Food Processors Say after Energy Crisis, Food Security Is Next!

Food processors warn gas crisis may shut them down and see food prices rise further

Key points:

  • Spiking gas prices have put pressure on energy-intensive businesses such as food processors
  • The gas crisis might make it harder for food producers and processors to supply Australia
  • Food manufacturers want an immediate gas reserve for domestic use

They say the high price of gas is set to push up the price of food and could even disrupt its supply.

I’ve already cut down those discretionary iceberg lettuce purchase and now I’m more than just Trying to Save a Buck man!

Do we need to start stocking canned food up like a doomsday prepper?

Poll Options

  • 19
    No
  • 10
    Yes

Comments

  • +2

    What the f is the poll yes/no to?

    • Do we need to start stocking canned food up like doomsday prepper?

      • +7

        No. Shop local. Shop with farmers. Super markets are passing the buck and need to impress shareholders.

  • +5

    Already stocked up starting from the beginning of 2021. Whenever Coles keeps throwing those Spend X per week to get 30K / 40k FlyBuys points offers at me and I can't think of anything to buy, i buy tins of long-life food just to hit that minimum spend. I also have to burn those excess gift cards that I've accumulated on Prezzee.

    Accumulated maybe around 50 cans of various tinned vegetables / fruit and maybe around 25 tins of meats, and god knows how many tins of tuna. Good to know it won't be wasted.

    • Yeah like all those covid supplies

    • Yeah already shop when they on special. Already having a mix of frozen and fresh veggies to stay alive without robbing the bank.

      I dont stock too much tinned food even during the pandemic but if they are about to go up in prices with the fresh, is it better to stock more now?

  • I’m more than just Trying to Save a Buck man!

    Username checks out.

  • It’s a false crisis. Created by oil and gas industries to makes the money back they lost during Covid.
    Once the wealthy start suffering when they can’t get their romaine lettuce easily, their mates will “fix” the crisis.

    • Artificial or natural crisis, the effect will last till end of this year at least in my opinion

      • Optimistic

        2024/25

  • +9

    Food processors say Australia's gas crisis is threatening the country's food security.

    I just spoke to my food processor.

    It just sat there on the bench and stared back at me.

    After I remembered to plug it in it suggested that we would be grate but KENWOOD be in trouble.

  • Good. Bring it on I say. Australia needs a non first-world problem to get some perspective. I think we're the only country on earth that's never actually had to fight for survival. The worst problems we have is that some people's $90k jobs are too hard or there isn't enough toilet paper to go around.

    The sooner people get some bloody perspective and stop being such bootlicking do-gooders who believe the government will keep them safe from the bad world forever, the better off we'll be. Every baby needs to fall over at least once before they can walk on their own.

    • +1

      or there isn't enough toilet paper to go around.

      Toilet paper, much like food and money, is pentiful here; it's just that some people seem to feel they need to take more of it than what they actually need.

      • -1

        I don't think anyone ever doubted that. Toilet paper is not resource heavy. It's just recycled crap made to wipe your crap. The fact that people had such a breakdown over having to go a few weeks without it shows how fragile our society is.

        I really don't want to see how people react when it's a fight between who's family gets to eat tonight and who has to wait until the next shipment. It's not going to be pretty, but it needs to happen.

        • +1

          …but it needs to happen.

          Why?

          • @GG57: Free market.
            Too many people living like "she'll be right"

            • @Brodo Faggins: That doesn't answer the question that I put to SlavOz.

    • I think we're the only country on earth that's never actually had to fight for survival

      I wonder what you actually mean by having to "…fight for survival…"?

      • -1

        What I mean is, both literally and figuratively, Australia has never been made to overcome adversity and fight for survival. 99% of our problems are first-world ones. We've not been invaded, dragged to warfare (except if you count our invasions of other countries), or even experienced any mass extinction events that threatened our safety or quality of life. No social unrest, wars, economic collapse, food shortages, coups, etc.

        We live in a bubble on an island where we convince ourselves that the big scary things can't get us, so most people naturally become docile over time and take it for granted. Australians do not know the true price of freedom and prosperity. Any society that collectively agrees to surrender their rights does not know how fragile they really are. The majority of people on this earth would abandon all their principles and kill just for some of the rights we have. Yet we collectively fear those very rights and agree to give them up when they threaten to make us too free.

        • +2

          Almost like a first-world country has some first-world problems…

          Your comment reads like someone who doesn't understand the history of the country they live in. Australia has still experienced depressions, recessions, and significant natural disasters.

          dragged to warfare, (except if you count our invasions of other countries)

          Without going into details, let's look just grab two random examples WWI & WWII…

          • -3

            @01001101 01000010:

            Australia has still experienced depressions, recessions, and significant natural disasters.

            What's our worst natural disaster? Some bad weather here and there where some people don't make it out. Hardly a widespread hardship that affects the entire nation eg Chernobyl or Fukushima.

