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Five threats to US food supply chains
The coronavirus pandemic has upended food supply chains, led to closures of meat producing plants and left Americans with the unsettling experience of seeing empty shelves at supermarkets.
Coupled with the run on toilet paper that led to severe shortages, recent events are leading Americans to wonder if the nation’s food supply is secure.
Experts say that by and large, Americans don’t need to worry about food running out, but that does not mean all food will be readily available.
“I think we have a strong food supply system, and it’s diversified enough to provide the products to consumers,” said Olga Isengildina Massa, an associate professor of agriculture and applied economics at Virginia Tech.
“Obviously it has a lot of hiccups right now, but we’re working through the system,” she added.
Here are five of the major challenges facing food supply chains.
Virus outbreaks at food plants
One vulnerable spot in the nation’s foods supply chains is processing plants, where workers often stand in close quarters as they prepare food to be delivered to grocery stores and wholesale customers.
The close proximity has increased the risk of outbreaks in the plants.
Last week, Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, shut down a pork processing plant that accounts for up to 5 percent of production after more than 500 of its workers were infected. One worker has died from COVID-19.
Other processors, including Tysons Food, Cargill and JBS, have also been forced to close plants after workers got sick.
Tysons Foods on Monday partially reopened a plant it closed down after two employees died of COVID-19 and 148 others tested positive for the virus.
“The packing plants are larger and more concentrated, and that’s where the issue is. If a lot of them shut down at once, there could be a serious disruption,” said Massa.
“But so far we’re seeing them staggered,” she added.
Agricultural reliance on guest workers
President Trump announced Monday that he would “suspend immigration” but is reportedly not planning to include guest worker programs in the ban.
One likely reason is that America’s agricultural sector depends heavily on foreign workers to pick crops. Last year, nearly 250,000 foreign workers were employed in American agriculture.
The pandemic and some of the policies surrounding it could be a problem for farmers and their workers.
“I’ve marveled at how well the produce section is stocked, but I’m hearing that problems are coming because of immigration problems,” said Connie Weaver, an emeritus professor of nutrition science at Purdue University.
For example, Trump has reportedly looked at policies that would cut payments to seasonal guest workers, which might deter people from traveling to the U.S. to pick fruits and vegetables.
Travel delays are making it harder to fill spots, as are delays processing work visas.
And while many farms are ensuring workers remain a good distance apart at work, it’s exceedingly common for migrant workers to bunk together in cramped living spaces, increasing the chance of an outbreak.
Supply chain mismatches
Even as some grocery store aisles are empty and food banks clamor for donations, some agricultural businesses are resorting to spilling or throwing away huge quantities of food.
Some $5 billion of fresh fruits and vegetables have already gone to waste, according to the Produce Marketing Association, an industry trade group. Some dairies have been pouring thousands of gallons of milk down the drain.
The reason is that the country’s supply chains are set for normal times, when people get a significant amount of food from restaurants and many kids eat lunch and drink a carton of milk at school.
Those supply chains are struggling to adapt to the lockdown reality in which most Americans are confined to home.
Grocery stores don’t have relationships with wholesale producers, which in turn do not have the facilities for packaging and selling food in a way people are used to seeing it on shelves.
The 50-pound bags of flour that mills sell to large bakeries, for example, are of little use to people buying for a family of four.
Some entrepreneurial businesses are adapting. Chains such as Panera and Subway are repackaging flour into smaller containers and selling them to customers.
“Ultimately, the industry just has to learn to do the things it has to do,” said Don Schaffner, a food science specialist at Rutgers University.
“We’re all just sort of muddling through and trying to make the best decisions we can.”
People cooking more of their own meals may also be straining the system in new ways. People who eat out regularly could be used to a diet of sushi, tacos, pizza, hamburgers and pad thai. But those same people are likely to resort to different meals with different ingredients when they’re cooking for themselves.
The trend is more extreme in some sectors, according to Weaver.
“Some people have forgotten how to prepare meals,” she said.
“Some people have moved so far away that they’re not familiar with the kitchen or may not really have a kitchen with the equipment they’d need,” she added.
