As of right now, the United States Department of Agriculture has 17.8 million pounds of pork belly in storage. Pork belly is the delicious part of the pig that turns into bacon when cured and fried. It tastes good, smells better, and is even good for you! It seems like a lot, but it’s actually slim piggings. The US bacon reserves are at their lowest point in 50 years.
So that’s kind of a bacon storage, right? Apparently, not to the US Department of Agriculture, which says that consumers don’t need to be worried. This is just bacon in storage; there are still plenty of pigs to go around. The US currently exports about 26 percent of its pork products to other countries, so an uptick in demand around the world plus continued US bacon obsession means lower stores and potentially higher prices. (So stock up now.)
In 1988, there were 113.1 million pounds of pork in our nation’s valuable pork belly reserves. Those were the good old days. Hopefully, it won’t be long before the US once again leads the world in porcine deliciousness!
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