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Unlike the economy, food is a zero sum game. Most produce has a limited lifespan, unless you opt to freeze everything, which is not something all consumers desi

Unlike the economy, food is a zero sum game. Most produce has a limited lifespan, unless you opt to freeze everything, which is not something all consumers desire or buy. This means that most food that leaves the farm must be consumed within a narrow window. Only exporting and importing food from diverse regions will allow you to minimise food waste and therefore have an efficient low-cost market. This also creates countries that are great net exporters.

namaria 3y ago
That is a narrow view. A lot of foodstuff gets processed into stable products with a shelf life, and grain can be stored for years.
- Out_of_Characte 3y ago
  Even in the hypothetical scenario where all vegetables and meat have shelf lives of a year, it still wouldn't make that much of a difference when it comes to food security. Products with long shelf life are sold with that long shelf life. This does mean that any kind of failed harvest means that those products will either disappear out of the selection or a different formula is used to maintain availability. Companies dont store anything, governments only store rice and grains at most since they are the only economically feasable types. Citicens will actively induce food shortage once there is one. All you're left with is figuring out how much food is between the harvest and the supermarket. And that's not alot. Demand matches the consumption of citizens and time to market is optimised to be short. This is before considering how unhealthy the most durable foods are since sugar is the main ingredient in all of them, from chips and chocolate to processed cans.
  - Retric 3y ago
    Food security != food choice. If there’s zero avocado’s worldwide people can still cheaply eat a healthy diet. However, what normally happens is prices rise in one food and people then substitute something else. There’s also huge food stockpiles worldwide simply because crops like North American corn get harvested in the fall and then supplied over the next year. At which point we can cut biofuel production should an actual shortage occur.
colechristensen 3y ago
Most calories that most people eat come from grains which can be stored for years. This article is about that. The economics of produce are much different.

namaria 3y ago

That is a narrow view. A lot of foodstuff gets processed into stable products with a shelf life, and grain can be stored for years.

Out_of_Characte 3y ago
Even in the hypothetical scenario where all vegetables and meat have shelf lives of a year, it still wouldn't make that much of a difference when it comes to food security. Products with long shelf life are sold with that long shelf life. This does mean that any kind of failed harvest means that those products will either disappear out of the selection or a different formula is used to maintain availability. Companies dont store anything, governments only store rice and grains at most since they are the only economically feasable types. Citicens will actively induce food shortage once there is one. All you're left with is figuring out how much food is between the harvest and the supermarket. And that's not alot. Demand matches the consumption of citizens and time to market is optimised to be short. This is before considering how unhealthy the most durable foods are since sugar is the main ingredient in all of them, from chips and chocolate to processed cans.
- Retric 3y ago
  Food security != food choice. If there’s zero avocado’s worldwide people can still cheaply eat a healthy diet. However, what normally happens is prices rise in one food and people then substitute something else. There’s also huge food stockpiles worldwide simply because crops like North American corn get harvested in the fall and then supplied over the next year. At which point we can cut biofuel production should an actual shortage occur.

colechristensen 3y ago

Most calories that most people eat come from grains which can be stored for years. This article is about that. The economics of produce are much different.