Community Chat

[Spurt]

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@LolaMontez wrote:

Luckily, smart prepared people all have emergency food supplies -- canned chicken, tuna, salmon, beans, soups, mac & cheese, nuts, paper products, cleaning surprise and other shelf stable proteins and other foods like rice, pasta and canned vegetables that were stocked well in advance in case of such an emergency situation.  

If people didn't keep emergency stores prior to the COVID crisis, surely they will when it is finally over.  A valuable lesson will have been learned and that is to the benefit of all concerned.

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While its good to have an emergency supply in the event of hurricanes, snow storms, severe weather and other situations depending where you live.... but there's a fine line between "being prepared" and hoarding!!!!    Hoarding prevents some from even having a chance to just have sufficient supplies to eat for the week...  

[Spurt]

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@dex wrote:

@Spurt @I didn't know that China processed the pork.I won't purchase anything under that label again.

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@dex 

I would trust what Reuters is saying they are a business and financial publication with no stakes in the game versus some PR junk Smithfield put on their website.... I agree Im not buying from that label

[novamc1]

@Spurt 

Keep reading other sources if the subject means that much to you.  There is plenty of info readily available out there on the internet......just requires a litle time to read and absorb it.

The amount of misinformation about just one U.S.  pork company that has been posted right here--repeatedly-- on the QVC forums is deplorable.  People must not want to take the time to read anything these days.

Meanwhile, check out the Bloomberg news website for MANY (reliable)  stories about our national  meat supply situation  right now. Also try to get the facts straight about where Smithfield pork consumed here in the U.S. comes from.

[Spurt]

And why is this considered a "meat" shortage.....There's still beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, even venison....

Many people have stopped eating pork altogether because of health concerns....Eating pork products, which are loaded with artery-clogging cholesterol and saturated fat, is a good way to increase your waistline and increase your chances of developing deadly diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, asthma, and impotence.  If you're comparing lean pork versus beef products to see which has the least unhealthy fats, beef might be the healthier choice.

[novamc1]

@Spurt 

Already, it's clear you haven't read the stories.  It's not just the pork industry that is being affected!!

[Shanus]

We have no meat shortages here. Plenty of chicken, beef, turkey, etc. Fish is plentiful. Don't usually like pork, so don't look there. We even purchased steaks for the grill over the weekend. 

Discussions like this is what started the stampede to purchase toilet paper.

[Spurt]

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@novamc1 wrote:

@Spurt 

Keep reading other sources if the subject means that much to you.  There is plenty of info readily available out there on the internet......just requires a litle time to read and absorb it.

The amount of misinformation about just one U.S.  pork company that has been posted right here--repeatedly-- on the QVC forums is deplorable.  People must not want to take the time to read anything these days.

Meanwhile, check out the Bloomberg news website for MANY (reliable)  stories about our national  meat supply situation  right now. Also try to get the facts straight about where Smithfield pork consumed here in the U.S. comes from.

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@novamc1 

Oh I have read some certain leaning in a certain way sources....and it all has to do with PORK and Smithfield.......   no mention of the beef industry nor poultry industry (chicken and turkey).....And there will be shortages as people start hoarding it!!! 

To quote BLOOMBERG--

To be clear: Nobody is saying North America is running out of meat yet. In fact, refrigerated inventories remain robust across the U.S. and most plants remain open. But the virus, which has now infected hundreds of meat-plant workers in the region, is spreading -- and the prospect of prolonged shutdowns has the boss of Smithfield, the world’s top pork producer, warning America is “perilously close” to a shortfall.  But some disagree---Shortages are possible down the line but unlikely now, said Joshua Specht, a visiting assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame. “As far as an absolute shortage, the pandemic would have to shift into some of the more grim forecasts.

Absences have risen at some plants run by the Mississippi-based chicken processor Sanderson Farms, though not at a level that would significantly disrupt production, said Mike Cockrell, the company’s chief financial officer. Sanderson Farms has explored alternatives in case large numbers of its workers become sick. Much of the labor at a processing plant involves deboning chicken and dividing it into cuts like breasts, thighs and wings. A reduced staff could continue packaging chicken but skip the labor-intensive process of dividing up the birds.   “You could change your mix and produce a less consumer-friendly product with fewer people,” Mr. Cockrell said. “That’s not a disaster.”

