A bite of perspective.

[WritersBlock]

This may not be the most appropriate forum to post this in, so if it gets moved, I'll understand.

We joined Costco after Christmas, and on our first trip there, we marvelled at the supply of frozen shrimp, lobster, and shellfish in general. We decided we'd come back prepared with a cooler next time, so we could stock up on frozen seafood that wouldn't thaw out on the hour-plus drive home.

So we went back earlier this week, armed with a cooler waiting in the trunk of the car. But while they had lots of frozen Maine lobsters, the variety of shrimp (the main goal of the trip) was noticeably narrower than the last trip. We commented on this, figuring maybe it was just the nature of the way Costco kept stocks in, and that maybe things change from visit to visit. We weren't that concerned, and we bought a few packages of shrimp.

It was only later that night, sitting on the couch about to watch TV, that it hit me, because I remembered glancing at the packages of frozen shrimp as I was putting them in the freezer, and seeing "Product of Malaysia."

So there I'd been, callously standing in the aisle at Costco, casually remarking on the fact that the variety of shrimp supply seemed to have changed, without realizing that it was very likely a consequence of the tsunami.

Then the incredible shallowness of my own deduction hit me. All that unimagineable death and devastation after the tsunami - and I notice a lack of variety in seafood a few weeks down the road. I don't think I'll ever look at shrimp in quite the same way again.

[Frogtutor]

1. Wow; that is profound,

but I don't think it was shallow, at all. I don't think very many people would automatically associate shrimp shortage with tsunami, especially in the western hemisphere. It's not like you forgot about the people and their suffereing. Most people probably don't think a whole lot about where their food comes from until something like this happens; I know I don't. But when you do make that kind of realization, it's not out of callousness; it's just "there" and it makes you think.

[WritersBlock]

4. I hadn't thought of it in those terms,

but thank you - that makes me feel a little better about it. I like the way you put it... "it's just "there" and makes you think." It certainly did that.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. I agree with Frogtutor, it isn't callous or shallow

Here in the US, we associate "shrimp" and "Gulf of Mexico", even if we don't think that clearly. The abundance of shrimp in the last decade or so is due to a much larger import of shrimp and aquaculture of shrimp (and many other seafoods). You can still get true Gulf Shrimp, but it costs an arm and a leg.

This also points up quite well how interdependent and truly small the world has become (the small minds of our current maladministration notwithstanding). Much of our food supply comes from "somewhere else". All that wonderful summer fruit we get in winter? South America. Beef? A lot is imported for many places. The US is truly not able to stand on its own anymore unless we are willing to tolerate a substantial drop in our living standards.

But the simple fact is, we take all this for granted. I know I do. I am sure you do, too. That's not wrong or bad. Its just how it is.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Just think that it will relatively easy for those fishermen to get back to what they do. They have no fields to restore. Just repair/replace the docks and boats. In the overall scheme of things, that's pretty easy.

[eleny]

3. I used to take shrimp for granted, too!

:cry:

[NMDemDist2]

5. coffee and tea prices will rise too, the plantations weren't affected

but all the shipping and harbors are. I have been warned by my roaster not to expect much from Asia this year, we will be getting mostly South American beans for a while

the ripple effect from this will be larger and larger, and the death toll keeps rising

I saw on Democray Now! last night they are still pulling corpses from wreakage a month later :cry:

[grasswire]

6. hmmmmmmmm

I believe there's another reason.

IIRC, it was this month that the U.S. began tarriffs against foreign shrimp. Asian shrimp farmers have been dumping their products on our market at bargain prices for years, and our own shrimpers have finally gotten the trade protection they sought.

I've known for some months that the price of shrimp for Americans would go dramatically up. This might be part of it. I would be surprised if frozen shrimp from Asia would already be affected by the tsunami.

[WritersBlock]

7. That's a possibility I hadn't considered.

Looking more closely at the packages, they went through Virginia on their way to the UK. I don't know what the lag time would be. Still though, there was a marked decrease in the availability on the shelves in the space of only a few weeks; maybe it was a combination of both. Or maybe they simply hadn't restocked that day. I don't know.

It still made me stop and think, though, and like H2S said in his response, most of us probably dont usually think about where our food comes from. I imagine it will become more and more apparent as environmental factors (and the economic factors that follow as a result) start affecting the logistics of global food transportation more and more.

Anyway, I'm probably getting way beyond the bounds of this forum, so if I have any more deep thoughts on something serious like this, I'll put 'em in GD or one of the issues forums.

:)

[Stinky The Clown]

8. While this might a topic for GD, it seems to me it is also

appropriate here.