Fully Stocked ?— Grocery Shopping During the Coronavirus Pandemic

As the coronavirus pandemic hit, a mass hysteria of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and food buying began. I am trying to resist the hysteria by buying only what my family needs for each week, however, pushing my shopping cart down aisles with missing food items is a surreal experience. This has never occurred in my lifetime.

I recently read an academic paper on the importance of food storage in prehistory. I think a quote from the article is most pertinent to the weird feelings we get with the current food shortages in our grocery stores.

From Spyroua et al. 2019:

Although often taken for granted by consumers in the modern world, maintaining a reliable food supply has always played a major role in the history of our species

I am confident after the initial wave of supply hoarding in preparation for social distancing, and the possibilities of self-quarantines that our grocery stores will return to their fully stocked shelves. It does give pause for thought of how little we think about where we can obtain our food, and how food supply chains today have greatly altered our modern lives.