At the grocery store, he said, “you would see a whole chicken, and you could take that chicken home.”

In the grocery industry, many of the solutions to keeping the supply chain functioning are also simple, workers say. The U.F.C.W., for instance, is urging states to mandate that shoppers wear masks and appealing to customers to “shop smart” by refraining from touching products, using a shopping list and making fewer trips to the store.

Again the articles mention PORK~!!!!

U.S. pork output was already falling last week and so was beef production. In the case of pork, 8% of capacity may now be down because of the pandemic, according to Kerns

Bloomberg again--Some retailers relying on fresh pork that’s not frozen might have some shortages, he said. Closures would also force farmers, many of whom supply hogs on a contract basis, to scramble for another market.

I think this says it all----Reminds me of whats happening with the game countries are playing with OIL PRICES

China, the top global pork consumer, has been slowly emerging from coronavirus. Shipments of U.S. pork to China have picked up, and the slaughter halts could disrupt that even as importers in Asia could be taking advantage of low pork prices now. While operations in another meat-exporting heavyweight, Brazil, have so far been largely unaffected by the virus, its spread is some weeks behind the U.S. curve.

Abundant supplies of both hogs and pork should help buffer some of the disruptions. The U.S. hog herd is the largest ever for March, at 77 million, U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows. Pork supplies in U.S. cold storage in February of 662 million pounds were up 7.5%

[novamc1]

@Spurt 

The virus is affecting poultry processing workers in Georgia, beef processors in Pennsylvania, as well as the pork workers in South Dakota.  Illness is what closes up a processing plant.

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture data showed beef production of 444 million pounds slumped by nearly 15 percent in the week ended April 11.

The whole issue of a meat shortage is joining the toilet paper/sanitizer shortage as a nationwide issue. 

Really hope we can get through this virus "thing" and get on with normal business, and hope not too many businesses get left in the ditch while it all unfolds.

[novamc1]

Further meat news from  Bloomberg News, published in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper.........

The risk of further interruptions is particularly high for the U.S. pork indsutry, with farmers raising pigs in a relatively concentrated area in the western half of the Midwest.

"You have 20 plants that account for 70 percent of capacity", Altin Kalo, analyst at Steiner Consulting Group, said by telephone.

Some plants relying on fresh pork that's not  frozen might have some shortages, he said.  Closures would also force farmers, many of whom supply hogs on a contract basis, to scramble for another market.

"The ones you really feel sorry for are the producers," Kalo said.

[Spurt]

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@novamc1 wrote:

@Spurt 

The virus is affecting poultry processing workers in Georgia, beef processors in Pennsylvania, as well as the pork workers in South Dakota.  Illness is what closes up a processing plant.

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture data showed beef production slumped by nearly 15 percent in the week ended April 11.

Those facts and figures were published in this morning's metro Atlanta newspaper.  The whole issue of a meat shortage is joining the toilet paper/sanitizer shortage as a nationwide issue. 

Really hope we can get through this virus "thing" and get on with normal business, and hope not too many businesses get left in the ditch while it all unfolds.

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@novamc1 

Please read the articles regarding the beef industry...they said with the restaurant closures its impacting them since restaurants purchase the more expensive cuts of meat which normal grocery consumers dont purchase and thats why the beef production has decreased....

And did you read what Sanderson Farms (chicken) said....

Meanwhile didnt the health officials say we would be hitting our peak in virus cases and now some areas are starting to decline and they are starting to discuss slowly opening up portions of the country....

But it looks like journalists are now looking for something new to bring up and are hyping up and sensationalizing a topic without disclosing all the facts......which will just lead to more hoarding which should please the journalists immensly .....they have become the National Enquirer..... 

Just like the Instacart fiasco....the report was Instacart workers are striking, which resulted in instacart customers panicking....then the media corrected the story to SOME workers were going on strike (most opted to keep a job!)...a shopper complaining they only made $8.95 (tip) on an order but failed disclose she also made $15 an hour for shopping.....SMH!!!