•May 6, 2020•
By Bob Easter, Richard Guebert Jr. and Theresa E. Mintle
Illinois Agri-Food Alliance

In the midst of a global health crisis, the agri-food sector is pressing forward determined to do what it does best—feed the world. After all, empty grocery store shelves don’t simply restock themselves.
COVID-19, however, is rapidly exposing our food system’s susceptibilities and disconnects. Could this pandemic catalyze a rethinking and transformation of the current centralized model? With an outsized stake in the outcome, Illinois would be wise to consider.
Under normal circumstances, the modern-day food system operates with efficiency via a “just enough, just in time” lean inventory model supported by a global trade system. By design, it provides a diverse array of abundant, low-cost food and agriculture-derived products sourced around the world catered to consumer demands.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.