Can you imagine there has been a Carbon Dioxide shortage in the world? What if we tell you that this shortage is disrupting the meat industry and making us stare at impending food insecurity? Well, it may sound indeed shocking that how could we be short of Carbon Dioxide, especially with the rising global warming, but it’s true!
Meat processors in the United Kingdom during September 2021 had reported a supply shortage of carbon dioxide from the fertilizer industry, where the gas is produced as a by-product. The gas is used in slaughterhouses to stun pigs and chicken before slaughtering them and is also utilized in the packaging process. However, in the United Kingdom, a number of chemical fertilizer factories had closed down due to the rise in prices of natural gas, on which the production units used to run. Driven partly by the COVID-19 pandemic, the soaring of natural gas’ prices was a result of increase of demand for the gas as economies began to recover. The reduced flow of natural gas to the UK from Norway also led to the surge in prices.
“If CO2 supplies become tighter and more unpredictable then supply chains will have to slow down. Ultimately, no CO2 means no throughput”, British Poultry Council chief executive Richard Griffiths said.
Source: BBC
Without the timely availability of carbon dioxide from the fertilizer industry, the meat production industry faced two-pronged threat. First, it could not stun the adequate number of animals prior to slaughter, which led to a dip in the production of meat. Second, since Carbon Dioxide is used in packaging to prolong shelf life, the shortage led to higher perishability of the meat products.
What is even more concerning is that the Carbon Dioxide supply shortage would not harm the non-vegetarians alone. Carbon Dioxide is also utilized in greenhouse farms to aid in the growth of plants and to achieve sufficient yields. With slump in meat production, pressure of plant-based food is bound to increase, which would only make things worse as greenhouse farms would be producing below the adequate yield levels.
The shortage of the greenhouse gas has also impacted the beverages industry, where Carbon Dioxide is used for producing aerated drinks. Therefore, the shortage has played havoc with multiple food categories and has shifted the concerns of the governments towards food insecurity.
Reuters reported that ethanol production has decreased in the United States with 34 out of 45 plants affected by the current changes. Since ethanol plants resell the carbon dioxide byproduct to manufacturers, companies that rely on it are seeing rising prices. For example, beer brewers are paying 25% more for carbon dioxide now.
Source: Reuters
A shortage of carbon dioxide can have far-reaching consequences on water treatment plants too, as some of them use carbon dioxide to soften hard water filled with minerals, which improves the quality of drinking water. The resulting water scarcity can lead to socioeconomic and political challenges in the society, especially in the poor nations which lack the financial and political capability to deal with such issues.
The world is taking sincere efforts to contain the situation and there are high chances that this won’t spiral down into something nasty this time, but we must take note of such case studies to prepare better for the future.
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