MLE Reacts to Bacon Shortage

Major League Eating, the world body that governs all stomach-centric sports, has indefinitely suspended all bacon-eating contests in reaction to an expected global pork shortage in 2013.

The United Kingdom’s National Pig Association has reported that feed costs and global drought has negatively impacted the European Union’s pig heard. At the same time, pig farmers the United States are reducing herds to cut the cost of feeding them – also a result of drought.

Major League Eating -- which counts among its members the number-one-ranked eater in the world, Joey Chestnut, and other top eaters including Sonya Thomas and Eater X, Tim Janus – said that it will actively dissuade its eaters from consuming bacon.

“We cannot, in good conscience, allow Joey Chestnut to eat bacon during a global pork shortage,” said MLE President Richard Shea. “We estimate that Joey alone could eat 20 pounds of bacon in 10 minutes of competition.”

Shea said that Major League Eating has asked Joey Chestnut and all professional eaters to consider bacon alternatives for use in the home during the next year. The only exception to the new MLE ban on bacon-eating contests would be a bacon-wrapped-scallop-eating contest, according to Shea, who explained that bacon-wrapped scallops are “just really delicious,” and “mostly scallop anyway.”

Major League Eating sanctions some 80 different events each year, including the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog-Eating Contest and the Hooters World Chicken Wing Championship. Joey Chestnut holds the world record of 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes while the 100-pound female eating phenom Sonya Thomas has eaten 45.

At this juncture there is no pancake shortage, and top-ranked Major League Eaters will converge in Louisville for the Wild Eggs National Pancake Eating Championship on Saturday, September 29, 2012.