Up Next on the List of Shortages: Pork and Potatoes

Just about the time that we think we're seeing the light at the end of what has been a VERY long COVID-19 tunnel, comes a couple of reminders that the world is still being impacted by this pandemic in unexpected ways.

We've been through a few different runs on toilet paper and even dealt with the rumblings of a recent potential ketchup shortage, but now two of the staples of our summertime dining tables could be in short supply.

Fox News is reporting that the processing plant shutdowns during the pandemic, including the one at Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls, have had a negative impact on the nation's supply of pork products.

Not only will that potentially make finding pork more troublesome in the days ahead, it will also see the prices of pork increase while demand exceeds demand.

But that's not all.

The Daily Mail is reporting that french fries may be hard to come by, but this is more of a Mother Nature problem, not coronavirus.

Climate change has decreased snow levels in the mountains of Idaho, meaning less water runoff for the Russet Burbank potato, which is most commonly used to make French Fries.

Apparently the situation is so dire that some researchers in Idaho have already started working on creating hybrid potato varieties that are more resistant to climate change.

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