There Is Something More To Consider

fmdog44

fmdog44

Well-known Member
Location
Houston, Texas
As we focus on grocery stores but now more is being said about farmers and the growing of food. With so many restaurants closed crop farmers are watching their crops wither and die. Milk is being thrown out. Meat processing is at an all time low all because there are fewer restaurants open for business. That being said think about the growing climate cycles because it is not as if farmers can snap their fingers and have more crops ready to harvest. This mean there is a serious interruption in the food supply line yet we don't hear much mention of it yet. This means all vegetables frozen, fresh and canned could be in short supply in the coming months. A continued shutdown of restaurants could spell very serious trouble ahead.
 

fmdog44 said:
As we focus on grocery stores but now more is being said about farmers and the growing of food. With so many restaurants closed crop farmers are watching their crops wither and die. Milk is being thrown out. Meat processing is at an all time low all because there are fewer restaurants open for business. That being said think about the growing climate cycles because it is not as if farmers can snap their fingers and have more crops ready to harvest. This mean there is a serious interruption in the food supply line yet we don't hear much mention of it yet. This means all vegetables frozen, fresh and canned could be in short supply in the coming months. A continued shutdown of restaurants could spell very serious trouble ahead.
Click to expand...
Why are crops being allowed to wither and die? Surely they can still be harvested? If they can't be sold fresh then surely they can be still be canned and frozen? Don't you have farmers markets, where produce is sold directly to the householder?
How can you have people starving and crops not being harvested? Something wrong there!
 

Rosemarie said:
Why are crops being allowed to wither and die? Surely they can still be harvested? If they can't be sold fresh then surely they can be still be canned and frozen? Don't you have farmers markets, where produce is sold directly to the householder?
How can you have people starving and crops not being harvested? Something wrong there!
Click to expand...
Part of the problem is that many of our farmers rely on seasonal migrant workers. With the restaurants closed, the demand is low so the 'excess' is being tilled under. Most of our crops are one-time planting only due to the growing season. There won't be time to plant and harvest a second crop in many cases.
 
tenor.gif
 
Empty said:
Part of the problem is that many of our farmers rely on seasonal migrant workers. With the restaurants closed, the demand is low so the 'excess' is being tilled under. Most of our crops are one-time planting only due to the growing season. There won't be time to plant and harvest a second crop in many cases.
Click to expand...
This is a problem here too, no-one to do the job of harvesting.
When I was a child, farmers recruited housewives and students to do the seasonal work. We need to get back to the old system instead of relying on immigrants.
The way things are going, there are going to be some serious changes when this is all finished.
 
Our country hires immigrants for a lot of seasonal work like ; Christmas tree harvesting, apple picking, berry picking etc., We hire approximately 60,000 workers a year. Most of these workers are from Mexico. The sad thing is that these same workers were asked to make face ventilators yet were prevented from purchasing them for their own use. 😏

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coron...delay-in-arrival-of-migrant-workers-1.4892015

https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/world...ll-ventilators-to-mexican-hospitals-1.4891971

This in itself is causing countries to become more self reliant which is a good thing but will put prices up.
 
I agree that one of the effects of the current crisis is that many countries will be more self-reliant. We will simply be going back to how things have been in the past.
I'm not in favour of 'globalisation' so I welcome that.
If there wasn't such a great movement of people around the globe, this virus might well have been confined to its source.
 
I’m in the grocery business and I can tell you that we are having trouble keeping our beef and pork items filled. We have finally caught up to having plenty of chicken. I don’t know how produce is doing, but we don’t throw anything away. I know the day before meat items are to expire, we donate them to either a food pantry or a food kitchen.

Even if our meat expires and can’t be used, it all goes to a rendering plant for other uses like; pet food and such.
 
People are eating comfort foods like mac and cheese, breads, frozen foods, etc., not fresh produce. Check out the grocery store aisles next time you go, and pay attention to the foods people are putting in their carts: highly processed frozen meals, some frozen veggies, meats, eggs, and some cheeses. With the exception of bananas, produce aisles remain fully stocked and barely noticed by most shoppers, Asian markets being a notable exception.
 
MarciKS said:
Here where I am the fresh stuff is in limited supply. Lots of healthy eaters here. So I'm forced to buy crap whether I want it or not.
Click to expand...
That's a bummer, Marci. We're very healthy eaters - near vegans - so the produce and frozen veggie aisles are my main grocery store haunts. Of course, it also helps that So Cal is in a uniquely good produce supply position. We've also got a huge, well-stocked Korean market nearby.
 
There's been a plethora of bananas, but yesterday at Stop & Shop there wasn't even one. However, two major holidays together are the reason. I Hope.
 
I made a quick dash to our local Walmart a couple of days ago, and noticed several changes from the last visit. This time, they had plenty of
toilet paper, and the fresh fruit/vegetable section seemed well stocked. However, things like bacon and eggs were still in short supply, and the frozen food cabinets were quite bare. I suspect that the locals are stocking up on frozen pizza, etc.

I then made a quick stop at our local small town grocery store, and many of their shelves were quite bare. I spoke to the manager for a couple of minutes, and he said that they are having a very hard time getting deliveries of virtually everything. The delivery companies are having to scramble to keep the larger population centers supplied, and these small rural stores are SOL.
 
@StarSong it's only because the dr. told me I needed to eat better. Not because I want to. I'm happy with the crap. But, I will pay for it later. If the farmers crops go to crap and there's no more healthy food then I'm gonna become a full blown diabetic. Not happy about that.
 
fmdog44 said:
As we focus on grocery stores but now more is being said about farmers and the growing of food. With so many restaurants closed crop farmers are watching their crops wither and die. Milk is being thrown out. Meat processing is at an all time low all because there are fewer restaurants open for business. That being said think about the growing climate cycles because it is not as if farmers can snap their fingers and have more crops ready to harvest. This mean there is a serious interruption in the food supply line yet we don't hear much mention of it yet. This means all vegetables frozen, fresh and canned could be in short supply in the coming months. A continued shutdown of restaurants could spell very serious trouble ahead.
Click to expand...

Pretty much the supply chain is going to be broken on several levels .... and could last for a long time. We will no doubt be eating differently than in the past.
 
fmdog44 said:
With so many restaurants closed crop farmers are watching their crops wither and die. Milk is being thrown out. Meat processing is at an all time low all because there are fewer restaurants open for business. . . . A continued shutdown of restaurants could spell very serious trouble ahead.
Click to expand...
I'm not quite grasping your point. Are you saying that restaurants normally waste a lot more of the food they buy than individuals do, or are you saying that people who used to frequent restaurants are now simply no longer eating. :confused:
 
Our infrastructure for farmers is as complicated as any industry.
Saw clip of citrus farmer in Florida:
'I have 7500 crates sitting in the field, I'm wouldn't hire workers
even if they were available. I don't have the workers, I don't
have transportation to markets-there are no markets.
I don't have any money, my cash flow is gone.'

This was on national news, as usual they did not explain the
specifics of the farmer's problems.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top