Pork Removed From Federal Prison Menu

From The Washington Post:

The nation’s pork producers are in an uproar after the federal government abruptly removed bacon, pork chops, pork links, ham and all other pig products from the national menu for 206,000 federal inmates.

The ban started with the new fiscal year last week.

The Bureau of Prisons, which is responsible for running 122 federal penitentiaries and feeding their inmates three meals a day, said the decision was based on a survey of prisoners’ food preferences:

They just don’t like the taste of pork.

As also noted by TWP, Jewish and Muslim dietary laws both forbid the consumption of pork, for which the prison system has already made accommodations, but the elimination of pork from the regular menu seems a bit much.  None of those inmates like bacon or ham with their eggs?

The denial of bacon, in my not-so-humble opinion, would almost seem like cruel and unusual punishment.  However, a small figurative bone has been thrown to prisoners who like pork.

Incarcerated pork lovers still have an option: The prison commissary, a convenience store that sells packaged pork rinds and precooked bacon. But they have to pay.

Read the full story.  I would have liked to present some other sources, but everything I've been able to look up refers back to the article in The Washington Post.