The media isn't reporting this yet but some of the local dairy coops are at capacity. They are limiting milk production simply because there is not enough processing capacity. The processors have even paid the dairymen penalties not to take their milk. The dairy then having no other place to send the milk is dumping it. A guy that works for me is a former dairyman and he can't believe the media didn't get wind of this with the price of dairy products going up.
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Jason (Formerly salesortonscom)
As I walk through this earth, nothing can stop, the Duke of Mirth!
So why is the cost of dairy going up if they're overwhelmed with supply?
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
Rays joking but seriously, they have no processing capacity. Each dairy is contracted with a processor usually a COOP. There are several in the area but the dairies are producing more than they can handle.
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Jason (Formerly salesortonscom)
As I walk through this earth, nothing can stop, the Duke of Mirth!
I talked to the guy at Wal-Mart and he says they literally dump gallons of milk down the drain EVERY DAY that are about to expire. This whole food thing is weirding me out!
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
Several years ago, someone involved with trucking in California told me that excess food -- like milk or orange juice -- got trucked to cattle feed lots so there was some small benefit from the excess supply. His comment was that it was "a whole lot better than what they usually feed the cattle."
I hope they are indeed finding some way to use this instead of dumping it on the ground, which I've heard of happening in the great depression when no one had money to buy it.
Our society is messed up in a number of ways, but that is not news to you.
That's a shame that they can't just give away the unprocessed product for free to those who want it. Litigation has done a lot of damage to our society.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
That's a shame that they can't just give away the unprocessed product for free to those who want it. Litigation has done a lot of damage to our society.
It doesn't even have to involve litigation. Hundreds of millions in perfectly good produce is dumped every year simply because it is oversized or has a cosmetic blemish. A lot of times it isn't even used for animal feed, just dumped in the fields. In the ag industry the out of spec fruit and vegetables are called culls. That's why the fruit looks so good in the supermarket, anything less than perfect is tossed. The juicers and canners usually won't take it because they already contract out for what they need. Sometimes my farmer friends will bring me some. Often you can't even tell there is anything wrong with it and technically it is perfectly fine but just not up to the visual standards required by the produce section in your supermarket.
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Jason (Formerly salesortonscom)
As I walk through this earth, nothing can stop, the Duke of Mirth!
I'm worked up over this whole thing, people. I tell ya, I am WORKED UP!!!
Even your po-dunk towns with a Wal-Mart, Applebee's and McDonald's could probably feed every single hungry person in their town if they just would let people take their throw-away food. There has to be some way to get the food to the hungry people.
See me spazzing out?
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
I worked in a BYU cafeteria when I was in school. We were amazed at how much of untouched perfectly good food was trashed. We were told repeatedly that we could not take any home and that BYU was not allowed to give to homeless shelters. It's all about the lawsuits. If just one person got sick from the food, the potential cost to the contributing person/company would be astronomical.
It's a sad commentary on how hungry (pun intended) people are to sue others even if the intentions are good.
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It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.
So is it easier to sue for gazillions when the food is free or when you just eat a regular, paid meal there? Why would the free food make you sicker?
I am so pissed off.
Why does anyonen get sick from food? Sometimes it goes bad, sometimes you are allergic to something you may not have known about, sometimes it just doesn't sit well with you. The problem was that if one person sued and the contributor was found liable, then it could put that company out of business. Not only paying the award amount, but also loss of reputation.
I'm not saying it's right, but in our litgation excited society today, I can understand why anyone is hesitant to give leftover food away.
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It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.
Milk-dumping is really a byproduct of capitalism (and litigation). Essentially it is legal in capitalistic society to buy all the food (or more than you need), and then throw it away, if you're the rich guy and can afford it.
If there was a steady and constant demand for milk, then the producers could produce only the milk that is needed, but in order to get enough milk so that the stores don't run out of stock, they have to buy more than they actually sell. It does a store no good to dump the milk, so they try to keep their supply close to their anticipated demand, but generally the system works best when there's a surplus.
When was the last time you went to the store and they were all sold out of milk? It doesn't happen because the milk production exceeds the demand/price ratio. And now I'm tired, so I'm giving up on blathering further...
--Ray
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
This whole food thing is weirding me out!
)
See me spazzing out?
