On Plugged In…
From the farm …
to the table ….
Coronavirus threatens …
the global supply of food.
With customers ...
of restaurants and hotels …
slowing to a trickle …
farmers are now flooding fields …
with spoiled milk.
Livestock are slaughtered …
but not for dinner ...
as processing plants shutter …
with workers falling ill …
to COVID 19.
((Ann Veneman, former US Agriculture Secretary))
“It’s a realignment of the food system that’s happening right now.”
In East Africa …
the lurking virus and the pandemic …
but they’re also
doing battle …
Against a second invasion …
Of hungry locusts …
On Plugged In…
Coronavirus ...
The Global Food Crisis.
((Greta))
Hello and Welcome to Plugged In.
I’m Greta Van Susteren reporting from my home in Washington DC.
As some parts of the world start to ease the restrictions that have crippled the global economy the coronavirus pandemic itself shows no signs of letting go.
And the virus is now circulating in the White House.
President Donald Trump’s personal valet tested positive for COVID-19. As did the press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence.
To keep the president safe, testing protocols at the White House are being stepped up.
Some people in the President’s Coronavirus Task Force who may have come in contact with the infected staffers have chosen to self-isolate.
That includes Doctor Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert.
While in quarantine Fauci testified remotely in a U.S. Senate hearing about prospects of reopening the economy amid the pandemic.
Senator Lamar Alexander was leading the hearing remotely from his home in Tennessee while self-isolating because a staff member tested positive.
((Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director Nat’l Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases))
“There is no doubt even under the best of circumstances when you puill back on mitigation, you will see some cases appear. It’s the ability of the capability of responding to those cases with good identification, isolation and contact tracing will determine whether you can continue to go forward as you try to reopen America. So it’s not only doing it at the appropriate time with the appropriate constraints but having in place the capability of responding when the inevitable return of infections occur.”
((Greta))
Economic revival depends on going back to work earning money to pay rent, buy clothes and food.
Buying food is becoming more of a challenge because of the coronavirus.
At least 115 U.S. meat and poultry plants have reported COVID-19 cases.
About 5,000 workers, roughly two percent of the industry’s workforce have fallen ill. 20 have died.
The outbreaks were serious enough to shut down 18 meat plants across the country. Some economists say American consumers can expect to see 30 percent less meat on store shelves.
And that could lead to higher prices as much as 20 percent more than American consumers paid this time last year.
U.S. hog farmers in particular are struggling, prompting intervention by President Trump to keep the meat packing industry open.
VOA’s Midwest correspondent Kane Farabaugh has more.
((Pork Prices - by Kane Farabaugh))
((NARRATOR))
At a time when many Americans are growing concerned about the cost and availability of meat on grocery store shelves, Illinois pork producer Brian Duncan is worried about his farm surviving what he calls an “economic tsunami.”
((Brian Duncan, Vice President, Illinois Farm Bureau))
“The market has fallen off the cliff over the last two weeks. // 00:46 Hogs on our farm, the price has dropped fifty percent.”
((NARRATOR))
As Duncan explained to VOA via Skype, he’s hemorrhaging money on each hog he sends to market.
((Brian Duncan, Vice President, Illinois Farm Bureau))
“Every hog that goes to town right now is taking about sixty or seventy dollars of equity [[profit]] with it. It’s the worst I’ve ever seen.”
((NARRATOR))
Contributing to the steep price drop is changing demand, both domestically and internationally, as COVID 19 restrictions shuttered many restaurants, cafeterias, and public food venues. While consumer demand for pork is up, commercial demand has plunged.
Another major factor is the spread of coronavirus among workers at U.S. meat processing plants, forcing the suspension of some operations and reducing the country’s overall slaughterhouse capacity.
((Karl Setzer, Commodity Risk Analyst, Agrivisor))
“We’re not shutting down every packing plant in the United States. Its localized, so we’re diverting animals from one facility to another. It’s going to cause disruptions.”
((NARRATOR))
And the pain may not ease anytime soon. Commodity analyst Karl Setzer doesn’t foresee a dramatic rebound in hog prices even when processors that closed or suspended operations eventually ramp back up.
((Karl Setzer, Commodity Risk Analyst, Agrivisor))
“We’re going to see some weaker values as we move forward simply because packers aren’t going to be in a hurry to go out and get animals that they can’t process in a timely manner that they can’t get through their chutes.”
((NARRATOR))
The end result is a seeming paradox - supermarkets unable to meet demand for pork even as farmers feel economic pressure to reduce livestock. And hog farmers aren’t the only ones impacted.
((Ron Kindred, Atlanta, Illinois Farmer))
“It just depresses our prices.”
((NARRATOR))
Ron Kindred isn’t raising hogs on his Atlanta, Illinois farm, but he does plan to grow soybeans, which are made into food for livestock. Fewer hogs mean decreased demand for animal feed, which affects soybean and corn prices.
((Ron Kindred, Atlanta, Illinois Farmer))
“We’ve got to have the demand to have support or else the prices just keep dropping and that’s what we’ve seen to this point with this COVID going on in these processing plants cutting back or shutting down it has a huge impact on us here in the countryside.”
((NARRATOR))
President Donald Trump has ordered meat processing plants ravaged by COVID-19 to re-open, a move Kindred applauds.
((Ron Kindred, Atlanta, Illinois Farmer))
“It’s good for us out here on the farm that processing plants stay open. I think what they’re worried about is feeding the people here in the U.S. if we shut all of our meat processing plants down and aren’t sending that meat out, then what are people going to eat? We’re going to have a big uproar if people here in the U.S. don’t have cheap food to eat.”
((NARRATOR))
Americans are unaccustomed to food shortages. As the pandemic drags on, the supply chain from farm to dinner table is increasingly strained.
