Global Bacon Shortage

[bigmac]

Say it ain't so.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...usaolp00000003

[Imp]

I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm really not.

[Dr. Feelgood]

It's not just the high cost of grain: as the global human population balloons, we're beginning to see the beginnings of a water shortage. Approximately 70% of the water consumed in the U.S. is used by the livestock industry, and factory farming of pigs uses enormous amounts of water to construct the 'lagoons' into which they flush the pig poop. But there's good news: soy bacon can be produced with only a fraction of the water needed for pig farming, and it tastes better than the real thing. Vegetarians of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose -- not even your bacon!

[Webmaster]

I'd say a bacon shortage is one of humanity's lesser problems.

[Deven]

My store is having a buy one get one bacon sale. I'm gonna stock up and put it in the deep freezer...

[Tracyarts]

I wonder if you could use feral pigs to make home-cured bacon? Doubtful, since they are almost always extremely lean. Too bad though, because it'd be a win-win situation. The pigs are a destructive pest species here, and perfectly edible and delicious if you know how to work with them.

And I do know how to work with them...

Tracy

[Dromond]

Originally Posted by Tracyarts

I wonder if you could use feral pigs to make home-cured bacon? Doubtful, since they are almost always extremely lean. Too bad though, because it'd be a win-win situation. The pigs are a destructive pest species here, and perfectly edible and delicious if you know how to work with them.

And I do know how to work with them...

Tracy

Sounds like a business plan to me.

[Dromond]

Originally Posted by Webmaster

I'd say a bacon shortage is one of humanity's lesser problems.

Call it a "first world problem."

Originally Posted by Dr. Feelgood

It's not just the high cost of grain: as the global human population balloons, we're beginning to see the beginnings of a water shortage. Approximately 70% of the water consumed in the U.S. is used by the livestock industry, and factory farming of pigs uses enormous amounts of water to construct the 'lagoons' into which they flush the pig poop. But there's good news: soy bacon can be produced with only a fraction of the water needed for pig farming, and it tastes better than the real thing. Vegetarians of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose -- not even your bacon!

Personally, I'm in favor of turkey bacon.

Sorry, soy is no substitute for THIS carnivore.

[Tracyarts]

" Sounds like a business plan to me. "

LOL, I could be an illegal artisanal bacon dealer. And take buyers out to my car behind the local farmer's market, where I keep my stash in a cooler in the trunk. Cash and packets of bacon would change hands in the shadows.

It'd totally be that way, too with the laws regarding what can be sold, and how.

I did a bit of research, and hunters have successfully made good bacon from wild pigs, with a really straightforward home cure process and a wood smoker. You don't get much bacon per pig because they tend to be smaller and leaner than farmed pork, but it's still do-able.

I'll be getting at least one wild pig from a farming acquaintence over the Winter, so I will hopefully get to try my hand at makin' some bacon. He skins them when he cleans them, so there won't be a rind. But I can ask that he leave as much fat as possible on the belly sections, and hopefully it'll be suitable for curing.

Tracy

[Dromond]

I am chuckling at the idea of an illegal artisanal bacon dealer.

I'd buy some.

[HottiMegan]

Rest easy bacon lovers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...prss=rss_local

I wasn't scared since my bacon is of the soy variety

[moore2me]

Originally Posted by Tracyarts

I wonder if you could use feral pigs to make home-cured bacon? Doubtful, since they are almost always extremely lean. Too bad though, because it'd be a win-win situation. The pigs are a destructive pest species here, and perfectly edible and delicious if you know how to work with them.

And I do know how to work with them...

Tracy

Warning Graphic Descriptions

Dear Tracy,

I read where you have worked with piggies. I have a little experience too. I went to Texas A &M and took Meat Science where they made us butcher several meat animals - one of which was a pig. I did not like it very much because it was very hot business (the pig has to be dipped in boiling water) and cleaned after it is dead. Killing the pig is very hard on your nerves too. The beasts squeal very, very loud every minute their feet hit the concrete of the slaughterhouse. If the packing house is killing a couple of dozen or more, the noise is horrible.

Feral (wild) hogs are a little different. They are very scrappy, fast, and will not back out of a fight. In fact, stores around here sell Kevlar vests for dogs to wear that hunt pigs. They have sharp teeth that have been cut or pulled from domestic hogs. I do not mind eating wild pig females, sucklings, or very young males. However, older males of sexual age have horrible smells inside and outside their body. I do not like their meat - too piggy. If they can be castrated and kept for a couple of months, the smell to the meat can be made milder - but it's hard to eat an old boar.


And you are absolutely correct that feral pigs are nuisance animals. These varmints are constantly tearing up ground cover and killer our native plants - some of which are in danger of extinction. The hogs eat food that makes a territory impossible for other animals to live in for a long time. Add to that the fact that hogs are not native animals - they are interlopers and are ruining the delicate habitats in our woods. And they breed profusely like cats or dogs.

[moore2me]

[QUOTE=Tracyarts;1910888]I wonder if you could use feral pigs to make home-cured bacon? Doubtful, since they are almost always extremely lean. Too bad though, because it'd be a win-win situation. The pigs are a destructive pest species here, and perfectly edible and delicious if you know how to work with them.

And I do know how to work with them...

Duplicate post, sorry.