            Our recessions were mostly government made and government fixed with free money. Again, didn't really force a widespread change in our mentality. That some people face tough circumstances in Australia is undeniable - the point I'm making is that we as a country rarely face any collective hardship that makes us realise how fortunate we are.

            Without going into details, let's look just grab two random examples WWI & WWII…

            Not fought on our soil. Our most grieved war tragedy is that our troops were ambushed while trying to invade Turkey.

            • @SlavOz: Your view of history appears to be restricted to recent generations, and you are showing a bit of ignorance on some of these matters.
              I recommend that you undertake some further research.

            • @SlavOz:

              What's our worst natural disaster? Some bad weather here and there where some people don't make it out. Hardly a widespread hardship that affects the entire nation eg Chernobyl or Fukushima.

              How do you judge "worst" natural disaster? Death toll? Cyclone Mahina death toll 300-410 people, or more recently Black Saturday bushfires with a death toll of 173 people and thousands of homes. Or do you need it to be done in how many kilometres were affected, like the east coast flooding? Or would just a straight dollar figure be better for you like the 2010-2011 floods that affected so many with $2.3+ billion dollars?

              Our recessions were mostly government made and government fixed with free money.

              Simplistic and incorrect. Also, people did suffer during these times and to say that they didn't shows how little understanding you have of the changes that occurred post these.

              Not fought on our soil.

              You're just moving the goal post again.

              • -1

                @01001101 01000010: You're failing to see this is in the context of global adversity. Europe has a history of authoritarianism. It's the historic epicentre of fascism and communism, where hundreds of millions of people were killed and entire nations destroyed. These credos and the memories of what they caused still live on. Ukraine is reliving this very same story right now.

                The US fought an empire for their independence and then fought a war to end the divide over slavery within their country.

                Japan experienced a disaster that threatened to sink the entire country.

                The key factor is that these things needed to be fixed by the people, not the state. The government was not going to end slavery, declare independence, or stop the Holocaust. The people had to do that themselves. They were forced to take their survival in their own hands and suffer for it.

                That's a long ways from the Australian story of a bushfire that the government just borrowed more money to fix. The majority of people, including those affected, had most of the hard work done for them.

                • @SlavOz: There are so many inaccuracies that I don't know where to start. Your knowledge of history and the events you're talking about is letting your argument down.

                  You write like someone who has had a fairly insulated life, which there is nothing wrong with, it is just a shame that you aren't able to display empathy.

        • What about the Great Emu War?

  • OP had the solution in the post:

    Food manufacturers want an immediate gas reserve for domestic use

    If that is put in place (along with other energy-related initiatives) we shouldn't be too concerned.

    • Already seen in India - wheat exports banned.

      Should do the same here with any Australian resources that we actually need ourselves. Europe was more than happy to keep their vaccines from us.

      Seems selfish, but realistically who's benefitting from the export? Yeah, the countries it's going to may need it, but realistically it's the corporations taking it from us and selling it overseas who are benefitting from this "shortage".

      • It is one of those things that needs to have some balance.
        No use keeping all our natural resources if we aren't using them, as we currently employ a lot of people in the resource and primary industry sectors (along with related / supporting industries).
        We have seen an example played out in our primary industry sector when exports were not happening. Suddenly we had too many lobsters, the price dropped for consumers, and that would have affected the fishing industry.

    • That was quoted from the article, not me.

      And that suggestion is outside my control.

      Food is going to be expensive. Travel is expensive. Living is expensive. Might soon cant afford clothing. Shit better stock up some tampons.

  • +2

    I also read that article.

    Note *The cooperative processes most of the by-products from South Australia's meat industry, turning them into valuable things like tallow and pet food oil. *

    By products from the meat industry. So all indicators is cut down on meat consumption to help out. Unfortunately the meat industry isn't going to be happy.

    For all of us that have space (land or pots) you could grow quite a few vegetables in your yard. Yes it takes longer but it helps to reduce the demand out in the market.

    • By products from the meat industry. So all indicators is cut down on meat consumption to help out. Unfortunately the meat industry isn't going to be happy.

      From what a former colleague who used to work at an abattoir, I won't be crying for them. They supposedly covered their operating expenses solely with revenue from sale of tallow. Meat sales were all cream…

      • +1

        I won't be crying for them

        Same here.

        used to work at an abattoir

        Pass on my sympathies, it is an awful place to work.

        covered their operating expenses solely with revenue from sale of tallow

        Tallow is an awful oil. Some shops use it for frying but it isn't good for your health.

  • When the Murdoch press talks crap, he is cashing in!

  • +1

    Fake meat and bugs.

  • May be the people at the top want the rest to eat less to "save" the 🐳 and 🐬 ?

    https://twitter.com/saifedean/status/1539270851832516608
    People who believe printing money & handing it to banks doesn't cause inflation continue to also believe rising beef prices are not a problem because you should stop eating beef anyways to stop cow farts boiling oceans
    .#FiatScience https://t.co/2f996VXJpO

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