Coronavirus And The Food We Eat

On December 31, 2019, dozens of people who recently visited a live animal market in Wuhan, China were immediately treated for “pneumonia” from an unknown source. On January 11, 2020, the Chinese state media reported the first death of a 61-year old man from the novel coronavirus. He visited that same animal market in Wuhan. On January 30, 2020, for the sixth time in history, the World Health Organization declared a “public health emergency of international concern,” a title that has been reserved for extraordinary events that threaten to spread internationally. On February 29, 2020, the first death from the coronavirus was reported in the U.S. in Washington state.

The “coronavirus,” or “COVID-19”, as the World Health Organization has coined it, is a respiratory illness that is actually quite common and found in people and various species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. The virus originates from the same source as many common colds people obtain and recover from daily. If it feels like the world has experienced this scare before, it has in that the “SARS,” (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and “MERS” (Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome), were both created by this same virus.

The SARS outbreak occurred between November 2002 to July 2003 where more than 8,000 probable cases were reported to the World Health Organization. After its inception in Asia, there totaled eight laboratory confirmed cases in the U.S. MERS, which spread from Saudi Arabia, caused 2,500 laboratory confirmed cases, with only two patients testing positive in the U.S. Finally, the H1N1 virus (“swine flu”), which caused the 2009 pandemic, is estimated to have caused 151,000-575,000 deaths. There were an estimated 12,400 deaths in the U.S. All three of the coronavirus strains are believed to have originated in bats whereas the H1N1 Influenza (“swine flu”) is believed to have originated in pigs.

Given the unique and similar history of the coronavirus, it becomes clear our food choices and local market purchases may hold critical importance especially as the world population increases to record levels. It is fair to say due to the global implications of the COVID-19 outbreak from a live Chinese food market, there could be “life or death” implications on what food we eat, how we produce it and where we buy it. In an effort to not minimize the severity of recent events, this may also be an opportunity to encourage U.S. food consumers to reflect on the global food supply chain.

Consumer behavior has evolved over the past decades as a result of the increased scientific understanding of the impact of nutritious food on human health and overall well-being. As preferences have changed, farmers have already mobilized to produce foods with a heightened awareness of inputs and farming practices to meet the growing importance of “sustainability”. This shift is exemplified in the growth of organic certifications, the increased popularity of plant-based diets and the shift from dairy based milk to alternatives such as oat, soy and almond milk. Simply put, the consumer is driving these changes and demand for healthier more sustainable food. As a result, these consumer decisions have increased farming input costs and new regulatory expenses for traditional operations while also creating new opportunities to change the food and agriculture landscape.

Furthermore, the consumer demand rotation is driving new mediums of food production. Vertical farming has gained traction in urban centers in an effort to reduce distribution chains, offer lower emissions and drastically reduce water use and runoff while providing a higher-nutrient product.[vi] Despite the increasing popularity of vertical farms, there are pending concerns on the scalability and high capital costs associated with this production. 

Additionally, there has been an increasing interest in “non-meat” protein alternatives. These products have undoubtably gained traction in the market but face strong regulatory headwinds. Finally, the industry-wide consolidation for agriculture has led to an absorption of family farms by commercial and corporate farm operators. This consolidation may provide economies of scale but often create negative effects on local, generational farmers. In an effort to combat this trend, new partnerships have been formed between local famers and crowd-funding farmland investment vehicles like FarmTogether. These partnerships create mutually beneficial effects for capital providers to support operators who desire to continuing farming their own properties but have faced recent profitability concerns given accumulating debt levels and weak commodity prices. Artem Milinchuk, the CEO and Founder of FarmTogether explains “our mission is to facilitate investors capital to empower local famers by allowing them to focus on what they do best – farm. By sourcing opportunities through our proprietary platform, we identify local farm operators who have proven sustainable practices, thoughtful consideration of inputs, and overall are responsible stewards of their land.”

The coronavirus outbreak may act as a refreshed reminder stimulating Americans to reflect on the importance of U.S. food purchases. For the curious reader and thoughtful participant in the global economy, it is important not to discount the importance of your daily food decisions on the global agriculture industry. The consumer aggregate creates demand and is comprised of individual constituents. Naturally, the supply side will adjust to cater to this demand.

We must not forget the heightened importance of where we are growing our food, how we are growing our food, and how our food is being processed. It will be of keen interest to how the global food and agriculture community responds to the spread of the Coronavirus and how we, collectively, care for the only planet we know that we can inhabit as of today. We are constantly faced with these growing tensions and it is important to be a thoughtful consumer as these tensions increase due to an ever increasing global population.