Kane Farabaugh, VOA News, Atlanta, Illinois.
((Greta))
With farmers and consumers feeling the strain of supply chain disruptions U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says the Agriculture Department will spend about three billion dollars to buy excess milk, meat and vegetables and send them to food banks and schools.
I spoke to Ann Veneman former US Secretary of Agriculture under President George W. Bush.
I asked her whether efforts by the federal government go far enough to help those in need.
((GVS interview Ann Veneman))
AV: Well I think in the, in the food distribution area it takes a while, again, I think he, it's good that he's using those authorities. Those authorities are there, they can be used they're used for a variety of purposes, for food banks, for school lunches and so forth. And now they need to use those authorities to address some of this excess produce that is, that is from the field, on the marketplace, but it has to be done quickly. These are perishable products. And so, you know, some of these adjustments take time but it's very important that he is using those authorities. I think the other thing that's happening, and there was a story just this morning about the impact on children, that there's 17% of children in this country right now, that aren't getting enough food, despite the fact that there's a lot of food being distributed through schools that would have been school lunch feeding and so forth but it's not reaching everyone. And we know, and I particularly know, both from working at USDA and at the UN, that, particularly when small children don't get adequate nutrition, it can affect them throughout their lives. Because if they don't get enough to eat when they're young, it can affect brain development, which then impacts their ability to learn in school and earn as an adult.
GVS: You talk about the meatpacking industry, horrible stories about what's going on there. Can the meat packing industry, can you do social distancing in a meatpacking factory?
AV: Well that's what they're trying to do now. As I said, several of them have closed down. They're now trying to reconfigure, put less people in the plants, social distance them, give them PPE- protective equipment, as well as they're, in some plants there, they're working with plexiglass shields to actually separate the workers who work, who have been working shoulder to shoulder. It's no surprise that these have been real hotbeds of infection. And so in order for these plants to open back up, there really needs to be adjustments in how workers work and how they take their breaks and how they go to work. And I think the meat plants are now trying to adapt to that, but whether or not they can actually process, at the rates they were doing with people more separated is a question that I think will be with us for a while.
GVS: So the supply will go down, presumably, and the cost would go up. Is the meat industry in this country does it export a lot of its meat overseas or is it all consumed domestically?
AV: No we do, we do export quite a lot of meat, particularly a lot of pork has traditionally gone to China and other countries. And so our export markets are being impacted, along with our domestic markets as this, this problem with the meat processing has continued. Again, hopefully it's a temporary problem, but these plants have to be adjusted so that people aren't in such proximity and so closely working together that they continue to get infected.
GVS: GVS: In light of all that what you're saying and in light of sort of the path that everyone's taking whether it's you know PPE- protection equipment inside, or some social distancing, what sort of a reasonable projection, like if you and I are having this conversation in August, what do you think is going to be going on in terms of the meat industry?
AV: Well, hopefully, most of these plants will be back up and running. I understand from projections I saw yesterday just for example, that currently pork plants are down about 45% from normal production processing. And so that's a significant gap. And I think that by August, hopefully, you'll have. I mean, I can't project on a percentage, but hopefully you'll have these plants up and operating, hopefully getting towards full capacity but again it will depend on the health of those workers and their ability to go to work and continue to work on these plants and not get sick.
GVS: People watch the show all around the world, and people in for instance on the African continent as they watch this. How do you think this will impact them? They have a very different, you know, a lot of them raise their own food. But how does this impact other parts of the world?
AV: Well I think this is a very important question. Of course, I was in the UN running UNICEF at the time of the 2008 crisis. And that was largely driven by increases in food prices that then caused unrest in many of the developing countries. And so food became a real hotspot, in terms of creating unrest in countries. And then, also, you've got the issues of malnutrition, the issues of children as I mentioned, if they don't get adequate nutrition from their early years, it has a long term effect on society. And I think that we have to really be aware that this health crisis does not become also a food crisis.
Do the Five – Help stop coronavirus:
Hands - wash them often.
Elbow – cough into it.
Face – don’t touch it.
Feet – Stay more than 3 feet (1 meter) apart.
Feel Sick? Stay at home.
Do the five – help stop coronavirus.
((Greta))
According to the head of the U.N.’s food agency the Coronavirus pandemic will push the world into a “food pandemic”
The World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley, warns of multiple famines, in his words of “biblical proportions.”
VOA Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has more.
((Global Famine Threat by Cindy Saine))
((NARRATOR))
Armed conflict and poverty are already forcing millions of people around the world to go to bed hungry every night.
((David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Program))
“The World Food Program analysis shows also due to the coronavirus, that an additional 130 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020. That's a total of 265 million people."
((NARRATOR))
Humanitarian organizations, such as the Christian group World Relief, are also sounding the alarm.
World Relief says the focus is likely to shift from coronavirus health related concerns to starvation.
((Myal Greene, World Relief))
“When we think just a few steps ahead, the potential impact on economics and food security could be devastating for much of the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, East Africa, southern Africa, particularly where the economic factors are going to be significant, contributing to food insecurity, especially in areas that we don't usually see it in, like urban areas.”
((NARRATOR))
World Relief is calling on the U.S. and other countries to take decisive action.
((Myal Greene, World Relief))
“So we along with other international development agencies are calling for the U.S. government to appropriate another twelve billion dollars towards international assistance for this crisis.”
((NARRATOR))
If the world fails to act, relief experts say more than 30 countries could face famine as remittances from overseas and tourism revenues dry up.
Cindy Saine, VOA News.
((Report by Steve Sanford))
((NARRATOR))
In Myanmar’s IDP camps, access to food, aid and information has become increasingly difficult as travel restrictions increase. Here in Kachin State, long-time camp residents who earn a living from casual labor, say they have a lot more to worry about than the virus itself.
