Posted on 04/16/2020 8:46:33 AM PDT by blam
As the coronavirus continues to infect more and more people, food supply chains have started to become more strained in recent days. It was announced yesterday; the world’s biggest pork producer is closing a primary U.S plant indefinitely after a coronavirus outbreak amongst employees.
Smithfield Foods Inc. will halt its pork-processing facility in South Dakota, which accounts for 4% to 5% of U.S pork production. The company also warned that closures across the country are taking American meat supplies “perilously close to the edge” of shortfalls. This is just one of the latest examples of the coronavirus beginning to disrupt food chains at a more significant scale rapidly.
We anticipated this, as we reported on April 1 that food supply chains were in the early stages of being strained. Many countries were preparing many weeks ago by cutting back on exports to begin stockpiling. Surprisingly, dairy farmers in the United States are starting to dump milk because there was no place for them to go as the marketplace for dairy products has been affected by the closures of restaurants, schools, hotels, and food service businesses.
One would begin to believe history might not be repeating itself, but it is undoubtedly starting to rhyme. During the great depression of the 1930s, the hardest-hit industry was farming. Farm incomes dropped by nearly two-thirds at the beginning of the 1930s. Dairy farmers dumped countless gallons of milk into the street instead of accepting a penny a quart.
During World War 1, farmers had produced record crops and livestock to keep everyone fed. However, when prices started to fell, they tried to harvest even more to pay their debts and living expenses. In the early 30s, prices dropped so low that many farmers went bankrupt and lost their farms.
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at goldtelegraph.com ...
Food sold to the consumer must have nutritional labels and allergy information....food sold to restaurants does not
Milk will keep in the freezer for a while. Wife always buys several gallons from Sam’s Club on her monthly trip. We thaw it out as we need it.
Prepper Ping - China
China has after-effects of covid-19 in supply chain after opening up their economy.
".. China, may now be facing a food crisis. The country has just reopened its economy as the communist regime has even claimed a coronavirus victory.
However, there was a leaked government document made public last Thursday that shows that government officials have been planning for a shortfall in food supplies.
The document, dated March 28, was drafted following a meeting which was called to make special arrangements for food security.
Harvests have been good and staple crops remain in demand, but a shortage of field workers brought on by the pandemic
and a move towards protectionism — tariffs and export bans — could lead to problems in the coming weeks..
“We need to have policies in place so the labour force can keep doing their job. Protect people too, but we need the labour force. (Emphasis mine)
Major countries have yet to implement these sorts of policies to ensure that food can keep moving.”
“The State Party Committee and the state governments and counties and cities must do everything possible to transfer and store
all kinds of living materials such as grain, beef, mutton, oil and salt through various channels,”
the document said, according to a report from Radio Free Asia.
The document also calls for the “mobilization of the masses to consciously store grain and ensure that each household reserves between 3 and 6 months of grain for emergencies.” (emphasis mine)
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My comment :
We have our own issues regarding the supply chain.
Commercial and restaurant make up 60% sales of most food produced in the US; only 40% is for the residential/ home- cooking consumer.
I can't use 30 dozen eggs at one time, nor milk in a 2.7 gallon plastic bag at one time, nor can I use 100 pound bags of potatoes,or 12 dozen loaves of bread - all commercial sized.
As a result of supply chain disruptions of quantity, packaging, price, transport or other causes,
we have farmers dumping milk due to packaging supply problems, plowing under crops, and the supply chain industry unable to adjust quickly enough to package for residential use.
Recently Smithfield Farms closed one of their pork and meat processing plants down due to covid-19 among their workers;
they alone produce 5-7% of the meat products in the US.
Expect more closures and temporary disruptions in the supply chain, and be mindful of food products being exported from the USA.
The nation's economy most crippling devastation would occur if the railroads didn't transport within nation,
and the truckers went on strike to the various distribution centers, and then to deliver to the retail centers.
Better yet, have adequate supplies in your pantry , or food storage; be prepared .
H/P to Blam !
Thanks!
Other than that first week of the ‘Great Toilet Paper Scavenger Hunt’ our local Walmart and smaller grocers have been just fine. (SW corner of Wisconsin.)
I’m sticking with the smaller (Shurfine Company) guys for now - they weren’t out of a THING, though they did restrict numbers of things you could buy like TP and gallons of milk and eggs.
Walmart is just insane with their limiting how many people are in the store at a time and practically fumigating me as I approach the door!
