American Pigs are getting fatter, which is great news for bacon lovers but not as much as a reason to celebrate among those looking forward to holiday hams.
American pigs are getting fatter, which is great news for bacon lovers but not as much of a reason for celebration among those looking forward to holiday hams.
A side effect of the intentional enlargement of the livestock is that their back legs grew right along with their bellies.
As such, the 7-pound spiral cut half hams that are wildly popular with consumers are going to be tough to come by.
Grocers’ meat cases are far more likely to be overflowing with 12 and 13 pound selections.
Not only will prices reflect the increased size, they will be further adjusted upwards to compensate for a recent loss of product.
Due to an unfortunate virus earlier this year, pig populations dropped by over 5 percent.
It was trying to make up for that decline that drove farmers to overfeed the ones they did have, making the animals much larger than usual.
Pigs are now weighing in at an average of 215 pounds, which is a new US record.
Twitter has, of course, seen its share of commentary about the situation.
One poster wrote, "Even the things that make Americans fat are too fat."