((Naw Ja Pee, Kachin IDP)) ((Burmese))
”We aren’t afraid to get the virus Covid 19 because the most important and dangerous thing for us is having the money needed for our family’s food supply. If we are shut out of food we will all die.”
((NARRATOR))
Food is in short supply and so is information about the coronavirus. To help camp residents better understand the highly contagious virus, a media group has produced a video with a special message.
((Brang Mai, Myitkyina News Journal))
“The first benefit is we can check the IDP people. Do they have enough information on COVID-19 or not? And the second thing is people will be more aware. If even the IDP children can understand about the COVID-19, why don’t we?”
((NARRATOR))
The IDP camps were formed when civilians fled fighting between government forces and ethnic armed groups – a conflict that continues in Arakan and Karen states.
In the biggest IDP camp of Ei Tu Hta, vital rice supplies from Thailand have halted since the border closure in March, putting the camp in danger of running out of food.
((PHIL ROBERTSON, Deputy Director Asia Division, Human Rights Watch))
“The UN team in Myanmar must get really forceful with the government of Myanmar and say ‘look this is life and death it’s time to end these restrictions and let the people get the assistance in there that needs to be reaching these people.’”
((NARRATOR))
As Myanmar braces for a possible outbreak of the deadly virus, civil society groups are calling for more aid for those in the ethnic areas since they are among the most vulnerable to COVID – 19.
Steve Sandford, for VOA News, in Krabi, Thailand.
((Greta))
Scientists say failing to act on the potential economic and social consequences could lead to an explosion of new hotspots of severe hunger and malnutrition around the globe.
I spoke to Maximo Torero, the Assistant Director General for Economic and Social Development at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
I asked him about the possible long term and short-term impacts on food supply chains in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.
((GVS Interview Maximo Torero))
MT: What we are observing today, we can split into two types of commodities: what we call the staple commodities, which is maize, corn, wheat, soybeans or rice. And the high value commodities which is fruits, vegetables, meat, and other, like milk and fish. In the case of the staple commodities, what we know is that we have sufficient stock flow to double what we had in 2007 & 2008. We have very good harvest this year in all the commodities, and it's capital intensive, meaning, labor, lack of labor doesn't affect this sector. What this means is that the only problem was logistical and logistics were complex two to three weeks ago in some of the key exporting countries. But most of them has been resolved. But that period of uncertainty, of logistic creates some countries to overreact and create some export restrictions. In the case of the high value commodities, they story is a little bit more complex. Why? Because they are labor intensive, so they require labor and labor is being reduced because of the lockdown but also because of the health issues. And also, because people doesn't want to go to work because they're afraid. Second, they are more perishable, so any logistical delay will affect the commodities. And that's why we are observing producers of milk that they cannot move them in time and therefore they have to get rid of it. And also in the strawberries and many other commodities. Okay, so, and third, the processing part of the, of the high value commodities, is a little bit more complicated because the packaging for example, requires a lot of labor-intensive activities, people are very, a lot of people are very close together. And that's what we are observing the problems we are observing in meat in the US, where there is a lot of positive cases, and that make the biggest processing meat plant in the US to close four of the five plants, because of the number of positive cases.
GVS: What, what can be done? I mean, what, what would you like, would we like to see change now?
MT: We need to make the invisible visible. What this means is that there will be new hotspots of severe hunger and severe food insecurity. So we need to look at them, we need to identify and quickly develop indicators like our food insecurity experiences scale, which allow us with eight questions to identify if a household is food insecure or severely food insecure. Because all these urban areas that are being affected will be moving, and we need to define where they are so that the safety nets programs can can look at them. Let me give you an example: Bangladesh, Bangladesh depends a lot on clothing industry, the clothing industry has received a significant shock because they expect a very low demand, so you will have an enormous amount of workers that will lose their jobs. And they will be food insecure for a period of time. So, we need to first of all to find ways to expand the safety net mechanisms to help those. In terms of the productive side, what we need to do is a little bit more complicated because essentially we were expecting before a V-shaped recovery. Now what we are expecting is a U-shaped recovery, and we don't know how long the base of the U will be, it could be 12 months it could be 18 months. It will depend on many aspects but we don't know really.
GVS: Sometimes the governments aren't cooperative, you know the people need the food or need the help, but the governments aren't particularly cooperative. Are you finding that right now that the environment is such that governments are cooperative and you know and they want to join with with you and others to try to find solutions to these issues?
MT: I think, in that sense, more cooperation is happening. And countries are understanding that export restrictions is not the way to go. In terms of the continent of the most vulnerable countries, are they cooperating with each other? We had a very good meeting with all the ministers, organized by FAO and the African Union, and there seems to be a lot of cooperation of ideas on how to move forward. Let's hope that that will allow us to move into this inter regional trade option because the world is too interlinked. And this cannot be resolved by one country, they have to work together.
GVS: Are you seeing any spoilage issues or waste? I mean with spoilage meaning that things can't get moved to market fast enough because the world is potentially almost at a standstill?
MT: Yes, we are observing-- we have a very careful definition -one thing is losses, which goes from the, from the plot to the wholesale market, that's what we call losses. The post-harvest losses is from the post-harvest to the wholesale market. And then retail to consumer is called waste. On the losses side, in the high value commodities, we are seeing significant problems because food cannot be delivered. so it doesn't arrive at the wholesale market. And that's increasing the losses significantly.
And also on the waste side, what we are observing in certain parts of the world, is that there is over consumption, over purchasing, panic buying which is unnecessary today because food is available. And that will end in waste. And also, of course, food that is getting close to the retail or, or in the retail but it cannot be selled because of mobility issues. We hope that that this will improve and we hope, especially the waste because the behavioral issue can be improved because doesn't make any sense to waste food today. And also, in the case of the losses, the idea is that for food banks, for example, to start playing a bigger role. And they need to collect this food, and they need to distribute to the most needed. That's where I think the change could be.
