Tag: food

Pelosi House ramps up perks like Peloton, liquor store while Americans scramble for baby formula

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi belatedly jumped into America’s baby formula crisis on Friday, calling nationwide shortages “unconscionable” and setting an emergency vote next week. But while she tried to get Democrats caught up on a crisis that caught them by surprise, her administrative office was busy ramping up new perks for lawmakers.

House members were alerted to two new perks this week compliments of the chamber’s Democrat leadership: fully paid memberships to Peloton gyms as well as a brand new liquor and drinks outlet.

Republicans immediately seized on the optics, saying doling out additional benefits to lawmakers when everyday Americans are struggling to fill gas tanks, grocery carts or baby bottles was a bridge too far, even for Washington.

“Washington Dems couldn’t be more out of touch,” Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) wrote as he tweeted out a new announcement by the House Chief Administrative Officer announcing a new “House Drinks storefront” in the Rayburn House Office Building where lawmakers and staff can buy beverages, wine and liquor.

“Whether you’re hosting a meeting or an office event or just want to stock up on your favorite drinks, House Drinks sells water, soda, juice, alcohol and spirits,” the announcement boasted. “Six, twelve and 24-packs are available depending on the drink.”

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Amid Nationwide Shortage, Illegal Immigrants Get Baby Formula First, Lawmaker Claims

Amid a nationwide shortage of baby formula, a Republican lawmaker is claiming that illegal immigrants detained by the border patrol are being given priority over Americans.

Republican Rep. Kat Cammack (FL) posted videos on social media as she claimed the Biden administration is shipping “pallets” of baby formula to border facilities.

“They are sending pallets, pallets of baby formula to the border,” Cammack said in online postings on Wednesday. “Meanwhile, in our own district at home, we cannot find baby formula,” she added, displaying a photo that showed empty store shelves.

Cammack said a border agent has been sending her photos of the deliveries of baby formula. “They’re receiving pallets and more pallets of baby formula at the border,” she said. “This was taken at Ursula processing facility [in McAllen, Texas] where thousands are being housed and processed and then released,” she said.

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18 Signs That Food Shortages Will Get A Lot Worse As We Head Into The Second Half Of 2022

If you think that things are bad now, just wait until we get into the second half of this year.  Global food supplies have already gotten very tight, but it is the food that won’t be produced during this current growing season in the northern hemisphere that will be the real problem.  Worldwide fertilizer prices have doubled or tripled, the war in Ukraine has greatly reduced exports from one of the key breadbaskets of the world, a nightmarish bird flu pandemic is wiping out millions of chickens and turkeys, and bizarre weather patterns are absolutely hammering agricultural production all over the planet.  I have often used the phrase “a perfect storm” to describe what we are facing, but even that phrase really doesn’t seem to do justice to the crisis that we will be dealing with in the months ahead.  The following are 18 signs that food shortages will get a lot worse as we head into the second half of 2022…

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World risks ‘worst famine since WWII’ – German minister

The world is about to face an acute food crisis due to skyrocketing food prices, German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Svenja Schulze told Bild newspaper on Saturday, warning about a looming famine not seen since World War II. The minister has named Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s ongoing military operation in Ukraine as its causes.

“The situation is highly dramatic,” the minister told the German tabloid in a late Saturday interview, adding that, according to the UN World Food Program, “more than 300 million people” are already suffering from acute hunger and the UN has to “constantly revise” this data upwards.

Food prices around the world have grown by a third and have reached “record levels,” Schulze has warned, adding that the “bitter message is that we are facing the worst famine since World War II,” which could see “millions” die.

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Global Grain Reserves “Extremely Low,” Will Be Depleted For Years, Warns Top Fertilizer Boss 

Snarled supply chains, adverse weather conditions in top growing areas, and conflict in Ukraine have wreaked havoc on the world’s agricultural system. The latest sign of an emerging food crisis is comments from a top US fertilizer company that warns it could take two to three years for farmers to resupply the world’s grain stockpiles. 

“Global grains stocks remain extremely low, an issue that has become amplified because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

“We think it will take at least 2-3 years to replenish global grains stocks,” Illinois-based CF Industries Holdings Inc.’s president and chief executive officer Tony Will said in a statement in Wednesday’s earnings report. 

Over the years, Ukraine has earned the nickname “breadbasket of Europe” for its rich dark soil, vast wheat fields, and other farm goods. The Russian invasion has cut off the world from cheap and abundant farm goods.

Both Ukraine and Russia account for more than a quarter of the global wheat trade, about a fifth of corn, and 12% of all calories traded globally. 

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Another Food Processing Plant Catches Fire Amid Bizarre String of Incidents Across US

Two more food processing plants exploded in flames this weekend.

All this comes at a time when experts are talking about global food shortages as the nasty surprise in store for the world in 2022.

No one was injured in the fire at a Perdue soybean plant in Norfolk, Virginia, according to WAVY-TV, and the cause had not yet been determined.

“Chesapeake firefighters battled an industrial fire this evening at Perdue Farms in the South Norfolk area,” The Chesapeake Fire Department posted on its Facebook page.

“Plant operators reported a fire in large soybean processing tank. Firefighters climbed multiple flights of stairs with hose and equipment to access the standpipe system. Water was applied and the fire brought under control in approximately one hour,” the post read.

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