For months, supply chain and labor shortages have been putting the squeeze on Mike’s Pies.

But another powerful factor — climate change — is heightening those challenges. washingtonpost.com/business/2021/…
Many ingredients in pie — wheat, berries, honey — have been hit hard by climate and weather effects.

That’s sending prices soaring and, combined with a scarcity of workers and other hurdles, is causing mayhem throughout the global food supply chain. wapo.st/3CqK2Fx
That means stocks of seasonal items are significantly below pre-pandemic times, with meat and pies at the highest risk of being out of stock entirely.

Food prices are also way up, rising 5.1 percent in October over last year, the fastest rate in years. wapo.st/3CqK2Fx
Mike’s Pies was down about a dozen workers. The price of most ingredients had climbed 10 to 15 percent. The company couldn’t get flaked coconut or Hershey’s fudge and caramel.

Plus, their graham cracker crumbs vendor was having its own severe shortages. wapo.st/3CqK2Fx
Historic drought conditions destroyed or damaged spring wheat crops in the West, Northern Plains and Southwest, key growing regions for wheat.

Total U.S. bushel numbers are at the lowest they’ve been since 2002. wapo.st/3CqK2Fx
Honey, a critical ingredient in graham cracker crumbs, has been decimated by drought and fire.

Beekeepers, largely those located in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Minnesota, lost 45.5 percent of honeybee colonies from April 2020 to April 2021. wapo.st/3CqK2Fx
Economists broadly expect that the labor and supply chain disruptions should work themselves out as the pandemic fades, but they say climate and weather impacts will remain major threats to food and a growing number of other industries. washingtonpost.com/business/2021/…

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More from @washingtonpost

18 Nov
The American Medical Association and more than 60 other health care associations called on employers to voluntarily implement President Biden’s contested vaccine-or-testing mandate, saying businesses had no time to waste ahead of the busy holiday season. wapo.st/3qPoQGX
In a joint statement, the health care associations said the requirements for businesses were “reasonable and essential,” citing evidence that coronavirus outbreaks have been driven by viral spread at offices, retail locations and other business settings. washingtonpost.com/health/2021/11…
The health care groups’ push conflicts with Republican-led efforts to blunt Biden’s vaccine-or-testing mandate.

All 50 Senate Republicans filed a formal challenge through the Congressional Review Act. A vote on the rule is expected in coming weeks. washingtonpost.com/health/2021/11…
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18 Nov
Fewer boots, more slippers: How a shortage of shipping containers is changing what shows up on shelves wapo.st/3wWu2tA
Shipping containers are in such short supply that companies are having to rethink how they stock shelves, placing a premium on smaller, more compact merchandise: squishy toys and slippers instead of televisions and hiking boots. washingtonpost.com/business/2021/…
To maximize every inch, retailers and freight companies must master a math exercise with a dizzying array of answers, whether that’s 500 artificial Christmas trees or 80,000 Pop It fidget toys.

Some companies are even shrinking toy packages by 30 percent. washingtonpost.com/business/2021/…
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18 Nov
Trump’s Bureau of Land Management HQ move reduced Black employees, created mass vacancies, report says wapo.st/3nqMsPT
A new GAO report found the Bureau of Land Management's relocation to Colorado two years ago reduced the number of Black employees.

Dismantling the D.C. office also drove out the most experienced employees and created widespread staffing shortages. washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…
Despite warnings, the Trump administration pushed ahead with the relocation — which is now being reversed by Biden.

The move dramatically worsened diversity, with more than half of Black employees retiring or quitting rather than moving to Colorado. washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…
Read 5 tweets
17 Nov
The government announced Wednesday that more than 100,000 people had died of overdoses between April 2020 and April 2021.

It is the first time that drug-related deaths have reached six figures in any 12-month period. wapo.st/3np3Pkb
The people who died — 275 every day — would fill the stadium where the University of Alabama plays football.

There are now more overdose deaths from the illegal synthetic opioid fentanyl than there were overdose deaths from any drug in 2016. wapo.st/3np3Pkb Chart starting from 1999 showing drug overdose deaths per ye
Despite the efforts of governments, health care providers, activists and others, the problem is getting worse — much worse.

The new figures represent a 28.5 percent increase from the same period a year earlier. wapo.st/3np3Pkb
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14 Nov
Tiny as a teacup and just as cute, the tassie is best known as a pecan-filled, cookie-like pastry.

But why stop at pecan? Just about anything can fill a tassie’s wee pastry crust. They keep well, and a box of tassies makes a darling gift, too. wapo.st/3D7XFdW
Instead of making one or three full-size pies, what if you made a few trays of tassies?

That way, no matter what kind of gathering you plan to have, everyone can have a bite (or four!) of their favorite Thanksgiving dessert flavors. wapo.st/3D7XFdW
This classic recipe for pecan tassies was adapted from our archives.

Brown sugar and a touch of salt in the filling produces a butterscotch-like layer in each one. Toasted pecans rise to the top and add crunch to each bite. wapo.st/2YyH8R6 Pecan tassies deliver the flavor of a classic pie in a tiny
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13 Nov
Nations reach climate deal at COP26, but it is not enough to head off catastrophic warming washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…
Two weeks of high-profile talks yielded a package that pushes countries to strengthen near-term climate targets and move away from fossil fuels faster.

It insists wealthy countries help vulnerable nations cope with the rising costs of climate change. washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…
The agreement, however, does not achieve the most ambitious goal of the 2015 Paris accord — to limit Earth’s warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7F) above preindustrial levels.

Delegations left COP26 with the Earth still on track to blow past the threshold. washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…
Read 10 tweets

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