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VOA – A free press matters.
((Greta))
For the tens of millions of Americans who found themselves suddenly unemployed buying food is now a challenge.
Many of them never thought they would need to turn to charity.
In Oakland, California a local food bank is trying to keep up with increased demand.
Here’s Plugged In’s Mil Arcega:
((Banking on Food - by Mil Arcega))
((NARRATOR))
Cars snake through a parking lot in Northern California…
But they’re not here to shop, or go to work…
They’re lining up for food at the Alameda County Food Bank.
((Michael Altfest, Director, Alameda County Food Bank))
“Usually by the time we open, there's, you know, between 40 and 50 cars already waiting for us to open the gates.
((NARRATOR))
With nearly one in five Americans out of work… demand for food staples is surging.
((Zoe Rountree, Emergency Site Distribution Supervisor))
“Staple items like potatoes, onions, apples and pears. Stuff that they can eat that’s not just in a can.
((NARRATOR))
It can be a humbling experience for some.
Many of the people who find themselves here - have never been to a food bank before.
((Jesse Vasquez, Arsola’s Distribution and Community Services))
“Usually we would just serve low income families in East Oakland. Now it's just about every demographic, you know, every class of individuals coming through here.”
((Michael Altfest, Director, Alameda County Food Bank))
“It’s been humbling. We are talking to a lot of people who are coming to us for the first time.”
((NARRATOR))
The food bank which opened in 1977 - has seen a tenfold increase increase in calls to its emergency food hotline.
For voluntreers, the challenge is keeping the lines moving... and making sure the people who come here are safe.
((Zoe Rountree, Emergency Site Distribution Supervisor))
“It is a no-contact facility. Clients are able to stay inside their car. Minimal talking. Minimal information is taken. We do all the hard work. We literally put the food inside their cars for them, and it’s fast. So, they are able to come get food--they’ve got to wait in a little bit of a line, but they get really good food, and it’s safe.”
((NARRATOR))
At least for now.
The food bank has partnered with local restaurants and farms to keep up – buying up surplus food and supplies that might otherwise go to waste.
((Michael Altfest, Director, Alameda County Food Bank))
“We're able to buy a lot of food for pennies on the dollar we buy in bulk. So even a small donation becomes a lot of food.”
((NARRATOR))
Just how long this local food bank can keep up with the unprecedented demand - will depend - as always - on continued private and public donations.
For Deanna Mitchell, MA – VOA News, Oakland California.
((Greta))
A change to weather conditions in East Africa has provided ideal breeding grounds for a second invasion of locusts
You may recall earlier this year, Plugged In highlighted the threat from the first wave of locust infestations.
Well, the offspring of those voracious insects are back in even bigger numbers than before.
((Africa Locust Plague - by Greta Van Susteren))
Locusts by the trillions are swarming through East Africa in a second wave of the plant-eating insects to hit the region this year.
In Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya, the locusts pose an unprecedented threat to food security according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.
Containing the swarms are complicated by recent deadly floods and mudslides in Kenya and coronavirus restrictions on movement of personnel and equipment, especially pesticides.
((Ambrose Ngetich, UN FAO))
“We find that every time you are trying to control in one region, there’s another swarm that is happening in a different region and it is not possible to control them.”
((NARRATOR))
Unusual weather patterns in 2019 provided fertile ground for an explosion in the locust population. This wave of insects comes as a new season of crops are being planted.
((George Dodds, Farmer))
“These small scale bombers, it’s a very big problem and for the future security of Kenya, especially after a problem like the coronavirus, how are we going to feed Kenya? All of our produce is for local consumption.”
((NARRATOR))
A single swarm of desert locusts covering one square kilometer contains
up to 80 million of the pests. They can move about 160 kilometers a day,
depending on the wind.
Weather conditions are ripe for a third generation over the next few months. The U.N. says locust swarms grow by a factor of 20 from one generation to another.
((Greta))
With the new locust threat and the impact this pandemic is having on already strained, some might say – dysfunctional, global food systems - not to mention what it is doing to our daily lives, it might be helpful for all of us to pause for a minute and take the good along with the bad.
That’s what VOA reporter Julie Taboh found out…
((Reporter’s Notebook - by Julie Taboh))
“Hi! My name is Julie Taboh. I work in the newsroom at Voice of America and like many of my colleagues I work from home nowadays -- my schedule is 9 to 5, so I do a lot of work from home, including interviews, research and writing, and work together with a team of wonderful people.
I live with my husband in Washington DC, and we have a son who also lives in the city, not too far away from us. My mother lives in an assisted living facility about 10 minutes from our house. I can't see her right now because of the lockdown over there, but I do speak with her on the phone every day and that gives me some comfort.
I read something on Facebook recently that really resonated with me, and that is that rather than count the days, make the days count. And I'm really trying to do that and achieve that work life-balance, so after work I do a number of things that are simple pleasures that give me a lot of comfort both psychologically, physically and spiritually.
This is one of my favorite trails near my house. I come here every day after work. As you can see it’s beautiful, lots of trees, very quiet, sounds of nature. And it’s a great way to relax after a long day of teleworking”
((NATS – Flowing creek))
“Some of my favorite things? Of course spending time with my family and friends whenever possible…
((“Mmmmm, smells good”))
…cooking,
((Birds chirping))
…enjoying wildlife in my own backyard, but also going on my favorite trail.”
So until we go back to our normal lives, I just leave you with that thought again: don’t so much count the days, as make the days count.”
((Greta))
Thank you for watching another episode of Plugged In.
We will continue to follow this crisis.
And for the latest updates, please visit our website: at VOANews.com.
And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @Greta.
