Well, we've had two years of pestilence, swords are being raised in eastern Europe, and next up is famine. It's difficult these days to watch any news broadcast or Youtube video without being told about coming food shortages. The supply chain disruptions have been building for many months. Weather conditions have been harsh, and drought is a real, ongoing thing in many places in North America. And yet I still get the impression that many in the west think that famine is something that can only happen in the Sudan or Ethiopia.
There is one Youtube channel I watch periodically where people write in with updates on the shortages they see in their areas, from around the world. It helps to get a bigger picture of what's happening. I'm always sort of amused, in a dark way, by the ones who write in to say they see only four or five choices of salad dressing in the grocery store, or only a couple of kinds of pasta. They report that stores carry only certain brands and not others. We have become so accustomed to having a multitude of choices that any reduction in choice almost becomes an affront. Any limitation at all becomes a "shortage." We still enjoy vast abundance in the west compared to many people in the world. I fear reality's going to hit us harder than others simply because we're so used to not just quantity but variety on demand.
I'm also finding that many items that people are worried about are items I have never purchased, like "Manwich" (which I gather is come kind of canned sloppy joe mix). I have tried to focus in my life on being a producer more than a consumer, but I suppose eventually I will also feel the pinch at some point. I'll be interested to see what that reveals to me about myself. What expectations do I have that I'm not even aware of? What unknown brand biases might I have? What will I miss most? We shall see.
No comments:
Post a Comment