Pork Shortage Means An End To Bacon-Eating Contests In Major League Eating

The pork shortage has claimed another victim — bacon eating contests.

The nationwide shortage of pork that has driven up prices and led to bacon shortages has led Major League Eating to reconsider its planned contests of bacon eating, The Huffington Post reported. After experts predicted that a global bacon shortage will be the result of these pork problems, Major League Eating announced it would suspend bacon-eating contests.

Major League Eating president Richard Shea said that calling off the contests was the only option for the league.

“We cannot, in good conscience, allow [top ranked eater] Joey Chestnut to eat bacon during a global pork shortage,” Shea said in a press release. “We estimate that Joey alone could eat 20 pounds of bacon in 10 minutes of competition.”

The release went on to say that Major League Eating is encouraging its competitors to avoid eating bacon in their everyday diet. But he did make an exception for the bacon-wrapped-scallop-eating contest, saying that they are “really delicious” and “mostly scallop anyway.”

Major League Eating describes itself as the world body that governs all stomach-centric events. Its ruling is in response to the United Kingdom’s National Pig Association’s report that feed costs and global drought has negatively impacted the European Union’s pig herd, leading to a pork shortage. The scorching summer and drought across America also led farmers there to reduce the costs of their herd. As a result, a bacon shortage is inevitable.

Major League Eating sanctions 80 different competitive eating events each year, including the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog-Eating Contest and the Hooters World Chicken Wing Championship.

Though the pork shortage and ensuing bacon shortage may have led it to cancel the bacon-eating events, Major League Eating is moving forward with its other slate of contests. This week top-ranked Major League Eaters will travel to Louisville for the the Wild Eggs National Pancake Eating Championship.