Thanks for being Plugged In. We hope to see you again next week!
From the farm …
to the table ….
Coronavirus threatens …
the global supply of food.
With customers ...
of restaurants and hotels …
slowing to a trickle …
farmers are now flooding fields …
with spoiled milk.
Livestock are slaughtered …
but not for dinner ...
as processing plants shutter …
with workers falling ill …
to COVID 19.
((Ann Veneman, former US Agriculture Secretary))
“It’s a realignment of the food system that’s happening right now.”
In East Africa …
the lurking virus and the pandemic …
but they’re also
doing battle …
Against a second invasion …
Of hungry locusts …
On Plugged In…
Coronavirus ...
The Global Food Crisis.
((Greta))
Hello and Welcome to Plugged In.
I’m Greta Van Susteren reporting from my home in Washington DC.
As some parts of the world start to ease the restrictions that have crippled the global economy the coronavirus pandemic itself shows no signs of letting go.
And the virus is now circulating in the White House.
President Donald Trump’s personal valet tested positive for COVID-19. As did the press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence.
To keep the president safe, testing protocols at the White House are being stepped up.
Some people in the President’s Coronavirus Task Force who may have come in contact with the infected staffers have chosen to self-isolate.
That includes Doctor Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert.
While in quarantine Fauci testified remotely in a U.S. Senate hearing about prospects of reopening the economy amid the pandemic.
Senator Lamar Alexander was leading the hearing remotely from his home in Tennessee while self-isolating because a staff member tested positive.
((Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director Nat’l Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases))
“There is no doubt even under the best of circumstances when you puill back on mitigation, you will see some cases appear. It’s the ability of the capability of responding to those cases with good identification, isolation and contact tracing will determine whether you can continue to go forward as you try to reopen America. So it’s not only doing it at the appropriate time with the appropriate constraints but having in place the capability of responding when the inevitable return of infections occur.”
((Greta))
Economic revival depends on going back to work earning money to pay rent, buy clothes and food.
Buying food is becoming more of a challenge because of the coronavirus.
At least 115 U.S. meat and poultry plants have reported COVID-19 cases.
About 5,000 workers, roughly two percent of the industry’s workforce have fallen ill. 20 have died.
The outbreaks were serious enough to shut down 18 meat plants across the country. Some economists say American consumers can expect to see 30 percent less meat on store shelves.
And that could lead to higher prices as much as 20 percent more than American consumers paid this time last year.
U.S. hog farmers in particular are struggling, prompting intervention by President Trump to keep the meat packing industry open.
VOA’s Midwest correspondent Kane Farabaugh has more.
((Pork Prices - by Kane Farabaugh))
((NARRATOR))
At a time when many Americans are growing concerned about the cost and availability of meat on grocery store shelves, Illinois pork producer Brian Duncan is worried about his farm surviving what he calls an “economic tsunami.”
((Brian Duncan, Vice President, Illinois Farm Bureau))
“The market has fallen off the cliff over the last two weeks. // 00:46 Hogs on our farm, the price has dropped fifty percent.”
((NARRATOR))
As Duncan explained to VOA via Skype, he’s hemorrhaging money on each hog he sends to market.
((Brian Duncan, Vice President, Illinois Farm Bureau))
“Every hog that goes to town right now is taking about sixty or seventy dollars of equity [[profit]] with it. It’s the worst I’ve ever seen.”
((NARRATOR))
Contributing to the steep price drop is changing demand, both domestically and internationally, as COVID 19 restrictions shuttered many restaurants, cafeterias, and public food venues. While consumer demand for pork is up, commercial demand has plunged.
Another major factor is the spread of coronavirus among workers at U.S. meat processing plants, forcing the suspension of some operations and reducing the country’s overall slaughterhouse capacity.
((Karl Setzer, Commodity Risk Analyst, Agrivisor))
“We’re not shutting down every packing plant in the United States. Its localized, so we’re diverting animals from one facility to another. It’s going to cause disruptions.”
((NARRATOR))
And the pain may not ease anytime soon. Commodity analyst Karl Setzer doesn’t foresee a dramatic rebound in hog prices even when processors that closed or suspended operations eventually ramp back up.
((Karl Setzer, Commodity Risk Analyst, Agrivisor))
“We’re going to see some weaker values as we move forward simply because packers aren’t going to be in a hurry to go out and get animals that they can’t process in a timely manner that they can’t get through their chutes.”
((NARRATOR))
The end result is a seeming paradox - supermarkets unable to meet demand for pork even as farmers feel economic pressure to reduce livestock. And hog farmers aren’t the only ones impacted.
((Ron Kindred, Atlanta, Illinois Farmer))
“It just depresses our prices.”
((NARRATOR))
Ron Kindred isn’t raising hogs on his Atlanta, Illinois farm, but he does plan to grow soybeans, which are made into food for livestock. Fewer hogs mean decreased demand for animal feed, which affects soybean and corn prices.
((Ron Kindred, Atlanta, Illinois Farmer))
“We’ve got to have the demand to have support or else the prices just keep dropping and that’s what we’ve seen to this point with this COVID going on in these processing plants cutting back or shutting down it has a huge impact on us here in the countryside.”
((NARRATOR))
President Donald Trump has ordered meat processing plants ravaged by COVID-19 to re-open, a move Kindred applauds.
((Ron Kindred, Atlanta, Illinois Farmer))
“It’s good for us out here on the farm that processing plants stay open. I think what they’re worried about is feeding the people here in the U.S. if we shut all of our meat processing plants down and aren’t sending that meat out, then what are people going to eat? We’re going to have a big uproar if people here in the U.S. don’t have cheap food to eat.”
((NARRATOR))
Americans are unaccustomed to food shortages. As the pandemic drags on, the supply chain from farm to dinner table is increasingly strained.
