bought around 14% more bacon at stores in 2016 than in 2013.
In the words of one economist, gThe consumer has simply waked up to the joy of having bacon on more and more things, such as hamburgers.h
Bacon used to be considered a less healthy pork byproduct compared with favored cuts like pork chops and tenderloin, but it has become our guilty pleasure. In the past decade, bacon ceased to be limited to BLTfs and breakfast specials. The bacon craze has gained increased this year.
For example, Arbyfs last month introduced a series of gtriple thickh bacon sandwiches, while another chain restaurant now offers maple bacon on a stick. In the perennial quest for new and different summer festivals, some cities have resorted to bacon-themed events.
Pig farmers are delighted to see record prices, but they are struggling to keep up with demand. The national hog herd rose to a seasonal record of 71.7 million head in early June, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, up 3% from a year earlier. But the increase hasnft been enough to keep up with the rising demand for bacon.
Stocks of pork bellies in commercial freezers fell to 31.6 million pounds in May, down 59% from a year earlier. The shortage pushed the price for a pound of wholesale pork belly to $2.10 recently, the highest since the USDA began regularly tracking the market. Analysts say prices are also at a record high compared with those reported voluntarily before then.
Traditional wisdom holds that our appetite for beef and bacon typically increases ahead of a July 4 and Memorial Day grilling boost. Wholesale beef prices followed that seasonal pattern this year, falling after a mid-June peak. But it appears that bacon, meanwhile, is becoming a yearlong staple that consumers want to keep on hand.
Lean hog futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange hit a 2 1/2-year high in early July. Nevertheless, says one expert, gTherefs a point where it just gets to be too expensive.h In the past high prices have led some retailers and restaurants to slice bacon more thinly or promote alternatives like sausage. If that happens, the demand for bacon may sizzle away.
Who knows: If this lust for bacon had roiled the markets in the 1960s, maybe I would have become a professional pig farmer.
Jerry Lincecum is a retired Austin College professor who now teaches older adults to write their autobiographies and family histories. Email him at jlincecum@me.com