Joey Chestnut Betrays Beef, Goes Vegan And Gets Barred From Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

Joey Chestnut, the undisputed king of shoving piles of wieners into his mouth to the amazement of millions, is out of the 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition. 

In a shocking twist that has rocked the all-beef frank industry, Chestnut signed a deal with vegan company Impossible Foods which pumps out vegan dogs made from plants, according to the New York Post. 

We're talking about a guy, Chestnut, who has won eight-straight July 4th meat missile competitions. The Babe Ruth of double-fisting dogs has won an astounding 16 Nathan's championships. The man held down 76 hot dogs in 2021 during a performance that humanity has never seen before. 

Competitive eating champion Joey "Jaws" Chestnut wins the 2021 Nathan's Famous 4th Of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest with 76 hot dogs, breaking his personal best record of 75 at Coney Island on July 4, 2021 in New York City.  The first Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest dates back to 1916, the year Nathan's Famous opened on Surf Avenue in Coney Island. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

The king of keeping 'em down has lost just ONCE since 2007, but now, according to Major League Eating, his run seems to be done thanks to his insistence on eating vegan dogs. 

"We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut has chosen to represent a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs rather than competing in the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest," Major League Eating said in a statement obtained by the Post.

"MLE and Nathan’s went to great lengths to accommodate Joey and his management team, agreeing to the appearance fee and allowing Joey to compete in a rival, unbranded hot dog eating contest on Labor Day."

Are we seeing the opening salvos of a beef frank vs. a plant frank battle? Back in February, Impossible Foods announced the brand was introducing its vegan hot dogs to the sports industry. Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena became the first major league arena to serve Impossible's new fake hot dogs. 

So far, Chestnut and Impossible are not firing back at this decision from Nathan's. But you can be sure this isn't the end of this beef.