April 20, 2022

Food for Thought

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The Ongoing Impacts on the Food Supply Chain

No doubt, you’ve noticed a few sparsely stocked supermarket shelves at one point or another since the coronavirus pandemic began and more so now with the increased disruption due to the war in Ukraine. For more than two years, COVID-19 presented considerable challenges for global supply chains, often amplifying weaknesses that already existed in the system. Globalization and supply chains have been further challenged as food supply from Ukraine was disrupted and sanctions were applied to Russia. These events have transformed the global food supply chain and fundamentally changed the way we live and eat.

In the United States, we take for granted that we will have year-round access to a variety of fresh, healthy, and safe food on the shelves of our local grocery store. To make this possible, we depend on global trade. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the United States imports approximately 32% of the fresh vegetables, 55% of the fresh fruit, and 94% of the seafood that Americans consume annually. We depend on the global food supply chain – a complex growing, processing and distribution system – to work efficiently and effectively. And it usually does. In fact, prior to the pandemic most of us really didn’t think much about the inner workings of the global supply chain.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced an assortment of roadblocks (literally and figuratively) into the global food supply chain and the Ukraine crisis further exacerbates them, we can be encouraged by the learnings we’ve gained to make our current systems even more robust and resilient. Yet to be successful in this endeavor, we need solid collaboration and cooperation between government, academic, private and public entities within the global system.

Shifting consumer demands are challenging the way the food system has traditionally operated. From farmers and producers to retailers and consumers, the disruptions from these crises has reminded us that each component of the global food system is intricately linked. If one component shifts or breaks down, it impacts other components in some way.

For example, the lifestyle changes brought about by COVID-19 particularly affected the way people eat – everything from having their groceries delivered to meal kit delivery to ordering in from their favorite restaurant. These changes are likely here to stay even once the global pandemic is over, creating potential sustainability and logistical challenges within the global food system. This increased demand on last-mile delivery and its connection to the global food system requires new capabilities, policies, and ways of thinking. As such, global food system leaders will require the necessary skills for identifying creative solutions and innovative ideas to address these new issues.

The Ukraine crisis highlighted a different aspect of the food system. It demonstrated the dependence of many countries on a single nation's output. For example, Egypt is highly reliant on wheat from Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine together produce almost a third of world's wheat and Ukraine alone is the primary producer of sunflower oil. When these supply chains are disrupted, how do dependent nations feed their people? Food will have to be sourced from other locations, resulting in impacts that ripple across the globe.

The impact of twin crises COVID-19 and Ukraine war on the global food supply chain highlights how interconnected our food system is – providing a chance for food system leaders to think more holistically and work more collaboratively with key stakeholders across disciplines as they tackle the large, complex challenges facing the global food system.


The University of Minnesota Integrated Food Systems Leadership (IFSL) Program is designed for professionals interested in accelerating their careers. The IFSL program is a unique, online, graduate certificate program that fosters leadership, collaboration, and innovation across the food system. IFSL is a Post-Baccalaureate Regents Certificate program aimed at bridging the gap between traditional food system education and a professional leadership program

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