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Ferrets are Cool

(21,063 posts)
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 02:19 PM Apr 2020

Something I can't figure out in my lil brain

I keep hearing that farmers and dairy people are "trashing" food because of all the restaurants being closed down. People STILL have to eat????? Why isn't that food going to stores instead of restaurants?
I can't wrap my brain around why food is being thrown away in America.

(especially when people go to bed hungry every night)...but that is for another post.

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Something I can't figure out in my lil brain (Original Post) Ferrets are Cool Apr 2020 OP
My guess. They have orders to fill underpants Apr 2020 #1
So are you saying that it is the "infrastructure" that is causing this? Ferrets are Cool Apr 2020 #2
See post below. Better complete explanation underpants Apr 2020 #6
I know little about the food distribution system Chainfire Apr 2020 #15
Different supply chains. Phoenix61 Apr 2020 #3
Makes sense. I hope there are teams of people working on this to Ferrets are Cool Apr 2020 #4
Surely there are food banks that much of the food PoindexterOglethorpe Apr 2020 #5
The problem with that is probably Ferrets are Cool Apr 2020 #9
No deduction for a donation? PoindexterOglethorpe Apr 2020 #11
Deductions for dontations were cut dramatically during the jr era. Ferrets are Cool Apr 2020 #17
A dairy doesn't have much storage. If trucks aren't coming to haul off the milk, they can't brewens Apr 2020 #7
Capitalism at its finest! Solomon Apr 2020 #8
Different food, different packing, different buyers, etc. unblock Apr 2020 #10
But 330 million people are still eating. We are still buying doc03 Apr 2020 #12
Why not Ohiogal Apr 2020 #13
Read Blue_True Response - explains it SheltieLover Apr 2020 #14
Thanks so much for all the great replies. Ferrets are Cool Apr 2020 #16
I wondered the same thing until I heard the explanation yesterday... LuckyCharms Apr 2020 #18
Thank you. The people here are the smartest on the web. Ferrets are Cool Apr 2020 #20
I don't get it either Bayard Apr 2020 #19

underpants

(182,279 posts)
1. My guess. They have orders to fill
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 02:21 PM
Apr 2020

everything else gets in the way of what’s about to be produced.

Schools and restaurants closing killed them. Heavily subsidized but not enough to really keep them going.

Ferrets are Cool

(21,063 posts)
2. So are you saying that it is the "infrastructure" that is causing this?
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 02:23 PM
Apr 2020

I can understand that, but it should be something that is "fixable" rather quickly.

underpants

(182,279 posts)
6. See post below. Better complete explanation
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 02:26 PM
Apr 2020

They crank out x gallons a day. This much is going here- this is going here but that one has stopped buying for now.

Got more on the way everyday.

Chainfire

(17,308 posts)
15. I know little about the food distribution system
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 02:51 PM
Apr 2020

But here are some guesses.
It appears that it is incongruous that people are hungry but farmers are burying their produce. What you have to do is look to see who makes more money from destroying produce, rather than taking it to market, and how they are making more money (or losing less) by not bringing it to market and it will become clear. When the value of the product drops far enough, you do better by not paying to harvest and transport the food.

I think that one part of the puzzle is that, yes, people are still eating, there is not near the waste that happens in institutional food production. I know that in my household, we are eating almost everything we are buying. It has made me aware of just how much food we have thrown away in the past. When you are risking your life by going food shopping, you try to make what you buy last.

Another issue is that there is a separate production and distribution systems for institutional food than what goes to your grocery store. If all of the food that was going to restaurants was to be dumped on the grocery stores, the prices would fall through the floor. I know that in my area, thousands of acres of tomatoes are grown each year. Most of those tomatoes are produced under contract for businesses like Burger King. The tomatoes planted in Jan, and Feb will be plowed under. Production is grown under contract and harvest is planned to the day to keep the restaurants with a constant source of product. There is no place to store a bizillion pounds of green tomatoes until the market returns.

Phoenix61

(16,954 posts)
3. Different supply chains.
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 02:23 PM
Apr 2020

Same thing with paper products. Commercial toilet paper/paper towels aren’t the same as residential.

Ferrets are Cool

(21,063 posts)
4. Makes sense. I hope there are teams of people working on this to
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 02:25 PM
Apr 2020

reroute the food. Throwing it away isn't helpful to anyone at all.

Ferrets are Cool

(21,063 posts)
9. The problem with that is probably
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 02:28 PM
Apr 2020

that it's cheaper to throw it away and get a tax deduction AND as was stated above, the supply distribution is all different.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,750 posts)
11. No deduction for a donation?
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 02:31 PM
Apr 2020

Somehow I doubt that.

But supply distribution is a thing, I'm sure. The food banks and homeless shelters need to try some sort of outreach.

brewens

(13,400 posts)
7. A dairy doesn't have much storage. If trucks aren't coming to haul off the milk, they can't
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 02:26 PM
Apr 2020

stop the cows.

unblock

(51,974 posts)
10. Different food, different packing, different buyers, etc.
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 02:29 PM
Apr 2020

People at home don't buy restaurant- or cafeteria-sized cans of tomatoes or condiments or whatever.

People at home don't eat quinoa or kale as much as they might in restaurants.

And people at home are simply eating less, or at least cheaper foods, in the aggregate, due to loss of income.

It's not nearly as simple as just selling to homes instead of selling to restaurants.

doc03

(35,148 posts)
12. But 330 million people are still eating. We are still buying
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 02:32 PM
Apr 2020

food only at the grocery store instead of restaraunts.

LuckyCharms

(17,287 posts)
18. I wondered the same thing until I heard the explanation yesterday...
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 03:10 PM
Apr 2020

Different supply chains...commercial vs. retail

Different packaging requirements for retail

No easy way to convert from commercial to retail, etc.

Makes sense to me now.

Good question, good OP.

Bayard

(21,806 posts)
19. I don't get it either
Wed Apr 15, 2020, 03:48 PM
Apr 2020

Read that farmers are dumping milk on the ground, but a gallon here is nearly $4 now. Last month it was under $2.

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