Is The Baconpocalypse Bacon Shortage Just A Hoax, Or An Unbelievable Reality?

A combination of both global demand and drought has created a domino effect culminating in a coming bacon shortage that some people are calling the "Baconpocalypse."

October 23, 2012 by Joe Michaels

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Is There A Connection Between Droughts And Bacon Shortages?
Multiple News Organizations Cry Foul On Bacon Shortage And Baconpocalypse Predictions
Baconpocalypse: The World Without Bacon

Oh no, it looks like there might be an ingredient missing from your next BLT… yep, bacon! Apparently a combination of both global demand and drought has created a domino effect culminating in a coming bacon shortage. Some people are calling the dreaded scenario the Baconpocalypse.

Is There A Connection Between Droughts And Bacon Shortages?

If you live in North America, then we don’t have to remind you how hot and dry this summer was. 2012 marked the worst drought in the United States in the past 50 years. The lack of rain not only turned farmland into dry, dusty patches of dirt, it also created dangerous fire conditions. In the month of August alone, 3.64 million acres were destroyed by wildfires. This is the highest for any August since 2000.

So what do drought and wildfire have to do with bacon? Dry or burnt farmland can’t produce food for livestock (corn is the main diet for pigs). No corn means fewer pigs, and fewer pigs mean less bacon. And less bacon means a bacon shortage is coming, at least that’s what people are saying.

🙁 @amyvernon RT @eric_andersen: Yikes! World shortage of pork and bacon next year is “now unavoidable” j.mp/VDskVH via @augieray

— Phil Hollows (@phollows) September 25, 2012

Multiple News Organizations Cry Foul On Bacon Shortage And Baconpocalypse Predictions

Does all of this bacon shortage talk sound a little far fetched? A lot of people are crying foul on predictions of a bacon shortage. CBS News says the Baconpocalypse or Aporkalypse is a hoax. TIME predicts that prices will probably go up 5-10%, but we most likely won’t see a “bacon shortage” this winter.

Baconpocalypse: The World Without Bacon

What do you think? In 2013, will we have to resort to buying bacon on the black market or using artificial meat Bacon Bits in our recipes? Or will everything be fine? In case you’re curious, take a look at the following infographic and consider what a world without bacon would be like.