Increased food insecurity
Even before the pandemic began, 37 million people were considered food insecure, according to Monica Hake, a senior research manager at Feeding America, a hunger-prevention group.
The economic downturn from the coronavirus is only set to make that number rise.
In late March, Hake projected that a 7.6-point rise in the unemployment rate would increase the number of food-insecure people by 17.1 million.
So far, more than 20 million people have applied for unemployment, which economists say translates to a roughly 15 percent unemployment rate, up 11.5 points from before the pandemic.
Democrats pushed to expand nutrition assistance in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act that was signed into law last month, which could help.
But with most schools closed through the end of the year, children who often rely on school meals face particular challenges.
Crunch on delivery capacity
As more and more cities have locked down, the problem of how to get food into people’s homes has grown.
People practicing stringent social distancing have resorted to grocery deliveries, leaving delivery services strapped for workers.
Grocery stores have had to implement new cleaning and social distancing guidelines and in many places are limiting the number of shoppers allowed in at a time. They require customers to wait in lines outside, six feet apart, and wear face masks in the stores.
That’s taken a tough toll on the grocery store workers, whom states such as Minnesota have deemed essential.
Delivery people and grocery store workers alike face increased risks of getting sick. Given the low pay and benefits often associated with the work, an uptick in COVID-19 cases among workers could make the positions harder to fill.
“What I want to make sure that we do is keep our essential workers that are part of the food supply safe, so they can continue working in agriculture, in packing houses, in grocery stores,” said Schaffner.
“That’s one of the things that are helping us hold it all together,” he added.
15 Comments on "Five threats to US food supply chains"
makati1 on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 1:07 am
Keep the slaves safe by all means. But this whole virus bullshit is/was not necessary in the first place. Just a normal bad flu season. One of many flus we will have to deal with every year. Yawn!
Theedrich on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 9:38 am
Multi-nation data now show the virus is overblown. An extended article, SARS-CoV-2 Mortality Is Distorted, reveals new research from Germany, the U.S., Italy and Spain showing that the manner of data reporting has grossly exaggerated the perception of viral lethality. This exaggeration has enabled political string-pullers and media moguls to use fear to expand their influence and power, in the process destroying the global economy. While the article itself is too long to discuss in detail here, its conclusion exposes the calamitous effects of the manipulation of the science:
Of course, the politicoes and talking heads who claim they are basing their actions and propaganda on “science” will pay no attention to the actual statistical facts. They are too heavily invested in expanding their own power and prestige. (An example of this new arrogance: media darling and New York State governor Andrew Cuomo recently told an inquirer contemptuously that, if she wanted a job, she should become an “essential” worker. In other words, spend years learning to be a worker in a profession he alone is allowed to define as “essential.”) The public, meanwhile, is intimidated and terrified into submission, allowing its demigods and officials to destroy the economy and life support systems. We are seeing nothing less than a massive power grab by the Machiavellians who rule the country and the globe.
whoa on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 10:33 am
i told u guyes to be on the lookout for mating season and unusual long posts from suprertard theedrich . if muzzie say allah akbar and going for your neck, he’s only being friendly and yes this is actual advice. ask whitey supertard david haines how it feels so be cheerful and ask to taste muzzie dk before you go. everyone hates (((supremetard)))’s dk and muzzie dk is all the rage nowadays.
Duncan Idaho on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 10:48 am
Fat Boy lies:
“probably sounded better in the original German.”
Duncan Idaho on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 11:00 am
“Cops around here often look like they are on their way to a fetish bar. The local PD has a good fleet of choppers that have no use for any police work here, they are just custom-built toys for the boys. When I see those Harleys on a Sunday have often had the thought that someone must be making a movie. At first glance the chrome and custom are way more obvious than the police gear. And the uniforms worn to ride those choppers are straight out of gay porn.”
JuanP on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 11:09 am
Yea. Duncan. Until your ass is in trouble then you will sing a different tune
Abraham van Helsing on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 11:19 am
I do not blame the governments all over the world for their reaction and lock-down. It was an unknown virus, it might as well have been some sort of Ebola or the plague.
