I’ll start with this article:
The biggest baby formula supplier in the U.S., whose Michigan plant was shutdown nearly three months ago, claims the bacterial infection that killed at least two infants did not come from their products.
An Abbott spokesperson told DailyMail.com Tuesday that ‘thorough investigation’ by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revealed ‘infant formula produced at our Sturgis facility is not the likely source of infection in the reported cases and that there was not an outbreak caused by products from the facility.’
However, despite the findings of the investigation, the plant remains shuttered nearly three months later.
The nationwide share of out-of-stock baby formula hit 40 percent in April. Texas, Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota, seemingly hardest hit by the shortages, reported out-of-stock rates of about 50 percent.
As shelves across the country meant to carry baby formula remain largely barren, retailers including Target, CVS and Walgreens are limiting the amount of formula consumers can purchase.
Concerned parents, especially those whose children have unique medical and dietary needs, have expressed feelings of hopelessness and are calling on the government to take action to ‘ensure critical, life-sustaining supply chains don’t break down.’
Some states had 40% to 50% out of stock on infants formula.
Let that sink in.
Three years ago I wrote a post The difference between Americans and Venezuelans (hopefully).
In it I quoted this article from The Daily Mail:
What struck me was this photograph:
A severely malnourished 19-year-old girl died in her mother’s arms after doctors in Venezuela were forced to turn her away because a massive blackout shut down a hospital.
Heartbroken mother Elizabeth Díaz was forced to carry her daughter’s body, which weighed just 22 pounds, through the streets to a morgue.
This girl died of malnourishment because of government induced shortages.
There is the very real possibility that in the United States today, infant children will also die of malnourishment due to a government induced shortage.
Children starving to death in the United States because the government absolutely fucked the economy and supply chains to death.
If reading that makes you so mad that blood pounds in your ears, you are not mad enough.
In the America I was born and raised in, children did not starve to death be because shelves were bare.
That is what they did to this country.
I cannot imagine anything worse than watching a child starve to death, except to watch a child starve to death because your government bumble-fucked the system into chaos.
I hope neither God nor man is merciful to those who caused children in America to starve.
“Children starving to death in the United States because the government absolutely fucked the economy and supply chains to death.”
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Go easy on them. Sec. of Transportation Pete Bootysex is being gay as fast as he can.
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Seriously, this is what happens when a nation puts what you are before what you do. No one in this pResident’s cabinet is competent. But, they are members of the “victim” class, and that is more important than abilities.
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And, the problem is a food shortage is just not going to matter enough to the hard core leftists to make a difference in November. In fact, it is likely to result in more people demanding the “government do something.” and the party that runs on a platform of “you are too stupid to take care of yourself” will win.
The Greens will be absolutely thrilled at the idea of Americans starving.
Right up to the point where we turn them into peopleburgers.
I’m pretty sure the Green cult is spread by prions.
Talk about junk food…!
Biden’s VP cabinet shows the consequence of two bad practices. One is that nearly all of them are Affirmative Action appointees. The other is that Biden, in the customary bad practice of weak managers, selects his staff to be less intelligent than he is. (Good managers aim to hire people smarter than they are.) And given how utterly stupid Biden is, satisfying that second requirement is really, really hard.
Most of his crew clearly satisfy both requirements. Walsh sort of does the first (in the sense of “chosen for what group you belong to”; in his case that group is “union boss”) and without question the second. About the only people I can think of that are not actually stupider than Biden are Austin and, maybe, Blinken. (No, not Yellen; she’s an utter puppet and really amazingly dim even by economist standards.)
Come to think of it, I gave Biden too much credit when I said “weak manager”. Like Obama, he’s not a manager at all. Like Obama, he’s never had a real job in his entire life, and wouldn’t know management from a cow flop.
I’m investing in woodchippers and conveyors to feed them.
Nyet, Komerad EN2 SS!
Makarov (the pistol, not the frigate) is goot!
The manufacturer, which was permitted to supply consumers with the speciality formulas on a ‘case-by-case basis,’
Meaning you have to beg some unaccountable government bureaucrat for a necessity to keep a loved-one alive.
“It’s chaps like you what cause unrest.”
I’d also like to know what’s happened to the plant’s management, and the size of Abbot’s “diversity” budget compared to its food safety education/enforcement budget.
Went to the local Costco for (among other things) a couple cans of their formula for our kid. They were out, and the guy said they hadn’t had it in over a week. Fortunately, because we plan ahead, we have enough to last him until he’s just old enough to live on solid food, but a few extra cans to help with the transition wouldn’t hurt.
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Contrast: My brother and wife in another state cannot find their brand of formula for my nephew anywhere. Checking the various big-box stores’ websites, it’s out of stock at all stores within 100 miles of their house, and not being as “prepper”-minded as we are, they only have a 2-3 week supply on-hand. We offered to keep our eyes out, pick up a couple cans if we find it, and ship it over. But “keep our eyes out” is relative; it’s out of stock at all stores here, too.
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This has been going on for longer than is being reported. We, personally, have been OK so far — we plan ahead, remember — but Costco imposed a two-can-per-purchase limit several weeks ago.
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My question is about the families on WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) benefits. If you’re not familiar, you might have noticed the blue tags on store shelves that indicate “WIC Food”; it’s a federal program for needy families that issues monthly vouchers for essential food items, and infant formula is a big part of it. However, the vouchers are “use it or lose it” — IOW, any benefit not redeemed at the time of purchase is gone — and some say things like “5 20-oz cans of [brand] formula” (the approved brand changes from time to time). How do you redeem for five cans when there’s a limit of two per purchase? There’s no exception to the limits, so how do you feed your newborn for the full month, lacking those other three cans?
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This is how government-created starvation happens. It’s a combination of regulation-induced lack of supply, plus rigid no-exception rules restricting how much you can get.
I think everything is done by EBT cards now. Hopefully the cards are more flexible.
It’s been several years since we received WIC vouchers, and we had an EBT card, too. SNAP and TANF are also federal programs, but they’re managed and issued by the states, along with the EBT cards to access them.
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WIC is purely federal and has its own eligibility requirements, and the disparate systems don’t always play nice together.
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It’s possible WIC has modernized, integrated in with SNAP and TANF (and EBT), and has that extra flexibility. That would be great, especially with purchase limits.
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But I’m well aware of the speed of government (our DMV just started accepting debit card payments and our county sheriff’s office is still cash or check only) and different programs wanting all others to stay out of their lane(s), so I’m not holding my breath.