Rotting food. Hungry masses. Chaotic supply chains. Coronavirus upends the U.S. food system [Los Angeles Times]
… In less time than it takes a farmer to plant and harvest a head of lettuce, the nation’s entire food industry has been flipped on its head by the COVID-19 pandemic. An intricate system for matching supply with demand, established over decades, has been thrown out of whack just as unemployment and food insecurity are skyrocketing among families. The fallout has been particularly severe in California … In response, a vast network of food producers, distributors, retailers and advocates have been scrambling to find a new equilibrium, to shore up the nation’s food supply and their own bottom lines while reducing waste and want.
Monterey County growers face ‘unprecedented losses’ amid pandemic [Salinas Californian]
Nearly 40% of Monterey County growers reported financial losses related to the coronavirus-prompted shutdown. Faced with a drop in demand, they plowed under lettuce, broccoli, artichokes, cauliflower, cilantro, wine grapes, spinach, arugula and more, according to the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s office. … “Changes to the marketplace since the COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders has jeopardized the ability of many farms to remain financially stable, and to date, federal relief programs have offered little in assistance,” Farm Bureau Executive Director Norm Groot said in a county press release.
Small farms in the Sacramento area can get part of $100,000 in ‘Fork 2 Farm’ grants [Sacramento Bee]
A new program will distribute $100,000 to Sacramento-area small farms, alleviating debt accrued by local restaurants unable to pay for their invoices amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Fork 2 Farm Relief Grants” are being organized by Visit Sacramento and the Downtown Sacramento Partnership with funding from Bank of America. … Each nominated farm is eligible for up to $2,500 per grant and $5,000 total. They must sell between $1,000 and $250,000 worth of agricultural products per year and be headquartered in Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article242499281.html
Tyson braces for months of coronavirus disruption [Wall Street Journal]
Tyson Foods Inc. warned that the coronavirus pandemic will disrupt business for months to come, reducing its meat production and threatening supplies to consumers.
The top U.S. meat supplier by sales has been struggling to fulfill certain orders after Covid-19 closed some plants, executives said. Meanwhile, it is rerouting millions of pounds of meat each week, as demand shifts abruptly toward grocery stores and away from restaurants. … Plant closures and slowdowns have cut into overall meat production, leading some supermarket operators to brace for shortages.
Opinion: A century later, meat packing plants still resemble Upton Sinclair’s depiction in ‘The Jungle’ [Los Angeles Times]
… There’s reason to doubt that Upton Sinclair would be surprised by conditions in 21st century meatpacking plants. … As it happens, meat and poultry factories are still heavily served by immigrant labor. … The evidence is strong that meat and poultry plants warrant more stringent oversight than other manufacturing facilities. … The Labor Department could signal that it would ride herd on employers who flout coronavirus safety standards. But it has done just the opposite. … We’ve asked before and ask again: Is the Department of Labor really just a Department of Employer Rights in disguise?
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-05-05/meat-packing-plants-the-jungle-coronavirus
Farmers hijack community water access despite groundwater act, activists say [KCET, Los Angeles]
… The upside is that SGMA would, in theory, make things right for many disadvantaged communities. … But that’s only if SGMA goes as planned, and it might not. According to watchdog activists overseeing the process, at least several of the groundwater sustainability plans now being reviewed by the California Department of Water Resources favor the interests of the farmers who rely on the region’s aquifers. These activists say that farmers unfairly dominated groundwater sustainability meetings and ultimately steered the planning process in their favor. If the plans are accepted and implemented, they warn, farmers will keep pumping water at unsustainable rates
Conservation groups sue Trump administration to protect Humboldt marten [Eureka Times-Standard]
Conservation groups are suing the Trump administration for failing to finalize a rule protecting the Humboldt marten. The Center for Biological Diversity and the Arcata-based Environmental Protection Information Center filed the complaint against the administration on Monday, a decade after initially petitioning to have the Humboldt marten listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. There are roughly 400 Humboldt martens currently occupying a fraction of their historical habitat, which remains at risk of logging and wildfire, the complaint states.