But now that more knowledge has been gathered I do agree that, IN HINDSIGHT, it might have been a little exaggerated. What I do blame governments and media for is that they spread “death toll figures” around, without specifying WHO is dying. Namely 81-year old folks (median age).
If 20,000 young people would have died, it would indeed have been a disaster, like 100 plane crashes in a single year for Italy. But if 81-year old’s die, it is BAU. Every year 150,000 people die with an average age of 82 (Netherlands) and nobody complains about that. An 81 year old corona patient = 81 year old cancer patient = 81 year stroke patient = END-OF-LIFE.
whoa on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 11:23 am
Duncan Idaho on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 11:00 am
supertrd, you’re a committed muzzie and hard core lib.
i’m also a libturd but i became a blue republican to vote for whitey supertard president paul. i understnad how you had a taste of muzzie ck and you’re hooked.
it’s the same thing with our currently managed society by Big Sis
Big Sis said she want to cill me (controlled or kill) and i want to be cilled.
if Big Sis can’t cill me she’d control me by Big Boobs. I grew up in it like fish in water.
Big Bro only do what they do best, just to enjoy life a little in Big Sis controlled society. Cut Big Bro some slack
here’s big bro screed
be strong
be of good courage
(((supremtard))) bless america
long live whitey supertard president paul republic -sootch00
Duncan Idaho on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 11:37 am
“Humans caused [a] pandemic by putting the world’s animals into a cruel blender and drinking that smoothie.”
whoa supremacist muzzies and supertard muzzies lover galore on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 1:13 pm
Duncan Idaho on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 11:37 am
“Humans caused [a] pandemic by putting the world’s animals into a cruel blender and drinking that smoothie.”
supertard, yeah the problem is modern animal farming that caues all sort of problem. but how else are we going to grow Big Sis who is in driver seat to cill everyone? I want to be cilled (controlled or killed).
if you’re not under innernet rock then you are aware that Big Sis is behind Big Lockdown. and the mass animal farmings feed into Big Boob. I grew up with it like fish in water so we’re all controlled. If you’re not cilled then you’re just stagglers and easy picking for Big Muzzies.
Ask yourself cui bono
Big muzzies
the other enforcers are Big Libs like you.
If you see Big Bro floating on the highway with his two wheel Big Rig, you know all he has is that. And pay close attention, you see Big Sis is in the rear controlling that Big Bro.
If you see a Big Bro floating alone in his two wheel Big Rig he’s straggler and can be picked out by Big Lib and Big Muzzies
prepare to be cilled. i know I am
so have a simpathy. Big Bro only wnated to enjoy life a little before they’re cilled.
whoa on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 1:17 pm
the future for Big Bro is electric two wheeled Big Rig with a speed governor, automatic tranny, or a DCT. If big bro want to drive, it will be a tesla or a toyota iMT.
Big Bro has relingquished responsiblity a long time following janis joplin’s anthem
freedom is just another word for having nothing left to lose.
that’s where we are.
that’s why i’m electing to be cilled.
Duncan Idaho on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 1:31 pm
Hospital analysis finds nearly 50% obesity in small sample of COVID-19 patients
(not good news for Repugs)
https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Hospital-analysis-Nearly-half-of-COVID-19-15213495.php?ipid=dontmisssfghp
Duncan Idaho on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 1:34 pm
Love Me I’m A Liberal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nFvhhCulaw
whoa on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 2:06 pm
supertard pls enjoy and stop the hatin
oh love supremacist muzzies moar
Duncan Idaho on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 1:31 pm
Hospital analysis finds nearly 50% obesity in small sample of COVID-19 patients
(not good news for Repugs)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAbtdg0gg-M
whoa on Thu, 23rd Apr 2020 2:10 pm
i’m a lib but i just have the urge
i hope we capture whitey supertard scientific supremacist lib muzzie lover “thunderf00t” and amputate
we could also throw muzzie akbar sayeed off the building to test whitey supertard newton third law
im sure whitey supertard john brady would have his eternal beauty sleep if that happens