General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSomething 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.
underpants
(182,279 posts)everything else gets in the way of whats 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)I can understand that, but it should be something that is "fixable" rather quickly.
underpants
(182,279 posts)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)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)Same thing with paper products. Commercial toilet paper/paper towels arent the same as residential.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,063 posts)reroute the food. Throwing it away isn't helpful to anyone at all.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,750 posts)could go to.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,063 posts)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)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.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,063 posts)Yeah, it sucks.
brewens
(13,400 posts)stop the cows.
Solomon
(12,305 posts)unblock
(51,974 posts)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)food only at the grocery store instead of restaraunts.
Ohiogal
(31,669 posts)Deploy the National Guard to ferry that extra food to food banks?
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)Ferrets are Cool
(21,063 posts)LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)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.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,063 posts)Bayard
(21,806 posts)Read that farmers are dumping milk on the ground, but a gallon here is nearly $4 now. Last month it was under $2.