The Food Distribution System-Learn About Your Food Supplies

What are you going to do when the food runs out?

Did you know that in the United States on average a single can, bag or portion of food would travel 1500 miles before it is consumed? Amazing, but true as we become more and more globalized we are increasingly relying on a more sophisticated and complicated distribution system for our food. For example, did you realize that all the food that is consumed at your local McDonalds comes from one of 19 distributors located throughout the United States? The largest of which is located in Irvine, California. So if you just used the distance the food is shipped from one of the distributors, it would be several hundred miles, but wait! If you looked a little closer, and determined who provided that food to the distributor, that range of transport would increase. If we used chicken nuggets as an example, most chicken nuggets are made at the Tyson factory in Nashville Arkansas, so it would not be inconceivable for those nuggets to travel from Nashville to California and back to Texas, thus reaching if not exceeding the average travel distance for the food we consume. If you were to add in the total amount of food that we import, such as winter grapes and vegetables from South America, it quickly becomes easy to understand why our food travels so much before it reaches out plates.

So you ask yourself, what is the big deal? Our food does a bit of travel before we buy it, we have the best system in the world and we can afford it! In general that is true, in fact I would even stipulate that 99.9% of the time being able to buy fresh grapes, vegetables and the like during the winter months is a good thing, but it is that one in a thousand that can really ruin your day, week or even take your life.

Yes, I firmly believe that we have the best systems in the civilized world. Furthermore, I believe that we can and will do ever better things in the future, but and there is always “a but”! There are too many people in this world who simply take pleasure in pulling down those who have done better than they have. It doesn’t matter the motivation of those who are envious of those who achieve, it is best to know that they exist and when you get enough of those who fall into the trap of envy, problems will arise. These problems can be as simple as a few protests and can quickly escalate into riots, (with looting), or even active terrorism and war. No matter how or why they occur, they will occur and do so on a regular basis. Couple this with an opportunity for a particularly bad storm or natural disaster and before you know it, the food distribution system breaks down.

For example, if by chance that Tyson chicken nugget factory in Arkansas goes belly up due to a disaster, (manmade or not); within a few days or a week or two there will be no chicken nuggets available anywhere in the United States. This maybe a little extreme, for Tyson is actually building a second factory and nuggets can be imported, but the principle is still the same. If you disrupt the system in any way, there will be unfortunate consequences. Someone will do without for no factory operates at less than capacity or it will not make any money and if it does not make money it will be shut down. It is that shutting down of the food supply chain or even the restriction of availability that can and will cause chaos in this modern society in which we now live. You don’t believe me, just watch this video of a woman who was told her nuggets wouldn’t be available until later that day!

The point of this article is simple. Even if that chance of a disruption in our food supply is only 1 in a thousand, that means that once every three years there will be a disruption that will affect you. You may only see higher prices, but in the case of the last large storm to hit New York, there was nothing on the shelves the day before the storm hit and nothing for a few days, because the city wasn’t able to plow the streets. How many went hungry, if only for a night or two? Will you be next? Have you filled your pantry and kept it filled? Most in this society have not and I fear the day that we have that national disaster and the food stops, for neighbor will be pitted against neighbor and the pantry will be empty. What have you done to help yourself and family from becoming one of those neighbors? For when it comes, (not if), what you see in that video will pale in comparison to what scared and desperate people will do when they run out of the food we all depend upon!

Enjoy!