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You can definitely argue that stopping all deliveries in the US could have a more drastic effect. No one is self sustaining any more. No one has a farm. If the
by xeromal 7y ago
You can definitely argue that stopping all deliveries in the US could have a more drastic effect. No one is self sustaining any more. No one has a farm. If the grocery stores are empty, more will die. I'm sure of it.
- TeMPOraL 7y agoThat's why neither of these are stopped. In both Wuhan and Italy, the food were and is still available, and deliveries work fine.
- xeromal 7y agoI guess I'm speaking from a Los Angeles perspective. Our stores are literally empty for most staples and any reduction in deliveries is going to make this an actual problem.
- TeMPOraL 7y agoHow long has the panic shopping been going on? In Poland, when it started, it cleared out the basic long shelf life goods (rice, pasta, etc.) and TP from most of the cheaper stores for about two to three days. For some reason, some kinds of meat also disappeared. But it seems to be going back to normal now. If after couple of days your stores are still empty of most staples, it suggests some serious problems higher up in the supply chain.
- yongjik 7y agoBut that's not due to delivery disruption - nobody stopped the trucks, and nobody's planning to. It's due to people hoarding (either by panic or greed). If groceries aren't back to normal in a week, I can easily see state troopers mobilized to guard every supermarket and make sure nobody buys twenty boxes of Bounty. Yes, it would look silly and would grate the nerve of free market enthusiasts, but in an emergency you go for effectiveness, not prettiness.
- TeMPOraL 7y agoThere's so much food people can reasonably hoard, so unless everyone has really large apartments or are stocking personal fallout shelters, if the disruption lasts longer than a week, it suggests the problem lies elsewhere. Possibilities include local supply chain disruption, or abundance of "entrepreneurs" keen to do arbitrage on staples.
- nullc 7y agoIt takes a pretty long time to die from starvation. Doubly so for your average American. :)
- xeromal 7y agohaha ya. I'm seeing this as a potential diet. :P
- woodandsteel 7y agoBut the weaker people are from starvation, the more likely they are to die from the coronavirus.
- nwallin 7y agoNo one is suggesting food deliveries should stop. If you deliver food, lockdowns don't apply to you, not even in Wuhan. Same with medical personnel. If you work for the water or electric company, you'll still be going to work. On the other hand, nobody's gonna die from the lack of a haircut anytime soon. Lots of people (myself included) can work remote.