Choking deaths on food in the US

Between 2006 and 2020, choking deaths on food and US states with feral hog populations both increased, correlating at 0.962 across eight data points. The theory that feral hogs are responsible for American choking deaths is the most alarming reading possible and also the most entertaining. The hogs are invasive, destructive, and expanding their range with the determination of a species that has read the Endangered Species Act and decided it doesn't apply to them. The choking deaths are driven by aging demographics. Neither phenomenon is under control.

Feral hog populations expanded from roughly 35 states to over 40, driven by high reproductive rates. Choking deaths rose due to population aging. Both are eight-year upward trends driven by independent biological and demographic forces.

Eight data points of two expanding problems will produce a strong correlation. The feral hog and the choking statistic share a direction and a country, not a mechanism.