Meanwhile, Back at the Market

By BRUCE HEADLAM NY Times 5/7/2003

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PORK belly futures — agreements to buy or sell at a set price down the road — have been bought and sold since the 19th century, to the mutual benefit of both farmers and food companies who want to hedge their bets against price swings. The frozen pork bellies, around 40 million pounds on any given day, sit in Agriculture Department-approved freezers, waiting to be turned into bacon.

A majority of the trading is done in the pit of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where traders try to eke out profits playing the spread between the asking and selling prices.

Traditionally, Memorial Day was the beginning of the bull market for pork bellies — the B.L.T. season, as it's called — but demand is now driven year-round by fast-food companies. "Everyone wants bacon on their hamburgers," said John Textor, who has been trading in the pit since 1983.

Mr. Textor was surprised when he began seeing roasted pork bellies on the menu at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago about six months ago. "Pork bellies are about 50 percent fat," he said. "You would really have to be on the Atkins diet to justify eating that."