Resilience and Vulnerabilities of the North American Food System during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic and consequent economic disruption have tested the resilience of the North American food system. The poorest Americans were put at risk of food deprivation as their incomes fell. Disruptions reverberated through the food supply chain as the pandemic escalated; meatpacking plants became disease hotspots. The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) provided US$ 16 billion of aid to farmers and ranchers based on falling prices. CFAP added to the counter-cyclical safety-net programmes legislated in 2018 and ad hoc support authorised for two years by the Trump administration. The CFAP support is reasonable in the context of the pandemic-related economic collapse, but also raises concern about increased support tied to market conditions and current production, including support linked to unilateral US trade policies that have invoked retaliation by trading partners. As of early June, the hopeful scenario was that the worst challenges to the food system had passed. Grain and livestock inventories were relatively high and spring planting intentions were strong, but supply constraints in North America or internationally remained a risk. The pandemic has underscored the inherent fragility of an integrated world and the high stakes in the debate about globalisation that will inevitably follow.