Reflections on Post-Pandemic Learnings
My wife thinks that I read some of the weirdest books and I don’t think she’s the only one that has this opinion. Some of the most interesting books I’ve read are a study in the causal nature of human behavior. Some of my favorite authors within this genre are Stephen J. Dubner and Steven Levitt (authors of Freakonomics); and Malcolm Gladwell (author of Tipping Point, Outliers, David and Goliath, amongst others). It’s fascinating to me how some events can cause unanticipated or unexpected results. With the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly behind us, I’m interested to understand what we learned about our lives and our behavior as a result.
One immediate and obvious result of the COVID-19 pandemic was the food supply issue we experienced. During the pandemic we learned that while our food supply system is very efficient it is not very resilient. This has since led to a significant increase in the number of consumers who are looking for alternative ways to purchase their food, particularly their proteins. This is evident by the resurgence of local meat lockers, needed to support the growing demand of locally sourced meat. Local meat lockers were once a dying business.
The underlying issue that has not be called out, specifically, in all of this, is the importance of community. Author Wendell Berry believes that true community helps foster security and safety. Due to technological advancements (cars, computers, phones, etc.), we are less reliant on the communities we actually live in. It is easy for us to live in one community but work, shop, and worship in another. The more we bounce from community to community, the less we may truly know or care about our own communities and, inversely, the less our communities may know or care about us.
Over the last few decades, as this phenomenon of “community bouncing” has grown, consumers have relied less and less on the local butcher or locker for their meat, driving these establishments to near extinction. However, after the meat shortages experienced during the pandemic, consumers again realize the value of keeping these services alive in their communities. Previously, consumers aphetically accepted the efficiently produced, low-price meat, in exchange for food security.
The part that many consumers still do not understand is that much of the meat production system in the United States is foreign owned. For example, two of the four largest beef packers are owned by Brazilian entities (JBS and National Beef) and the largest pork packer is owned by a Chinese entity (Smithfield). Furthermore, Americans no longer want to do this type of labor. Consequently, much of the work being done in these foreign owned facilities is being done by migrant workers. America is slowly losing touch with community and relinquishing control of its food supply.
At Old Station Craft Meats, we believe in community. We love it when families, friends and neighbors gather around a table for a meal that was produced and processed locally. Most of the products we sell, are grown by Iowa farmers (who own their land and livestock), harvested at local lockers, and has been cut, ground, mixed, stuffed, cured, and smoked right here at our Waukee location.
If you purchase your meat from us, you have invested in your community, and you can say, with confidence, that you know where your food came from.
Book Recommendations:
