FOOD SECURITY: RESPOND OR REACT

 

We’re all seeing the thinning of items lining the shelves of our grocery stores, and the rising prices of the items that are available. The dire warnings of pundits are gathering like ominous thunder clouds. Fox Business News predicts food shortages and peak prices this fall.  The CEO of Goya Foods says, “We are on the precipice of a global food crisis.”

 

There are many factors contributing to this gloomy scenario. Rising fuel costs drive up the price of both fertilizer and of food distribution. The war in Ukraine takes offline one of the world’s major bread baskets. They produce 50% of the world’s fertilizer, and export substantial amounts of its wheat and corn. Break downs in supply chains due to trucking, shipping and rail disruptions play a role, as does the recent spate of arson torching food distribution plants around the country.

 

And to make matters worse, much of our food comes from large corporate farms owned by other countries. It seems like a perfect storm. Meanwhile, 20 different federal departments and agencies play some role in shaping our food system.6We can lay at their feet this failure to secure our food supply. But why waste breath? If the federal government won’t secure the border, how likely is it that they will address food security? The failure of leadership is across the board.

 

Yet state governments are not powerless in the face of this failure. Texas can regulate (or deregulate) food sold within its state lines. State initiatives can foster innovation and cottage industry production, and help buffer the agricultural sector from excessive federal regulation, particularly around water use issues, emission controls and other Green New Deal fallout. They can protect farm and ranch land from foreign control.

 

Texas can take a pro-active stance toward this looming crisis, and Texas Fights Outloud calls upon our great state to do so, before a crisis point is reached.

 

On a practical level it matters little if the problems that threaten our food supply originate here in the U.S. or abroad. We know that the solutions will only be forthcoming closer to home. Let’s task our Agricultural Commissioner, Sid Miller, and other elected officials with coming up with those solutions. Our own Abel Herrero sits on the Agriculture and Livestock Committee, and Senator Kolkhurst sits on the corresponding Senate committee. Reach out and let them know this issue is on your radar. Oh, and let them know Texas Fights Outloud sent you.

 

We can respond now, or react later. I know which I’d choose.

 

 

Commissioner Sid Miller

Texas Agriculture Commissioner

 

Customer.Relations@TexasAgriculture.gov

 

P.O. Box 1287

Austin, TX 78711-2847

(512) 463-7476

 

 

Representative Abel Herrero

Agriculture and Livestock Committee

https://www.house.texas.gov/members/member-page/email/?district=34&session=87

 

101 East Main Avenue
Robstown, TX  78380
(361) 387-0457

 

Senator Lois Kolkhurst

Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs

 

https://senate.texas.gov/memberform.php?auth=sGw15ua9B%2BiJ05iKStkT2BLdTj16N6z2oJm74aQRASU6XzpfOqOJr98L5avCfRHMrpsHSFPTku27wCosDbWDShvc%2FIVr8eqBOnw6fDrRmUCnM86qE%2Fo8Z3jQLTGl&lang=en

 

5606 North Navarro #300M

Victoria, TX 77904

(361) 573-7300