America Becoming Hog (Eaters’) Heaven

If you listened to the vegan activists at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) or their public cheerleaders like journalist turned hippie-food salesman Mark Bittman, you would think that bacon was over and granola was in. Well, the financial world—the people who actually put their own money where their mouths are—disagrees.

Fake meat might get the column inches in trendy East Coast newspapers, but the real McCoy—specifically, pork and its most decadent processed product, bacon—are where the money is. Bloomberg News reports that even as pork producers raise more hogs, the demand of people all over the world for delicious bacon, sausage, and pork chops is outstripping farmers’ ability to supply it:

With Americans expected to eat the most pork since 2007, money managers are now the most-bullish since 2014 on hog futures, which already are at a nine-month high. […] Demand at home and abroad is rising faster than U.S. farmers are boosting output.

And while it’s a sign the vegans are losing the debate where it matters, the popularity of pork might nudge prices a bit higher. That shows why it’s so important for food companies, the public, and officials to reject the demands of HSUS and other vegan groups to further drive up the costs of pork production with bans on maternity pens for pregnant pigs.

While credible large-animal veterinarians hold that maternity pens provide for animal welfare, HSUS demands they be banned. Why? Because HSUS, like PETA, has a vegan agenda and wants to price bacon out of reach of the American consumer. And to that, we say, “Hands off.”