10 Positives of the Coming Food Shortage – Oil Edition

In March 2022, after President Biden warned that the war in Ukraine would cause ​food insecurity​ across the planet, I wrote a blog post about the upside of the coming food shortage.

Well, here we go again.

Logistics experts are sounding the alarm about energy shortages, particularly in diesel fuel. They point out that even if the Middle East conflict ends today, a significant lag exists before the world can return to normal energy stockpiles. Oil infrastructure needs to be turned back on, oil tankers need to be filled, and these ships need to sail across the globe to refinery destinations.

In the United States, 70 percent of all agricultural and food products are transported by truck, and every truck runs on diesel. When trucks stop moving, so does everything the trucks were meant to carry.

So let’s stay positive and look on the bright side of what comes next.

10) People will get plenty of sunlight and fresh air while standing in ration lines for food.

9) The lack of food available to buy will offset rising grocery prices.

8) Less obesity and better metabolic health means the coming shortage of pharmaceuticals will impact fewer people.*

7) Cookies really will be a sometimes food.

6) You can permanently cross weekly meal planning off your to-do list.

5) People who do intermittent fasting will no longer have to defend their lifestyle choices — or even be noticed.

4) Portion control will no longer require willpower, apps, or lifestyle influencers.

3) “Out of stock” labels will reduce decision fatigue across all grocery categories.   

2) With no trucks to transport food, the “buy local” crowd finally wins.

1) The political divide in this country will disappear when everyone is fighting over the last rotisserie chicken at Costco.

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*In the pharmaceutical industry, oil-related disruptions lead to: missing petrochemical feedstocks; less plastic for IV bags, syringes, and packaging; and insufficient quantities of the solvents used in manufacturing processes.