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The government would step in and take over operations. This is why we don't need profit-driven companies responsible for food supply. By all means let Del Monte

The government would step in and take over operations. This is why we don't need profit-driven companies responsible for food supply. By all means let Del Monte's managers try their hand in some other industry if they couldn't make it work (or not, because they couldn't make it work).

tracker1 5mo ago
Do you really want a world without any fast food or snack foods? I mean, I think we consume way too much as a society, but I'd rather not have the government decide what I'm allowed to eat. Have a conversation with someone who grew up in communist USSR/Russia sometime... It definitely isn't cool. If we had govt controlled food supply, we'd never have the likes of hot sauce (sriracha, pace, etc) and would likely never have seen a lot of options form. For better and far, far worse.
- hnthrow0287345 5mo ago
  >but I'd rather not have the government decide what I'm allowed to eat. I don't know how it'd get to that if we had even more supply. I'm saying we'd be better off dealing with the problems of overproduction rather than the problems of unprofitable businesses and killing production capacity because it isn't profitable in the short-term. I also never said you couldn't have non/not-for-profit food production, just that they shouldn't be for-profit.
  - tracker1 5mo ago
    It's difficult because a lot of the margins have been pressed out, and capital funding is often done in a way that doesn't allow for a market to shrink and respond to over-production or a reduction in demand. If the government was responsible for running the farms, we would not have near the variety we have today... and for that matter, it would be much closer to soviet communism. I'm absolutely opposed to that. And how do you know we would be better off? What would you do with oversupply? We had mountains full of cheese for decades from oversupply.. and that's a single product. Canned fruit doesn't even last that long before breaking down. The alternative is waste year after year, vs. cutting back and planting something else, which is what is happening... part of the market was allowed to fail (Del Monte) and part is being bailed out (farms) in defense of being able to have ongoing production, even if the product is different. That seems far better than having mountains full of rotten peaches in cans.
- selimthegrim 5mo ago
  Uh, didn't they have "Southern sauce" for lack of a better translation?
pc86 5mo ago
What makes you think the government is remotely qualified to run a canning operation, a logistics operation, a warehousing operation, an HR operation, and a finance operation for peaches? Also which government? Because there are at least 3-5 relevant ones here, maybe more.
- hnthrow0287345 5mo ago
  >What makes you think the government is remotely qualified to run a canning operation, a logistics operation, a warehousing operation, an HR operation, and a finance operation for peaches? That'd actually be quite easy for this particular federal government actually (current administration aside). And probably California too.
  - deleted 5mo ago
    [deleted]
- throw0101c 5mo ago
  > What makes you think the government is remotely qualified to run a canning operation, a logistics operation, a warehousing operation, an HR operation, and a finance operation for peaches? The DoD (for one) runs lots of logistics, warehousing, HR (2.8M), and finance stuff.
  - t-3 5mo ago
    Have you ever looked at the prices they pay? Government is the last place I'd look for competent management, anyone good/noncorrupt would be making 10x in the private sector.
- _DeadFred_ 5mo ago
  The government is able to do all of this for an entire literal army of people, spread across the entire world. And for an additional smaller army we call the Marines. Only difference is we add peaches on top of the canning of lead. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_City_Army_Ammunition_Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_City_Army_Ammunition_Plan...
nradov 5mo ago
When governments take over food production the people starve.
roncesvalles 5mo ago
>The government would step in and take over operations. No. A government shouldn't do this unless canned peaches are especially important for national security or something like that.

tracker1 5mo ago

Do you really want a world without any fast food or snack foods? I mean, I think we consume way too much as a society, but I'd rather not have the government decide what I'm allowed to eat. Have a conversation with someone who grew up in communist USSR/Russia sometime... It definitely isn't cool. If we had govt controlled food supply, we'd never have the likes of hot sauce (sriracha, pace, etc) and would likely never have seen a lot of options form. For better and far, far worse.

hnthrow0287345 5mo ago
>but I'd rather not have the government decide what I'm allowed to eat. I don't know how it'd get to that if we had even more supply. I'm saying we'd be better off dealing with the problems of overproduction rather than the problems of unprofitable businesses and killing production capacity because it isn't profitable in the short-term. I also never said you couldn't have non/not-for-profit food production, just that they shouldn't be for-profit.
- tracker1 5mo ago
  It's difficult because a lot of the margins have been pressed out, and capital funding is often done in a way that doesn't allow for a market to shrink and respond to over-production or a reduction in demand. If the government was responsible for running the farms, we would not have near the variety we have today... and for that matter, it would be much closer to soviet communism. I'm absolutely opposed to that. And how do you know we would be better off? What would you do with oversupply? We had mountains full of cheese for decades from oversupply.. and that's a single product. Canned fruit doesn't even last that long before breaking down. The alternative is waste year after year, vs. cutting back and planting something else, which is what is happening... part of the market was allowed to fail (Del Monte) and part is being bailed out (farms) in defense of being able to have ongoing production, even if the product is different. That seems far better than having mountains full of rotten peaches in cans.
selimthegrim 5mo ago
Uh, didn't they have "Southern sauce" for lack of a better translation?

pc86 5mo ago

What makes you think the government is remotely qualified to run a canning operation, a logistics operation, a warehousing operation, an HR operation, and a finance operation for peaches? Also which government? Because there are at least 3-5 relevant ones here, maybe more.

hnthrow0287345 5mo ago
>What makes you think the government is remotely qualified to run a canning operation, a logistics operation, a warehousing operation, an HR operation, and a finance operation for peaches? That'd actually be quite easy for this particular federal government actually (current administration aside). And probably California too.
- deleted 5mo ago
  [deleted]
throw0101c 5mo ago
> What makes you think the government is remotely qualified to run a canning operation, a logistics operation, a warehousing operation, an HR operation, and a finance operation for peaches? The DoD (for one) runs lots of logistics, warehousing, HR (2.8M), and finance stuff.
- t-3 5mo ago
  Have you ever looked at the prices they pay? Government is the last place I'd look for competent management, anyone good/noncorrupt would be making 10x in the private sector.
_DeadFred_ 5mo ago
The government is able to do all of this for an entire literal army of people, spread across the entire world. And for an additional smaller army we call the Marines. Only difference is we add peaches on top of the canning of lead. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_City_Army_Ammunition_Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_City_Army_Ammunition_Plan...

nradov 5mo ago

When governments take over food production the people starve.

roncesvalles 5mo ago

>The government would step in and take over operations. No. A government shouldn't do this unless canned peaches are especially important for national security or something like that.