Maybe It’s Time for a Revolt in This Country so We Can Get Back to the Lifestyles We’ve Worked so Hard to Achieve

By Stephen Green

A Kroger spokesperson said that “there is plenty of protein in the supply chain. However, some processors are experiencing challenges.” Some meat plants have faced temporary closures due to outbreaks of the Wuhan virus, but Kroger reassured people, saying, “We feel good about our ability to maintain a broad assortment of meat and seafood for our customers because we purchase protein from a diverse network of suppliers.”

CNN reported that “meat sales are up around 40% in recent weeks, according to data shared by grocery industry trade group FMI.” Add that to the occasional disruption to the supply chains, and you have an unfamiliar sight in America’s grocery stores: Shelves that aren’t always brimming with fresh product.

President Trump signed an executive order last Tuesday requiring meat plants to stay open during the crisis, but that doesn’t mean we won’t suffer future disruptions. The day before, Tyson Meats had taken out an ad in the Washington Post warning that “the food chain is breaking.” Our managing editor Paula Bolyard told me this morning that her Cleveland-area son is “scrambling to find beef for his Jersey Mike’s store,” because “their supplier is closed due to COVID-19.” She wonders if the situation at Jersey Mike’s is just “the tip of the iceberg.”

However, supermarket “guru” Phil Lempert assured consumers last week that there’s no need to hoard: “It’s true that we’re down to about 60% capacity in our meat processing facilities, again across all of those types of animal proteins, but it will come back, it will come back soon.”

Here in my little exurb of Monument, Colorado, I haven’t seen any purchase limits on beef or pork products since the second week of the Virus Insanity Shut-In Time at any of our three grocery stores. Those include King Soopers (owned by Kroger), plus Safeway, and Walmart. However, Albertson’s, another large chain, is also limiting some meat purchases to two per customer, per visit and explained: “We are not experiencing any shortages and do not anticipate any issues with supply or product availability. We did so to prevent the possibility of panic-buying and help ensure more of our neighbors can find the products they need.” Along similar lines, Costco says that “Fresh meat purchases are temporarily limited to a total of 3 items per member among the beef, pork, and poultry products.”

full story at https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/stephen-green/2020/05/05/kroger-slaps-ration-limits-on-beef-and-pork-purchases-n388190