Kane Farabaugh, VOA News, Atlanta, Illinois.
((Greta))
With farmers and consumers feeling the strain of supply chain disruptions U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says the Agriculture Department will spend about three billion dollars to buy excess milk, meat and vegetables and send them to food banks and schools.
I spoke to Ann Veneman former US Secretary of Agriculture under President George W. Bush.
I asked her whether efforts by the federal government go far enough to help those in need.
((GVS interview Ann Veneman))
AV: Well I think in the, in the food distribution area it takes a while, again, I think he, it's good that he's using those authorities. Those authorities are there, they can be used they're used for a variety of purposes, for food banks, for school lunches and so forth. And now they need to use those authorities to address some of this excess produce that is, that is from the field, on the marketplace, but it has to be done quickly. These are perishable products. And so, you know, some of these adjustments take time but it's very important that he is using those authorities. I think the other thing that's happening, and there was a story just this morning about the impact on children, that there's 17% of children in this country right now, that aren't getting enough food, despite the fact that there's a lot of food being distributed through schools that would have been school lunch feeding and so forth but it's not reaching everyone. And we know, and I particularly know, both from working at USDA and at the UN, that, particularly when small children don't get adequate nutrition, it can affect them throughout their lives. Because if they don't get enough to eat when they're young, it can affect brain development, which then impacts their ability to learn in school and earn as an adult.
GVS: You talk about the meatpacking industry, horrible stories about what's going on there. Can the meat packing industry, can you do social distancing in a meatpacking factory?
AV: Well that's what they're trying to do now. As I said, several of them have closed down. They're now trying to reconfigure, put less people in the plants, social distance them, give them PPE- protective equipment, as well as they're, in some plants there, they're working with plexiglass shields to actually separate the workers who work, who have been working shoulder to shoulder. It's no surprise that these have been real hotbeds of infection. And so in order for these plants to open back up, there really needs to be adjustments in how workers work and how they take their breaks and how they go to work. And I think the meat plants are now trying to adapt to that, but whether or not they can actually process, at the rates they were doing with people more separated is a question that I think will be with us for a while.
GVS: So the supply will go down, presumably, and the cost would go up. Is the meat industry in this country does it export a lot of its meat overseas or is it all consumed domestically?
AV: No we do, we do export quite a lot of meat, particularly a lot of pork has traditionally gone to China and other countries. And so our export markets are being impacted, along with our domestic markets as this, this problem with the meat processing has continued. Again, hopefully it's a temporary problem, but these plants have to be adjusted so that people aren't in such proximity and so closely working together that they continue to get infected.
GVS: GVS: In light of all that what you're saying and in light of sort of the path that everyone's taking whether it's you know PPE- protection equipment inside, or some social distancing, what sort of a reasonable projection, like if you and I are having this conversation in August, what do you think is going to be going on in terms of the meat industry?
AV: Well, hopefully, most of these plants will be back up and running. I understand from projections I saw yesterday just for example, that currently pork plants are down about 45% from normal production processing. And so that's a significant gap. And I think that by August, hopefully, you'll have. I mean, I can't project on a percentage, but hopefully you'll have these plants up and operating, hopefully getting towards full capacity but again it will depend on the health of those workers and their ability to go to work and continue to work on these plants and not get sick.
GVS: People watch the show all around the world, and people in for instance on the African continent as they watch this. How do you think this will impact them? They have a very different, you know, a lot of them raise their own food. But how does this impact other parts of the world?
AV: Well I think this is a very important question. Of course, I was in the UN running UNICEF at the time of the 2008 crisis. And that was largely driven by increases in food prices that then caused unrest in many of the developing countries. And so food became a real hotspot, in terms of creating unrest in countries. And then, also, you've got the issues of malnutrition, the issues of children as I mentioned, if they don't get adequate nutrition from their early years, it has a long term effect on society. And I think that we have to really be aware that this health crisis does not become also a food crisis.
Do the Five – Help stop coronavirus:
Hands - wash them often.
Elbow – cough into it.
Face – don’t touch it.
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Feel Sick? Stay at home.
Do the five – help stop coronavirus.
((Greta))
According to the head of the U.N.’s food agency the Coronavirus pandemic will push the world into a “food pandemic”
The World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley, warns of multiple famines, in his words of “biblical proportions.”
VOA Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has more.
((Global Famine Threat by Cindy Saine))
((NARRATOR))
Armed conflict and poverty are already forcing millions of people around the world to go to bed hungry every night.
((David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Program))
“The World Food Program analysis shows also due to the coronavirus, that an additional 130 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020. That's a total of 265 million people."
((NARRATOR))
Humanitarian organizations, such as the Christian group World Relief, are also sounding the alarm.
World Relief says the focus is likely to shift from coronavirus health related concerns to starvation.
((Myal Greene, World Relief))
“When we think just a few steps ahead, the potential impact on economics and food security could be devastating for much of the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, East Africa, southern Africa, particularly where the economic factors are going to be significant, contributing to food insecurity, especially in areas that we don't usually see it in, like urban areas.”
((NARRATOR))
World Relief is calling on the U.S. and other countries to take decisive action.
((Myal Greene, World Relief))
“So we along with other international development agencies are calling for the U.S. government to appropriate another twelve billion dollars towards international assistance for this crisis.”
((NARRATOR))
If the world fails to act, relief experts say more than 30 countries could face famine as remittances from overseas and tourism revenues dry up.
Cindy Saine, VOA News.
((Report by Steve Sanford))
((NARRATOR))
In Myanmar’s IDP camps, access to food, aid and information has become increasingly difficult as travel restrictions increase. Here in Kachin State, long-time camp residents who earn a living from casual labor, say they have a lot more to worry about than the virus itself.
