Is it pork-ageddon? Britain's National Pig Association has sounded the alarm that the world should brace for an "unavoidable" bacon and pork shortage next year.
The cause of the trouble is high pig-feed costs caused by what it describes in a press release as "the global failure of maize and soya harvests."
The organization notes that new data shows that pig herds are declining at a significant rate, not just in Britain, but around the world.
The way out of this coming catastrophe is to subsidize pig farmers to stem the loss of their herds, says the industry group. The organization has also launched a "Save Our Bacon" campaign, which encourages consumers to buy British pork products.
It's not just Europe that will be seeing shortages: The U.S. will also face a bacon shortage. The Guardian reports that the cost of bacon has doubled since 2006, and record droughts are to blame. Consumption of bacon is falling as prices have been rising.
"It's not that people don't want to eat pork, it's just that they increasingly can't afford to," economist Steve Meyer told the publication. "We've been warning about this for years. Now that we are talking about bacon, we've really got everyone's attention."
Sure do.
The Twitter response was predictably massive, as commenters took to the microblogging site to bemoan the state of a future porkless plate. @TylerMachado posted, "Maybe we wouldn't be facing a bacon shortage if you twee hipsters didn't put bacon on cupcakes, in mixed drinks, etc." @AJackart added, overdramatically, "I am officially on suicide watch, this is tragic!"
And @ACabot88 wrote, "The Mayans were right, the world is coming to an end."
The Gothamist actually tried to suggest bacon alternatives—soy bacon, anyone?
Few bacon lovers on Twitter seem inspired to try a meat-free diet. Unless forced. Posted @billy_reid_atl, "World without bacon? Say it isn't so! Enjoy it now... while you can."
@Hilda was already thinking outside the grocery store: "All this bacon shortage talk has me thinking, if I can't have backyard chickens, maybe I can get away with a backyard pig?"