Horse hockey.
Preppers have been prepping for years. Where were the shortages then?
I started prepping in earnest in Jan when seeing the response by China to the Wuhan flu.
And that created shortages?
Nope. The shortages started in March when those who were NOT prepared went crazy with their panic buying because they realized they weren't ready for a lockdown and they didn't have enough food and TP for more then the next week. If they were lucky.
What creates shortages is people NOT prepping and then panic buying and hoarding when a disaster hits.
Happens every year here in the northeast. A major snowstorm is forecast and everyone rushes out in the teeth of the storm to panic buy milk, eggs, bread, water, etc, as if they don't have a bit of it in their house.
Us preppers sit back with a good book and laugh knowing that we're not idiots going out in dangerous weather and contributing to the problem because we got ready when the supply chain could handle it.
Additionally, preppers are not out panic buying massive quantities of food all at once. They do it surreptitiously over the years, buying a little extra here and there was they see a sale, so that no one knows they are doing it. It doesn't attract any attention because it is their regular shopping habits and the supply chain has adjusted to it.
You want to blame someone for the shortages, blame the people who have a 30 second planning horizon to their lives, who can't think past their next tweet or FB post.
Since it sounds like you are just looking to blame someone, lay the blame at the feet of the people to whom it belongs.
The shortages started in March when those who were NOT prepared went crazy with their panic buying because they realized they weren’t ready for a lockdown = preppers