Meat + Poultry - November 2005 - 82

FSI INSIDE THOUGHTS

Is there a Katrina in your food supply?

■

We all sat in utter disbelief as New
Orleans suddenly began to drown on
that Tuesday morning. The aftermath was
and continues to be a shock to our national
nervous system. The infrastructure collapsed
before our very eyes. What we witnessed
was not just the demise of housing, law
enforcement, communications, business and
transportation, but of everything.
The food and water infrastructure collapsed under the weight of a city drowning.
These shocking events highlighted the fact
that the food industry carries more than
enough vulnerabilities to provide ample
opportunity for a similar catastrophe with or
without a hurricane.
You don't have to delve too deeply into
the chaos of Katrina to see similarities that
could easily repeat themselves in food and
agriculture. In the Reality Based Exercises
(RBX)sm we have conducted with the food
industry and regulators across the nation,
we have found that four key elements are
addressed as each crisis unfolds.
Leadership. In New Orleans, the decisionmaking model broke. The leadership
fragmented the instant the unexpected
flowed through the levees. In the food world,
we are already fragmented. At each level of
government there exist competing agendas,
protocols and policies that taken individually
are well-meaning and effective. But pushed
together in an uncertain and ill-defined
crisis, these inconsistencies will kindle leadership conflicts not only within but also
between federal, state and local agencies.
With chaos ruling the streets of New Orleans,
the business infrastructure was called upon
to play a larger role than planned. The
lesson: Industry must join government at the
preparedness table before the event.

Operations. Industry's operational
effectiveness in rapidly growing, processing and distributing our food products
across the country and the globe provide
both strength and weakness. This rapid
distribution of product is the Achilles' Heel
of an otherwise incredibly efficient food-

2 FSI

FOOD SYSTEMS

ınsıder

NOVEMBER 2005

supply chain. The near-instantaneous impact
of a widespread contamination will not only
have major economic and health implications, but it will also instill panic, confusion
and a lack of confidence in our industry and
government. The shortages of the basic
necessities could result in widespread looting
and hoarding of food. The lesson: In the
absence of order, chaos will proliferate. We
must be prepared to manage the chaos as a
nation and an industry.

Gordon Meriwether

Communications. Communications in
our industry are stovepiped much like
we saw in New Orleans. Should a major
food crisis unfold, would we be able to communicate effectively within our business, our
industry, the government and the public?
We heard a lot about the inability to communicate during 9/11, and after four years,
Katrina proved that not much has changed.
Rather than looking to government for
communications bridges, here's the lesson:
Industry must be ready to provide the
communication links and protocols during
a crisis. These protocols must be installed,
tested and exercised before a crisis.

Finance. No matter how committed
the government remains to sustain the
business infrastructure, the bailout is just too
large. Businesses will be left to fend for themselves while the government looks after the
public welfare. The lesson: These financing
protocols must be established and in place
prior to an incident. During chaos is not the
time to be shopping for financial stability.

In this issue...
Fueling
a fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
FSI Trends . . . . . . . . . . 10
FSI Insights . . . . . . 10, 14

We need the government to pull with all
its energy in a crisis to play out the role of
guardian that only the government can
fulfill. But the lessons of our major crises in
recent times indicate that we, the food
industry, need to be ready to step up and
take care of our business, our employees
and the community. In a crisis, we are all in
this together. We must prepare as such.
Gordon Meriwether
Principal, The Uriah Group

Food System in
Action: Ranch
improves via
system approach . . . 12
FSI Numbers . . . . . . . . 14
Media Watch: Not
evacuating from
responsibility . . . . . . 16
Insider on theWeb: www.
foodsystemsinsider.com

http://www.foodsystemsinsider.com

Meat + Poultry - November 2005

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