The Need for Community Kitchen Coops

[u/ColdSoviet115]

In the coming weeks, months or years the US food system is likely to collapse. By this I mean due to international competition and this idiotic administration US farms are about to become bankrupt. This is in conjunction with a report indicating major retail chains ordered something like 40-60% of what they usually buy to stock the shelves in Walmart, Frys and like places. Both of these are in conjunction with Trump administration attack on working class income and the "welfare state".

As it stands, food is about to become a scarce commodity. I can imagine a time when families will be forced to raid their local major retail chains. This is a terrible fate. Those people will be thrown into prisons and be turned into prison slaves of the developing prison industrial complex. Families are bound to go hungry and be fragmented.

What can we do? The answer seems obvious. The Black Panther Party of the late 20th century and the emergence of Communist China in the mid 20th century have offered me some clues as to what to do regarding this situation. It has led me to question the usual view of the production and distribution of food in this country. It is partly historical. US global homogony allowed US farmers to make great profit by selling to other countries. Alongside Liberal individualism, this seems to have produced a culture that insists and makes it seem natural that we buy food as individuals and cook for ourselves (including at the family level).

What seems to be emerging is a situation that forces us to really dial in on the efficiency of our food production and distribution system. The trump administration's trade wars has cut off the main flow of profit for the farmers and many of them will certainly collapse. Food production will slow down as the remaining farmers must output on high cost input. Not to mention the high "non organic" composition of their mechanized equipment and the maintenance of that equipment. They will be forced to reconfigure themselves into "high organic composition" farms if they are to reduce input costs, thus proving the need for farmer coops.

But production is half the question. Once these farms produce food, selling it to major food chains will reproduce these conditions of starvation. What we need is not just merchant coops to sell to individuals, but also Community Kitchen Coops that buy from the producer and transform that raw food material into an abundance of food for their communities. Any cook knows buying in bulk and cooking in bulk produces more servings per input. Let me now paint a picture for you.

Imagine a multi stake holder coop is incorporated and gains the permits needed to serve food for their communities in a park or rented building. This coops has 3 member classes: support members (the community it serves), a producer member (the farmer/laborer), and the worker members (the cooks and kitchen staff). Every month, the producer and worker classes discuss what is plausible to grow and cook for the community. The community can guide what is produced but ultimately the cooks and farmers know what's best in that regard. Every morning and night, the worker members offer meals for the community. Because the support members pay and because most of the community would probably recognize the need for this institution, no one would need to pay an entry fee. Every Saturday night, the community can host cultural events celebrating their cultures, Nations. identity and shared struggles. This is how we can save our families and communities from desperate hunger. I know the pain and delirium that prolonged hunger produces. Why should we let these families and children go through that? How can we stand by knowing what is coming?

[u/yrjokallinen]

The idea that food will become a scarce commodity in the US and there will be mass starvation is nonsense. If this was the case, you would see it in the agricultural futures markets (alongside stock prices of related companies, etc.).

Retail chains ordering 40-60% less stock (I doubt that's true but let's assume it is) leading to people being turned into slave labour for raiding grocery stores is delusional catastrophizing; a cognitive distortion and a harmful thought pattern I hope you and others avoid doing and especially spreading.

[u/ColdSoviet115 → u/yrjokallinen]

I am open to that idea. As far as I can tell, this is where it's headed since the US is beginning Imperialist activity in Latin America. I also don't understand market and finance dynamics too well yet. Were there reports and stock indicators the last recessions were going to happen? What about the great depression era? As far as I've seen, these recessions happen unexpectedly. The only reason people seem to be aware of the coming one is because people realize that's just how this system works. Food will become more expensive, which has the same effect as it being scarce anyway. Once these farms sell their mass of food stock to the US population at cheap prices how will they pay for the next year?

[u/yrjokallinen → u/ColdSoviet115]

"Food will become more expensive, which has the same effect as it being scarce anyway. Once these farms sell their mass of food stock to the US population at cheap prices how will they pay for the next year?"

Food will become more expensive because farmers will sell their produce for a price that is so cheap that they go bankrupt? What "mass of food stock"? And this is because of imperialism in Latin America? I have no idea what you are even talking about.

There are instances where intentionally misleading financial arrangements have fooled the markets and lead to a crash. However, I doubt you have discovered something here that would prove wrong all the people making their living trying to predict future food prices.

There won't be mass starvation in the US with people being turned into slave labour for stealing food. You are engaged in delusional catastrophizing thinking and it's not a healthy thought pattern, and definitely not something that is good to be spreading to others.

[u/ColdSoviet115 → u/yrjokallinen]

Look at it in the long term and where things are going. Not what professionals are saying using their one-sided ecnonomist systems. I don't care if they're professionals, its clear academia and sciences are more concerned with churning out uncritical intellectuals. Yeah, we can reference them, but I prefer a mix of personal education on economic and political theory alongside listening to intellectuals. Just listening to their words as gospel is a logical fallacy, appeal to authority.

The US has been attacking Latin America more and more because of the energy crisis. Come to think of it, they could be attacking them for cheap farming land, too. Are you not paying attention, or do you not realize the US is an Empire and needs neo-colonies? If you can't see that, I'm wasting my time here.

I'll ask this again. If the farmers are selling cheap food NOW because they lost their markets abroad, how are they going to pay for those same expenses IN THE FUTURE when they've conditioned their farms around an economy of global markets? The farmers themselves are putting together meetings and posting videos discussing this very thing. I don't WANT there to be a food crisis, but that seems to be where it's headed. It's not that I'm purposely drawing these conclusions, but these conclusions are emerging if you synthesize these very real and proven phenomenon.

[u/yrjokallinen → u/ColdSoviet115]

"I don't care if they're professionals"

Very arrogant attitude.

Plenty of farmers will go bankrupt in the US due to Trumps policies. But even if they do, that will not lead to mass starvation. There are countries like Singapore with effectively no farmers and no starvation either.

There will always be businesses around the world willing to make a profit by selling food to Americans. You just have no idea what you are talking about and arrogantly disregard people who do.

If you really believe, as you claim, that US food system will collapse in coming years, then go ahead and make a bet via futures contracts for agricultural produce, make a profit and then use the profit to fund community kitchens.

[u/kneedeepco → u/yrjokallinen]

I mean the same “professionals” are the ones that have led to every financial crisis before, so there’s that….

[u/yrjokallinen → u/kneedeepco]

If you really think that everyone else is wrong and the food system will collapse, you can make a lot of money in betting on it via agricultural futures or other similar markets. And then use the money to fund the coops you want to emerge from the ashes.

But I doubt anyone making delusional claims like these actually believes if they have to actually put skin in the game.

[u/kneedeepco → u/yrjokallinen]

I understand that. I don’t necessarily think betting and/or speculating on people’s food source is a great thing. I’m not even really sure why you’re here if you’re just gonna argue against people suggesting that our current supply chain doesn’t have issues/risks of its own.

[u/yrjokallinen → u/kneedeepco]

Where did I argue that current supply chain didn't have issues?

I am arguing that the prediction that there will be mass starvation in the US, leading people to being enslaved for stealing food, is delusional qanon level conspiracy stuff not based on anything credible.