Mid-term Concerns: Food Supply

[rcjordan]

>hens

My feeds say there has been a run on laying hens and they are scarce now.

>pork

See the name "Smithfield" upstream? That's one of our pork product mega-factories.  Having that go down is like having Denmark out of pork in EU.

[rcjordan]

Smithfield closes plant representing 4-5% of US pork production after workers test positive for COVID-19 | Supply Chain Dive
https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/coronavirus-smithfield-plant-close/575903/


U.S. 'Perilously Close' to Meat Shortage After Smithfield Pork Plant Closes | Time
https://time.com/5819878/smithfield-pork-plant-closes-coronavirus/


Former Agriculture Secretary: 'Cascading series of events' disrupting the US food chain | TheHill
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/492609-former-agriculture-secretary-cascading-series-of-events-disrupting-the-us-food


What Matters: It's time to talk more seriously about the food supply - CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/14/politics/what-matters-april-13/index.html

[littleman]

Farmers are throwing out food that could go to food banks. American Farm Bureau and Feeding America want to change that

[grnidone]

I understand why they are throwing it out:  they don't get paid to harvest and ship all that food too food banks. 

More simply put, it costs money to harvest.  Better to cut your losses and use the crop as a cover crop to enhance the soil for the next cash crop instead.

[Mackin USA]

Seed companies can't keep up as more Americans turn to growing their own food

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-seeds-americans-grow-food/

[rcjordan]

Now it's serious. No bacon!

Smithfield Foods shuts US bacon, ham plants as coronavirus hits meat sector
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/smithfield-foods-shuts-us-bacon-ham-plants-as-coronavirus-hits-meat-sector/ar-BB12GIow

[Travoli]

Some folks are breeding their own bacon cheeseburgers.

[rcjordan]

Canada: Pandemic could affect food supplies, power grids, telecommunications, says government document | CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/labour-shortages-emergency-food-power-1.5531583

[rcjordan]

You're living amid a U.S. megadrought
https://mashable.com/article/megadrought-western-united-states-climate-change/

[DrCool]

>Smithfield Foods shuts US bacon

Hopefully that means more fresh pork bellies on the market. Homemade bacon is a thing if beauty.

[littleman]

Lots of practical advice on the longevity of various foods


tl;dr

whiter-equals-longer-life
white flour is good for years
whole-wheat/whole-grain flour only a few months
white rice = years; brown rice months
The reason, fats in the unrefined grains go rancid.

vinegars, honey, vanilla or other extracts, sugar, salt, corn syrup and molasses will last forever.

regular steel-cut or rolled oats year 
instant oats can last nearly forever


Shelf-stable supermarket breads can stay soft for weeks in the fridge.
Homemade bread usually a week.

Dried beans and lentils will remain safe to eat for years, but will take longer to cook with age.

Spices lose thier potency with age.

Canned fruits, vegetables and meats will stay good for years (or even decades)and should be fine as long as the cans and their content look and smell OK.

Oils in cans should last for decades; don't use if it stinks.

Salad dressings will last for months, years if in the fridge.

Mustard lasts forever, Ketchup a year, Mayonnaise a while.

Eggs could last for 60 days in the fridge.

Look for "ultrahigh temperature" or "UHT" milk if you want to extend its life.

Baby food should be good for a very long time.

[rcjordan]

>baby food

I saw a tip on /r/frugal that bears repeating in this prepper thread  ...use a garlic press to mash/squish vegetables as-needed for baby food.

[rcjordan]

Defcon 2

Beef processors are closing U.S. plants, warn of beef shortages and hoarding
https://theweek.com/speedreads/909359/beef-processors-are-closing-plants-warn-beef-shortages-hoarding

[rcjordan]

This morning, I've seen 3 or 4 local news reports of mid-size meat processors shutting down ...Hormel, Tysons, etc.

[Brad]

I think LM tipped us off about https://aprbiotech.com/ 

I just ordered some hand sanitizer from them for both myself and for my mother.  They were very good about answering some shipping questions I had prior to sale.

I like that their sanitizer is supposed to remain effective on your hands for 4 hours.

Anyway they have some back in stock.