((Naw Ja Pee, Kachin IDP)) ((Burmese))
”We aren’t afraid to get the virus Covid 19 because the most important and dangerous thing for us is having the money needed for our family’s food supply. If we are shut out of food we will all die.”
((NARRATOR))
Food is in short supply and so is information about the coronavirus. To help camp residents better understand the highly contagious virus, a media group has produced a video with a special message.
((Brang Mai, Myitkyina News Journal))
“The first benefit is we can check the IDP people. Do they have enough information on COVID-19 or not? And the second thing is people will be more aware. If even the IDP children can understand about the COVID-19, why don’t we?”
((NARRATOR))
The IDP camps were formed when civilians fled fighting between government forces and ethnic armed groups – a conflict that continues in Arakan and Karen states.
In the biggest IDP camp of Ei Tu Hta, vital rice supplies from Thailand have halted since the border closure in March, putting the camp in danger of running out of food.
((PHIL ROBERTSON, Deputy Director Asia Division, Human Rights Watch))
“The UN team in Myanmar must get really forceful with the government of Myanmar and say ‘look this is life and death it’s time to end these restrictions and let the people get the assistance in there that needs to be reaching these people.’”
((NARRATOR))
As Myanmar braces for a possible outbreak of the deadly virus, civil society groups are calling for more aid for those in the ethnic areas since they are among the most vulnerable to COVID – 19.
Steve Sandford, for VOA News, in Krabi, Thailand.
((Greta))
Scientists say failing to act on the potential economic and social consequences could lead to an explosion of new hotspots of severe hunger and malnutrition around the globe.
I spoke to Maximo Torero, the Assistant Director General for Economic and Social Development at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
I asked him about the possible long term and short-term impacts on food supply chains in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.
((GVS Interview Maximo Torero))
MT: What we are observing today, we can split into two types of commodities: what we call the staple commodities, which is maize, corn, wheat, soybeans or rice. And the high value commodities which is fruits, vegetables, meat, and other, like milk and fish. In the case of the staple commodities, what we know is that we have sufficient stock flow to double what we had in 2007 & 2008. We have very good harvest this year in all the commodities, and it's capital intensive, meaning, labor, lack of labor doesn't affect this sector. What this means is that the only problem was logistical and logistics were complex two to three weeks ago in some of the key exporting countries. But most of them has been resolved. But that period of uncertainty, of logistic creates some countries to overreact and create some export restrictions. In the case of the high value commodities, they story is a little bit more complex. Why? Because they are labor intensive, so they require labor and labor is being reduced because of the lockdown but also because of the health issues. And also, because people doesn't want to go to work because they're afraid. Second, they are more perishable, so any logistical delay will affect the commodities. And that's why we are observing producers of milk that they cannot move them in time and therefore they have to get rid of it. And also in the strawberries and many other commodities. Okay, so, and third, the processing part of the, of the high value commodities, is a little bit more complicated because the packaging for example, requires a lot of labor-intensive activities, people are very, a lot of people are very close together. And that's what we are observing the problems we are observing in meat in the US, where there is a lot of positive cases, and that make the biggest processing meat plant in the US to close four of the five plants, because of the number of positive cases.
GVS: What, what can be done? I mean, what, what would you like, would we like to see change now?
MT: We need to make the invisible visible. What this means is that there will be new hotspots of severe hunger and severe food insecurity. So we need to look at them, we need to identify and quickly develop indicators like our food insecurity experiences scale, which allow us with eight questions to identify if a household is food insecure or severely food insecure. Because all these urban areas that are being affected will be moving, and we need to define where they are so that the safety nets programs can can look at them. Let me give you an example: Bangladesh, Bangladesh depends a lot on clothing industry, the clothing industry has received a significant shock because they expect a very low demand, so you will have an enormous amount of workers that will lose their jobs. And they will be food insecure for a period of time. So, we need to first of all to find ways to expand the safety net mechanisms to help those. In terms of the productive side, what we need to do is a little bit more complicated because essentially we were expecting before a V-shaped recovery. Now what we are expecting is a U-shaped recovery, and we don't know how long the base of the U will be, it could be 12 months it could be 18 months. It will depend on many aspects but we don't know really.
GVS: Sometimes the governments aren't cooperative, you know the people need the food or need the help, but the governments aren't particularly cooperative. Are you finding that right now that the environment is such that governments are cooperative and you know and they want to join with with you and others to try to find solutions to these issues?
MT: I think, in that sense, more cooperation is happening. And countries are understanding that export restrictions is not the way to go. In terms of the continent of the most vulnerable countries, are they cooperating with each other? We had a very good meeting with all the ministers, organized by FAO and the African Union, and there seems to be a lot of cooperation of ideas on how to move forward. Let's hope that that will allow us to move into this inter regional trade option because the world is too interlinked. And this cannot be resolved by one country, they have to work together.
GVS: Are you seeing any spoilage issues or waste? I mean with spoilage meaning that things can't get moved to market fast enough because the world is potentially almost at a standstill?
MT: Yes, we are observing-- we have a very careful definition -one thing is losses, which goes from the, from the plot to the wholesale market, that's what we call losses. The post-harvest losses is from the post-harvest to the wholesale market. And then retail to consumer is called waste. On the losses side, in the high value commodities, we are seeing significant problems because food cannot be delivered. so it doesn't arrive at the wholesale market. And that's increasing the losses significantly.
And also on the waste side, what we are observing in certain parts of the world, is that there is over consumption, over purchasing, panic buying which is unnecessary today because food is available. And that will end in waste. And also, of course, food that is getting close to the retail or, or in the retail but it cannot be selled because of mobility issues. We hope that that this will improve and we hope, especially the waste because the behavioral issue can be improved because doesn't make any sense to waste food today. And also, in the case of the losses, the idea is that for food banks, for example, to start playing a bigger role. And they need to collect this food, and they need to distribute to the most needed. That's where I think the change could be.
