Everybody Eats: Covid-19 & The Food On Our Plates
Even amidst a global pandemic everyone has to eat; however the foods that fill our plates over the past several weeks has altered dramatically, leaving the U.S. agri-food chain struggling to adapt.
“Eating is an agricultural act” - Wendell Berry
One of my favorite quotes from American farmer and poet, Wendell Berry, is especially poignant at this time. Consumers’ food choices have far reaching impacts on what and how farmers grow food. As consumers, we are so used to grocery store shelves being stocked with all of the essentials (and beyond) that it is easy to forget the complex process that goes into getting that food to store shelves. When there is a sudden shift in food preferences, such as what has happened over the past couple of weeks with panicked buying due to the Covid-19 crisis, farmers and large food manufacturers cannot pivot overnight. Crops have already been planted, production line capacity has been planned and logistics have already been lined up.
What Looks Different:
In recent weeks there has been a major shift in North Americans’ buying and eating habits that have consequences that stretch all the way back to the start of the food chain. I am sure that every industry is facing impacts that were not imagined previously. This current situation shows the necessity of being prepared. So how do you even prepare for something like this?
Eating In > Eating Out: In 2017 over ⅓ of the U.S. food dollar was spent at restaurants, bars and other dining establishments out of the home. With the recent “Shelter In Place” orders and many of these locations temporarily closed, the U.S. consumer is now back in the kitchen preparing their own meals. This has a big impact on what we are eating. For example butter prices have declined because we use less butter when cooking at home than what is used in restaurants and bakeries. Additionally, with many schools and universities closed, there is an excess of milk that is causing dairy farmers to dump their milk.
Beans Are Back: Canned and dried beans, among other shelf stable goods have made a comeback in recent weeks. So much so, that many grocery stores can’t keep them on the shelves. When consumers suddenly shift buying habits, it isn’t possible for manufacturers like Campbell’s or Heinz to quickly shift to double production of products that had been on the decline in recent years.
Fresh Seafood Has Nowhere To Go: Over 70% of seafood purchases happen when dining out. With the closure of nearly all restaurants, fishermen suddenly don’t have a market. While some restaurants continue takeout and delivery, fresh salmon or a tuna steak are not top of mind as a takeout meal. Some fishermen are staying in business through fish markets and finding creative channels for direct to consumer sales but on the whole, the Covid-19 Crisis has taken a major toll on the fishing industry.
Whole Potatoes Over French Fries: There has been a run on whole potatoes in grocery stores in recent weeks as consumers stock up on shelf stable foods. While the U.S. likely has enough potatoes in stock, suppliers and distributors can’t pivot overnight from french-fries to potatoes. This interesting example points to the supply chain scramble that is happening right now. It’s not that there isn’t enough food. Farmers that grow potatoes that are usually made into french fries, now need to get those potatoes into bags and onto grocery store shelves. Because the fry companies and the whole potato companies are not one in the same, it is not an overnight pivot.
EVERYONE is Baking: A fun activity often reserved for snow days and now apparently pandemic stay-at-home days is baking. Goods like yeast and baking powder are at the top of many grocery lists as we all have more time in the kitchen and are searching for comfort food. I have friends that have started Covid Bake-offs with their housemates and I hoped to start making homemade bread. After the few and far between trips to the grocery store, I have yet to to find yeast packets to make bread.
The bottom line is that despite a rapidly changing world we are all still eating, albeit a bit differently. A sudden shift in eating and buying patterns may just be a temporary conundrum or a trend that has longer term impacts on the types of goods in Americans’ pantries. The examples above are just a morsel of the larger changes happening throughout the agri-food system right now.
Want to read more articles on this topic?