Hey there,
Happy almost Friday! With some new work adventures quickly approaching (I’ll share more at a later time), I decided that I would take it easy this week. Take a ‘breather’ so to speak and lighten my workload where I could. Funnily enough, actually committing to taking a break - even just for five days - is a lot more uncomfortable and difficult than keeping myself busy at all times. Is that a product of re-acclimating to US productivity culture over the last two years? Or maybe my own way of tuning out what feels like the constant chaotic state of the world? Not sure, but I decided to make it my mission to be “an overachiever at slowing down”, as my friend Serena cleverly framed it.
As part of my attempt to relax, I’m pausing the round up this week and next week. I promise I’ll be back in two weeks more refreshed, and thus better equipped, to deliver you some food, agriculture, and supply chain must-read news.
Before I say “see you in a few weeks”, I will say that I hope everyone gets a chance to read about the railroad union negotiations happening in the US currently. A few weeks back, I rounded up a few articles on the topic shortly after the Biden administration had made mediation recommendations and mandated a ‘cooling off’ period for the negotiations. This week, news of the negotiations finally made headlines when some of the larger unions authorized strike action. Thankfully, a tentative agreement between the railroad companies and unions was reached earlier today. Prior to reading about the negotiations a few months ago, I admittedly had no idea just how vital our railroads still are to our food, water, and energy. A little embarrassing for someone from the Midwest.
More importantly, I think this situation highlights the cliff that much of our global food system is teetering on. In the US especially, we’ve placed so much priority around convenience of access to anything at any time without a real cognizance of what that requires of the people our supply chains depend upon. I don’t consider that to be a sentence of gloom and doom, but instead a hopeful turning point through which we might increase our awareness of how these systems are designed. Transforming mental modes is a huge chunk of the iceberg after all.
Anyway, back to my break. If you miss Before the Cutting Board while I’m gone, feel free to look through the archive for any round ups that you missed!