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VOA – A free press matters.
((Greta))
For the tens of millions of Americans who found themselves suddenly unemployed buying food is now a challenge.
Many of them never thought they would need to turn to charity.
In Oakland, California a local food bank is trying to keep up with increased demand.
Here’s Plugged In’s Mil Arcega:
((Banking on Food - by Mil Arcega))
((NARRATOR))
Cars snake through a parking lot in Northern California…
But they’re not here to shop, or go to work…
They’re lining up for food at the Alameda County Food Bank.
((Michael Altfest, Director, Alameda County Food Bank))
“Usually by the time we open, there's, you know, between 40 and 50 cars already waiting for us to open the gates.
((NARRATOR))
With nearly one in five Americans out of work… demand for food staples is surging.
((Zoe Rountree, Emergency Site Distribution Supervisor))
“Staple items like potatoes, onions, apples and pears. Stuff that they can eat that’s not just in a can.
((NARRATOR))
It can be a humbling experience for some.
Many of the people who find themselves here - have never been to a food bank before.
((Jesse Vasquez, Arsola’s Distribution and Community Services))
“Usually we would just serve low income families in East Oakland. Now it's just about every demographic, you know, every class of individuals coming through here.”
((Michael Altfest, Director, Alameda County Food Bank))
“It’s been humbling. We are talking to a lot of people who are coming to us for the first time.”
((NARRATOR))
The food bank which opened in 1977 - has seen a tenfold increase increase in calls to its emergency food hotline.
For voluntreers, the challenge is keeping the lines moving... and making sure the people who come here are safe.
((Zoe Rountree, Emergency Site Distribution Supervisor))
“It is a no-contact facility. Clients are able to stay inside their car. Minimal talking. Minimal information is taken. We do all the hard work. We literally put the food inside their cars for them, and it’s fast. So, they are able to come get food--they’ve got to wait in a little bit of a line, but they get really good food, and it’s safe.”
((NARRATOR))
At least for now.
The food bank has partnered with local restaurants and farms to keep up – buying up surplus food and supplies that might otherwise go to waste.
((Michael Altfest, Director, Alameda County Food Bank))
“We're able to buy a lot of food for pennies on the dollar we buy in bulk. So even a small donation becomes a lot of food.”
((NARRATOR))
Just how long this local food bank can keep up with the unprecedented demand - will depend - as always - on continued private and public donations.
For Deanna Mitchell, MA – VOA News, Oakland California.
((Greta))
A change to weather conditions in East Africa has provided ideal breeding grounds for a second invasion of locusts
You may recall earlier this year, Plugged In highlighted the threat from the first wave of locust infestations.
Well, the offspring of those voracious insects are back in even bigger numbers than before.
((Africa Locust Plague - by Greta Van Susteren))
Locusts by the trillions are swarming through East Africa in a second wave of the plant-eating insects to hit the region this year.
In Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya, the locusts pose an unprecedented threat to food security according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.
Containing the swarms are complicated by recent deadly floods and mudslides in Kenya and coronavirus restrictions on movement of personnel and equipment, especially pesticides.
((Ambrose Ngetich, UN FAO))
“We find that every time you are trying to control in one region, there’s another swarm that is happening in a different region and it is not possible to control them.”
((NARRATOR))
Unusual weather patterns in 2019 provided fertile ground for an explosion in the locust population. This wave of insects comes as a new season of crops are being planted.
((George Dodds, Farmer))
“These small scale bombers, it’s a very big problem and for the future security of Kenya, especially after a problem like the coronavirus, how are we going to feed Kenya? All of our produce is for local consumption.”
((NARRATOR))
A single swarm of desert locusts covering one square kilometer contains
up to 80 million of the pests. They can move about 160 kilometers a day,
depending on the wind.
Weather conditions are ripe for a third generation over the next few months. The U.N. says locust swarms grow by a factor of 20 from one generation to another.
((Greta))
With the new locust threat and the impact this pandemic is having on already strained, some might say – dysfunctional, global food systems - not to mention what it is doing to our daily lives, it might be helpful for all of us to pause for a minute and take the good along with the bad.
That’s what VOA reporter Julie Taboh found out…
((Reporter’s Notebook - by Julie Taboh))
“Hi! My name is Julie Taboh. I work in the newsroom at Voice of America and like many of my colleagues I work from home nowadays -- my schedule is 9 to 5, so I do a lot of work from home, including interviews, research and writing, and work together with a team of wonderful people.
I live with my husband in Washington DC, and we have a son who also lives in the city, not too far away from us. My mother lives in an assisted living facility about 10 minutes from our house. I can't see her right now because of the lockdown over there, but I do speak with her on the phone every day and that gives me some comfort.
I read something on Facebook recently that really resonated with me, and that is that rather than count the days, make the days count. And I'm really trying to do that and achieve that work life-balance, so after work I do a number of things that are simple pleasures that give me a lot of comfort both psychologically, physically and spiritually.
This is one of my favorite trails near my house. I come here every day after work. As you can see it’s beautiful, lots of trees, very quiet, sounds of nature. And it’s a great way to relax after a long day of teleworking”
((NATS – Flowing creek))
“Some of my favorite things? Of course spending time with my family and friends whenever possible…
((“Mmmmm, smells good”))
…cooking,
((Birds chirping))
…enjoying wildlife in my own backyard, but also going on my favorite trail.”
So until we go back to our normal lives, I just leave you with that thought again: don’t so much count the days, as make the days count.”
((Greta))
Thank you for watching another episode of Plugged In.
We will continue to follow this crisis.
And for the latest updates, please visit our website: at VOANews.com.
And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @Greta.
Thanks for being Plugged In. We hope to see you again next week!
