Crazy thought

[Mischief]

It’s really just the opposite. If the livestock industry comes to a halt, it will free up millions of tons of soybeans and grain that are being inefficiently used to raise livestock.

There is absolutely no shortage of soybeans, corn or other grains. The problem is in the other direction - with trump's trade wars, grain prices were already so low that farmers are having a hard time surviving, and now they're really falling.

Agriculture is being significantly impacted. As producers go out of business there will indeed be shortages, and then prices will rise, but a lot of people will suffer in the meantime. Agriculture production doesn't turn on a dime; it just can't.

 

[Mischief]

Most of the corn produced in America is not the corn we buy in the grocery store. Oh, i imagine it wouldn't be hard to convert, but even better is for the farmers who grow corn for livestock or ehanol convert to crops that people do want.

and most of the soybeans that is used to feed livestock is GMO and not organic. Plus a lot of it does not come from American farms but Brazillian. But it might be good for what is left of the rainforest.

Anyway, its a more complicated than it looks.

Farmers can't just "convert" to different crops like a shop deciding to sell different merchandise.

1. Soil and climate conditions (including water availability) make only certain crops feasible for certain areas.

2. The machinery used to plant and harvest are very different for each crop, and are expensive. A farmer who is already struggling to make current payments won't have the money, nor will she be able to get a loan for well into the six figures (for a small operation) to convert to a different crop.

3. Adequate seed stocks won't be available for newly popular crops for a number of years.

4. Trahpnsportation, storage and processing systems are all geared to specific crops. It takes time, and major capital expenditures, to change all of those.

We're talking decades, not years, for major shifts in agricultural production to take place.

 

[Mischief]

Yes, the corn you buy in the grocery stores is completely different than the corn grown as grain. The machines used to harvest it are completely different too, as are a lot of other factors.

There are currently 91.7 million acres of grain corn in the U.S. alone. People don't even eat all of the sweet corn produced every year. Where is the demand for another 91.7 million acres worth of sweet corn going to come from? How will all that sweet corn, which is perishable (unlike grain corn, which is harvested when dry) going to be processed and stored?

 

[Mischief]

My guess is that while the news might indicate an imminent, compulsory decline in meat consumption, it will not become a lasting change unless the plant based companies ramp up production to fill the void that is coming. It could be a once in a lifetime opportunity for them to introduce hardcore meat and dairy consumers to their products. However, I would strongly urge those of use who already know and love animal product substitutes to buy some for the freezer and stock up on vital wheat gluten, chick pea flour and raw cashews now while you can!

too late for the vital wheat gluten. It's out of stock everywhere.

 

[Emma JC]

and here in Canada we still have lots of flour... but they are running out of bags....

Emma JC

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/robin-hood-flour-baking-yellow-bags-1.5541483

 

[Mischief]

I've mentioned this before: The fact that slaughterhouses and meat processing plants are being closed down isn't saving any animals. They are being killed and disposed of. There's a small window of time in which these animals have to be sold before it becomes too expensive to feed them and their flesh isn't considered "prime" enough.

 

[KLS52]

Some of us are really, really bad at growing things. Even beans.

 

[Mischief]

There are currently over 400,000 pigs "backed up" at slaughterhouses in the U.S. because so many workers are out sick.

This is the highest stress, terror-inducing, inhumane environment any animal could be in, where there's not even a possibility for them to get a drink of water.

 

[Mischief]

Some of us are really, really bad at growing thing. Even beans.

Growing beans for dry beans is not the easiest thing. My mother, who was a terrific gardner, did it when I was young. The weather has to cooperate and be dry when it comes time to harvest, and then you still need to dry them properly or you can get very, very sick.

 

[David3]

Yes, the corn you buy in the grocery stores is completely different than the corn grown as grain. The machines used to harvest it are completely different too, as are a lot of other factors.

There are currently 91.7 million acres of grain corn in the U.S. alone. People don't even eat all of the sweet corn produced every year. Where is the demand for another 91.7 million acres worth of sweet corn going to come from? How will all that sweet corn, which is perishable (unlike grain corn, which is harvested when dry) going to be processed and stored?

Good points.

How about food products made from starchy corn, like tortillas?

 

[David3]

I've mentioned this before: The fact that slaughterhouses and meat processing plants are being closed down isn't saving any animals. They are being killed and disposed of. There's a small window of time in which these animals have to be sold before it becomes too expensive to feed them and their flesh isn't considered "prime" enough.

Yes, but it will discourage the breeding of more livestock animals.

 

[Mischief]

I know this is going to sound crazy. Maybe even a little callous.

This morning as I was perusing the news I saw another story on another pork plant shutting down. After closer inspection, it was three. It seems like a day doesn't go by without a meat plant shutting down or a dairy farm going bankrupt.

Meanwhile, it seems like every day a plant meat startup is born. Or a nondairy product hits the market.

