Are Container Farms The Solution To The Coronavirus Food Supply Problem?
April 13, 2020
As people run to grocery stores to stock up on food and supplies during a time of quarantine, the $899 billion restaurant industry is collapsing, raising questions about the economic security of the nation’s food supply industry in the time of COVID-19.
Dairy farms are already seeing the effects of nationwide school and restaurant closures in the wake of the coronavirus.
About one half of the normal demand for dairy has disappeared since the start of the United States’ social isolation period.
As a result, dairy farmers have had to throw out thousands of pounds of excess milk.
The agricultural side of the farming industry faces similar threats.
Food distributors and wholesalers are scrambling to redirect products from restaurants and other affected businesses to grocery stores.
But grocery stores desire different things than restaurants and schools, making it difficult to fully solve the problem.
Meanwhile, farm suppliers are racing to ship out fertilizers, seeds, and chemicals before the deadly virus disrupts the truck delivery industry.
Without these essential supplies, agriculture farmers won’t be able to produce enough food to meet demand in the States, especially as trade with other countries decreases.
The result could be a wide-scale food shortage.
Labor is also threatening agriculture as many field workers cannot afford to take time off, increasing potential for rapid spread throughout farms.
It’s a problem threatening to cause a significant labor shortage, lowering production and contributing to a potential food shortage.
Experts predict that our food security this fall and next year will be determined by how well these next harvests go.
With shortages in the food supply comes price gouging, leaving the world’s most vulnerable even more so.
The price of global food staples such as wheat and rice are already rising worldwide. Meanwhile, egg prices reached a record high in the US, as grocery stores reported a demand of six times the normal amount.
With more and more people facing unemployment and economic insecurity due to the effects of the global pandemic, increased food prices can make food insecurity worse.
Food security refers to the ability to obtain affordable, nutritious food.
In 2018, 5.6 million households in the US had very low food security.
Plus, as safety concerns skyrocket, consumers are becoming more conscious of how many hands have touched the food they’re about to take home and eat.
As a result, at-home solutions are seeming more appealing.
Since the beginning of March, Google searches for words related to “gardening” and “hydroponics” have increased.
In this time of uncertainty, small-scale indoor farming, like container farms, could prove to be an emergency solution.
Container farms are small indoor farms built inside of repurposed shipping containers.
They have the potential to easily provide food to urban areas, which tend to have the highest populations of food-insecure households, as they don’t require any farmland, only electricity, water, and internet connections.
Container farms also won’t be too affected by labor problems, as they’re fairly self-sufficient, meaning it doesn’t require too many laborers to ensure a bountiful harvest.
Higher tech containers, like our Pure Greens Container Farms, use controlled environment agriculture technology that’s automated and controllable through a smartphone app.
This allows for a more hands-off approach than traditional agriculture.
It also means the growing environment simulates perfect conditions for crops, resulting in more consistent and reliable yields.
Container farms are also able to yield quite a lot while being compact in size, which could help ease some of the burden of a global food shortage.
We’ll have to wait to see how well the agriculture industry adjusts to the pandemic, but it’s worth it to be proactive by looking into possible solutions as soon as possible.
If you’re interested in learning more about starting your own container farm, visit our website or call us at 602–753–3469 to get started!
WRITTEN BY Pure Greens Arizona LLC
Pure Greens’ container-based grow systems offer a variety of interior layouts, sizes, and options so customers can create a farm that meets their needs.
Tags: Container Farming Farming Covid 19