Holy Bacon No

Deuteronomy 14:3-10 states, "Do not eat any detestable thing. ... The pig is also unclean; although it has a split hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses."

Jews consider pork 'tref' or unclean.

The Q'aran maintains the same edict.

"Allah has only forbidden you to eat dead meat, and blood and the flesh of swine."

Despite Jews and Muslims refraining from pork, the price of bacon has climbed to over $6 a pound, which is 41% more expensive than 2012 according to Huffington Post. The writer attributes this nearly doubling of the cost to the factors; a virulent disease, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, the rising demand, and the deep drought savaging the nation's heartland.

He's correct about the demand, but Joe Satran fails to report several other factors in the equation.

The USA processes a 100 million pigs a year. Leading to yearly losses of nearly $150 million of a hundred thousand pigs from porcine epidemic diarrhea virus is a worrisome issue for consumers, but this slippage is covered by the worldwide demand for pork as well as profit-maximization by the pork industry. As much as I love bacon, it has become an occasional visitor to my kitchen table.

The price of bacon is more determined by the US fuel industry's continued support of corn ethanol as a fuel, which drives up feed, even though most pigs would rather eat anything other than that filthy GMO corn, but when you're hungry you'll eat anything.

Secondly the Chinese purchase of Smithfield Ham expanded their exports to China.

More demand for a smaller supply leads to an increase in price.

Simple economics.

Lastly the pork industry has a captive consumer base.

Americans love bacon.

I love bacon.

Few foods in the world taste like bacon.

Vegetarians have failed to replicate its crispy salt fat delight.

pork = good fat = flavor bacon = heaven

Pigs equal profits to the pork industry.

They are subsidized by US Farm Aid.

They pay their employees the minimum wage.

The price of bacon is determined by the profit margins demanded by Wall Street.

There isn't nothing wrong with making money on a pig, but at $6 a pound I'll give it a miss, because a six-pack of Narragansett beer is $6 at Trader Joe's.

Beer or bacon.

It's a close contest, because as Don Larsen, a middle-distance runner at the 1924 Olympics said, "I Like this quote I dislike this quote“Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.”