Competitive eating started off as a friendly game at local American fairs, typically a pie-eating contest that was more fun than competition. Today, it is considered a sport in the United States and Japan, where competitors (often called gurgitators) speed-eat food in a timed setting, often for cash prizes. The sport has two governing bodies: (1) Major League Eating (formerly known as the International Federation of Competitive Eating) and (2) All Pro Eating (formerly known as the Association of Independent Competitive Eaters). The sport rose to fame during the 1990s and [Page 274]2000s, and since then, it has been a source of controversy, from questions of its safety and unknown long-term consequences for competitors to the display of excessive eating in a country where not ...