Bacon crave pushes pork-belly prices higher

Your love of bacon is causing pork-belly prices to reach record highs.

As more and more people reach for a pack of bacon at the grocery store, pig farmers are struggling to keep up the demand, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Pork-belly, the part of the hog used to make bacon, have risen around 80 percent in 2017.

Americans bought 14 percent more bacon at stores in 2016 compared to 2013, according to data from Nielsen. Bacon has become a staple in breakfast sandwiches, BLTs, lunch sandwiches and other trendy recipes like Cheesy Bacon Popcorn, Bacon Kraut, Bacon-Wrapped Scallops and Bacon Grits.

Even fast-food chains are adding specialty bacon dishes like Arby’s “triple thick” bacon sandwiches, Wendy’s Bacon Queso Burger and Bacon Queso Fries or Frisch’s Primetime BLT Cheeseburger.

“Everybody and their mother is coming out with a new bacon sandwich,” livestock trader Dan Norcini told the Wall Street Journal.

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