What’s good for pigs isn’t necessarily good for people — especially those who love bacon.
Thousands of California restaurant owners are bracing for a bacon shortage when a new law — which calls for better conditions for farm animals — goes into effect at the start of 2022. “Our number one seller is bacon, eggs and hash browns,” says Jeannie Kim, who owns SAMS American Eatery in San Francisco. “It could be devastating for us.”
And Kim isn’t alone.
California restaurants and grocery stores sell approximately 255 million pounds of pork every month, accounting for 15 percent of the entire country’s pork consumption, statistics reveal.
Not only will the new law make bacon scarce in the state, but it will also lead to inflated prices for the bacon that is available, says the California Restaurant Association’s Matt Sutton.
“We are very concerned about the potential supply impacts and therefore cost increases,” he says.
The implementation of a 2018 California ballot initiative could spark a breakfast-hour crisis as bacon and other pork products disappear from California grocery stores and eateries https://t.co/LpVyyJ44rU
— Intelligencer (@intelligencer) August 2, 2021
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