Between the Coronavirus, global warming consciousness, and the alternative plant food industry - is this the beginning of the end of the meat and dairy industries?

Coronavirus forces Tyson Foods to shutter two major US pork plants, further tightening meat supplies

Tyson Foods is shuttering two pork processing plants, including its largest in the United States, to contain the spread of the coronavirus, further tightening meat supplies after other major slaughterhouse shutdowns.

www.cnbc.com

Windom pork plant to close temporarily

The company in southwestern Minnesota employs 650 people.

kttc.com

Plant-based pig out: This startup's making pork that's better for the planet - CNET

Dairy farmers dumping milk amid COVID-19: Pandemic's impact on the dairy industry - ABC News

Dairy Queen Now Serves Vegan Dilly Bars in Canada | PETA

In response to the OP: No, I don't think this is the beginning of the end of the meat and dairy industry. Quite possibly the opposite will happen.

There will probably be a temporary decrease in demand. I think that the global deaths attributable directly or indirectly to the pandemic will be significant, since many millions will be thrown into extreme poverty and many will die as a result.

However, that will mean that people will first concentrate on readily available and cheap food (and the faux meats, cheeses, etc. are neither), and then those who are able to will concentrate on "luxury" foods (and the faux meats, cheeses, etc. are neither).

Every period of economic rebound after a crisis has resulted in a per capita increase in the amount of flesh consumed. I don't see any reason why this will be any different.

 

[Mischief]

Yes, but it will discourage the breeding of more livestock animals.

The next generation is already alive.

 

[David3]

Yes, the corn you buy in the grocery stores is completely different than the corn grown as grain. The machines used to harvest it are completely different too, as are a lot of other factors.

There are currently 91.7 million acres of grain corn in the U.S. alone. People don't even eat all of the sweet corn produced every year. Where is the demand for another 91.7 million acres worth of sweet corn going to come from? How will all that sweet corn, which is perishable (unlike grain corn, which is harvested when dry) going to be processed and stored?

.
According to the Nebraska Corn Board, animal feed corn ("field corn") can be eaten by people, if it's first ground into corn meal. Tortillas and polenta - there should be plenty of food to eat. Unlike sweet corn, field corn isn't perishable - it's dry and starchy.

Sweet Corn vs Field Corn | Corn Facts | Nebraska Corn Board

Yes, field corn is sprayed with Roundup. But so are non-organic soybeans, and people have been eating fast food french fries (cooked in soybean oil) for years.
.

 

[Mischief]

.
According to the Nebraska Corn Board, animal feed corn ("field corn") can be eaten by people, if it's first ground into corn meal. Tortillas and polenta - there should be plenty of food to eat.

Sweet Corn vs Field Corn | Corn Facts | Nebraska Corn Board

Yes, feed corn is sprayed with Roundup. But so are non-organic soybeans, and people have been eating fast food french fries (cooked in soybean oil) for years.
.

My comment about people starving to death wasn't about the U.S. (although malnutrition here is a much bigger problem than those who aren't dealing with it directly realize). I was talking globally. International agencies have been talking for a while now about that aspect of the pandemic.

 

[David3]

My comment about people starving to death wasn't about the U.S. (although malnutrition here is a much bigger problem than those who aren't dealing with it directly realize). I was talking globally. International agencies have been talking for a while now about that aspect of the pandemic.

.
Yes, the United Nations World Food Programme projects that, worldwide, acute hunger will double by the end of 2020. United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) - WFP.org
.

 

[Hog]

I made the mistake of saying the following:

"Now I am going to sound real crazy. We should celebrate the natural extinction of humans as part of the circle of life.
We slaughter 9 billion chickens every year. In this context, extinction of our species is not a big deal."

The above humor is way too dark. I do not want our species to go extinct. In reality, we are at the beginning of a new revolution. The world will become predominantly vegan in a matter of decades. We will collectively say, "I would rather die than eat another individual."

The coronavirus will be a distant memory in a few short years.

 

[Mischief]

Two million chickens "euthanized" at one plant and disposed of because too many workers out sick - not enough workers to "process" them. https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...fc93a4-865d-11ea-878a-86477a724bdb_story.html

Of course, the use of "euthanize" is absolutely sickening in this context, as is the use of "harvest."

But they are already in the process of raising the replacement generations, I'm sure.

 

[Lou]

This just in

'The food supply chain is breaking,' Tyson says as plants close

Tyson Foods is warning that "millions of pounds of meat" will disappear from the supply chain as the coronavirus pandemic pushes food processing plants to close, leading to product shortages in grocery stores across the country.

www.cnn.com

Pandemic accelerates shift to meat substitutes
Plant-based alternative sales jump 200 per cent in US amid slaughterhouse closures

Pandemic accelerates shift to meat substitutes

 

[PTree15]

too late for the vital wheat gluten. It's out of stock everywhere.

I had trouble finding it until this week. I managed to score two 22 oz. packages from my local health food store.