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New tool shows food industry vulnerabilities by state

An online tool developed by Purdue University shows the potential vulnerability of food systems by state.

Jayson Lusk, head of Purdue’s ag economics, tells Brownfield the dashboard shows where food is produced and what inputs the food sector uses for different products. He uses the analogy of a recipe to describe it.

“Let’s say a batch of cookies and you have a recipe in front of you. It has flour, eggs, sugar and whatnot. Some of those ingredients you might be able to make a substitute for but let’s say there’s no flour. You’re going to be in trouble. You may not be able to make the cookies in any way that’s recognizable. You may just go knock on your neighbor’s door.”

Some areas are more diversified than others. He says the dashboard is meant as a guide for policy makers and food industry professionals.

“Where might they want to look and delve a little bit deeper to see what’s going on with production in that given industry in that given state?”

Lusk says the tool will give a better picture of where the food system might be vulnerable with a focus on making sure grocery store shelves don’t go bare again in the future. He says the overall food supply chain is positive but still has some weaknesses.

Interview with Jayson Lusk ^
  • A Software Tool described in this featured article should always be taken with the proverbial grains of salt. The algorithms are usually well hidden from the user and reflect the bias and ignorance of the software programmwr who spends his time and experience in the computer lab and not in the field or produce marketplace. For example, with respect to the analogy of the cookies recipe, there may not be sufficient flour, but there may be a surplus of wheat which can be milled for flour. Also. there may be a surplus of some form of oats, rolled or groats which can also be milled and mixed with the flour that is available. Having to borrow wheat flour from a neighboring state should be a LAST resort, not the only way to solve apparent local shortages as these pie in the sky software engineers dream the real world to be. The neighboring state has their own produce and resources to manage and can also use AMERICAN INGENUITY to project and resolve local crops. Using software tools such as this as the primary way to manage markets will leave everyone with just a half loaf of bread and give computer programmers control over markets in an industry they kniw little about; as well as suppress innovation which is the cornerstone of America.

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