Our County of 24K has had FIVE total cases and NO DEATHS, so pretty much 100% survival rate! ;)
This idiocy must end NOW! My Inner Libertarian has been stomping her feet and pulling on her hair and SCREAMING for the past few weeks. She. Wants. OUT!
Then we need to modify the law for the term of the pandemic so the 'label' is a sign above the food at the market... NOT on each package.
Which government? I think it's China?
We've had people getting most of their food from food banks, and then using their EBT cards for steak, lobster, chips and soda. Food banks would get a lot of food from supermarkets, as stuff on shelf was nearing expiration.
But food banks are drying up, so these people are going to need to use their EBTs for real food.
Food Shortages? Nope, Too Much Food In The Wrong Places
Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, a network of food banks and charitable meals programs, says that these programs normally receive large donations of unsold food from retail stores. In recent weeks, though, as retailers struggled to keep their shelves stocked, "we're seeing as much as a 35% reduction in that donation stream from retail," Babineaux-Fontenot says."
She just smiled and waved - sittin’ there on top of her well-stocked freezer, full of fish and wild game!
Well, until the power goes out, LOL! Then it’s all hands on deck; manning the grills and ovens! ;)
Soda and pop tarts aren’t FOOD, Bob!
But I get your point. :)
I joined a food club in March called ‘Imperfect Foods’ and they ship you a box of stuff each week, or your choice of shipments. Minimum is $30, free shipping with $60. It’s all ‘ugly’ fruits and veggies, discontinued items, items where the packaging has changed and manufacturers are shedding older inventory, meats, grains, baking supplies and canned goods.
They’re a real mess right now. They send me an e-mail telling me to ‘fill up my box’ so I do, then the next e-mail is - SORRY! We can’t ship your order, we’re too backed up, LOL!
I’ve given up for now.
“I went to Costco Tuesday and there was no milk in the store.”
Huh? Went to Ralphs THIS MORNING and it was fully stocked. I just bought a gallon last week and will wait until I finish it off..
Went thru Hugo...I remember that well. First time I ever ate alligator tail...at a neighbor’s house, a Louisiana guy. We brought steak. Fine meal.
People tend to make the best of bad situations.
Wait until city slickers try and live off the land!
Of course they would - that's what they tried to do with medical supplies. They held back on what was happening in Wuhan so they'd have time to make contracts around the world to buy up OUR medical stuff. At one point we were sending ventilators to China while we were doing without. Trump put a stop to that when he heard what was going on...
“But food banks are drying up, so these people are going to need to use their EBTs for real food.”
But the maddening thing is that people that are in dire straights partially GOT there because they don’t HAVE any skills - even the simple skill of a food budget or how to plan a meal or how to cook!
I’ve been frugal forever - so much of that is second nature to me. Also raised by Depression-Era Grandparents who taught me a LOT!
I had a friend who, through no fault of her own, ended up using food stamps for a few months while her family got back on their feet. (Injury, lost their jobs, etc.)
She could’ve fed a family of 10 on what she could buy with food stamps each month. She had a very well-stocked larder when the dust settled and things went back to normal again.
I’m really curious to see what ‘lessons learned’ come out of this ‘crisis’ for families, singles, and especially companies and small businesses that have been hit hard.
I’ve been thinking of starting a thread on what each of us could contribute to a Black Market Economy if something like this happens again and Mother Government puts her combat boot on our throats for a number of weeks, months, or years!
Pasta is also good with butter and garlic powder. Or olive oil and garlic.
I know a lady who grew up with her grandmother using melted butter and ketchup on her pasta. (Italians recoil in horror).
Or, you can do as my wife does, get tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, garlic and herbs and make a batch of your own sauce. Once you know how to make something you like, make a big batch, put it in meal-size containers, and freeze them.
NYC denizens know electric power originates in the wall sockets. Food is ready to be shipped to supermarkets from warehouses where it appears on demand like print on demand books.
At worst, Mike Bloomberg has described how some Trump fan Deplorables can toss a handful or two of seeds into a hole in the ground and wait for food crops too appear. "Doesn't take much intelligence to do that" Soon: "So where's my filet mignon dinner, jerk? No salad, no vegetables, no beef. You're supposed to be my personal chef. What gives, dummy?"
You can also make your own from fresh tomatoes of course. Roma or other dense varieties. Very low heat and stir till your arm falls off, then stir some more. Go easy on the herbs.
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