Getting Answers: Are We At Risk Of A Break In The Food Supply Chain?
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — With several national meat processing plants, including Tyson Foods, shutting down amid the coronavirus pandemic, there's new concern about a break in the food supply chain.
"You just have to keep a cool head about it, we are not going to starve," said David Dewey, President of the California Association of Meat Processors.
Dewey says there's no need to panic, and while the process of getting products to the store may change, there's no shortage of food itself.
"It's not the lack of the product, it's the lack of the product getting to the market. So they will have to be resourceful and figure out ways to get it to the consumer," he said.
READ: Gov. Newsom: California Weeks, Not Months, Away From Loosening Stay-At-Home Order
So what is the impact on local farmers?
"If it's a national processor, what are the regional steps that we can take and turn to in terms of getting that food supply from the farm to the consumer?" Jamie Johansson, President of the California Farm Bureau Federation, said.
He says with the closure of plants across the country, area farmers are now stepping up to the plate to provide for local grocery stores, farmers markets, and ultimately consumers, which could mean a boom in business for them.
"And also the sophistication that we have and opportunities starting from a farmers market to regional food vendors we can produce and we can get a lot to the market," Johansson said.
