Don’t bother buying charcoal. Leave the grill in the garage. Get used to veggie burgers. It’s going to be a long summer.
A deadly pig virus has been sweeping through farms, and driving up pork prices, putting the summer grill season in major jeopardy.
The porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus was first officially detected in the United States in May 2013. Now it is active in twenty-seven of the fifty states. The good news is that the virus has no effect on humans. The bad news is that pigs are dropping like the flies that usually surround pigs.
The contagious virus is not transmissible to humans and poses no risk to food safety, assures the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). But it causes diarrhea and vomiting in pigs and is fatal in piglets.
Fearing the worst, processors have stocked up their warehouses, sending prices through the farmhouse roof. Prices for pork delivery in April jumped more than 45 percent since the beginning of the year.
I’ve heard they can do amazing things with tofu these days. They can do everything but make it taste like meat.
Pig virus threatens US outdoor grilling season [Global Post]