What food shortage? | Daily News

What food shortage?

Some sensationalists in international media, and other peripheral observers of events in the non-Governmental sector for instance seem to have acquired a new hobby – of dwelling on the so-called food shortages in the country. They should however learn to distinguish between a real food shortage, and one that is created in their minds as a diversion.

 The fact that there is a scarcity of one item or two at a given time does not constitute a food shortage. The short supply of milk powder for example is in a sense not a shortage but a blessing for a country that has a few diehards remaining who think imported milk food is the most nutritious food supplement that is a must for growing children.

 Nothing can be further from the truth. The abundant supply of fresh milk in the country should have created a situation of zero demand for powdered milk, but this unfortunately has not happened in a nation that has an overactive powdered milk food lobby that engages in full-time disinformation for the sole purpose of marketing this rather unhealthy commodity.

 There are no other shortages of alarming proportions, even though occasionally there is a coconut scarcity in a few select markets in some areas. That is normal at the best of times. Also, the sight of a medium length queue at a CWC outlet is no indication of any food shortage. At the best of times people stand in lines at these outlets because they like bargains and though this may not be something that gladdens the eye, bargain hunting is a pursuit in the best of economies among certain folk who for various reasons have to follow a strict domestic budget regimen.

 There is generally an abundance of food in the country, and even though some prices may be somewhat dear that too is a result of the exigencies of the pandemic related shutdowns. Nobody would suggest that these are the easiest of times. The global economic crisis has hardly left any part of the planet untouched.

 The daily wage earners and employees of small business are hit in the most advanced of economies. But the fact that this country is able to ensure the basic essentials in this context is nothing to scoff at. There are many who are less able to afford than others, or are struggling to make ends meet, and that is unfortunate. However, the silver lining is that this situation is temporary and would revert to the status quo when the dangers of the pandemic recede.

 What has been artificially created is not a food shortage but a media narrative about one, which has been especially noticeable in some sections of the foreign media. However despite the best efforts of certain mischievous yarn spinners to give an artificial traction to the story, it has not gained momentum and has essentially come unstuck. That is because the people are not ready to create the scene necessary for the foreign media to make a narrative out of nothing.

 The situation out there on the streets in general is of extreme calm and orderliness with people getting about their business as best as possible during a lockdown. This is hardly what is expected in a country that has any type of food shortage.

 That the Government has had to take some extraordinary measures to alleviate a food scarcity has been spun by some media as a sign that there is indeed a shortage of essentials. That is a case of making the remedy appear as if it was the disease.

 If the medicine has cured, can the patient be branded sick? If that was the case there would not be a healthy person in the country. There was a need to take some unprecedented measures to ensure that there were no shortages as a result of unscrupulous elements taking advantage of the lockdown to make a fast buck.

 The Government was able to remedy the situation and manage a crisis but certain interest groups are harking back to the fact that indeed a crisis was brewing – instead of taking note of the fact that an emerging crisis was met head on, and averted. This sort of media coverage can be called storytelling at best – in this instance, fiction that has hopelessly gone awry.

 Certain elite classes of people in Colombo are quite visibly agitated that the foreign media narrative of scarcity basically came undone. They are now speaking in hushed tones about how the collapse of the economy is imminent, and how the calm we see is a portend of the storm.

 They are setting themselves up for disappointment a second time. This situation of relative stability can only improve with vaccinations and the numbers of fatalities from Covid coming down. 

There is no calamity because the storm clouds that were seen far on the horizon have disappeared. This may come as a surprise to those who were hoping for a disaster, but for everybody else the fact that a crisis has been averted is good news despite a less than perfect situation.


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