Idaho Girds for a Shortage of Oranges

When my mom was a little girl, Christmas usually consisted of one present and an orange.  The latter was considered a delicacy in the snowy Great Lakes region where she grew up.

Florida and California didn’t yet have the massive groves visitors see today.  The Second World War broke out weeks before her second Christmas, and many foodstuffs were diverted overseas for the troops.  People made do with rationing and locally sourced crops.  There were plenty of apples, peaches, pears, and potatoes.  Oranges, lemons, and limes were in short supply.  The local grocery store served as a gas station and Post Office and wasn’t much larger than a cabin.

Contrast that with our modern supermarkets.                                                                                                                                              I was shopping last weekend and rounded a corner and was face to face with boxes of oranges.  A little pricey due to inflation, some disease in the groves, and some harsh weather, but still in abundance.

It may not last.  Orange production is expected to be the lowest since before my mom was born.  Check out this link, which explains the crop could be halved.

We’ve been threatened with food shortages because of diesel supplies.  Remedied by increased reefing and some ships taking the fuel to Europe were turned around.  We were threatened with a rail strike.  A work stoppage may still arrive in the spring, but Congress would unlikely allow things to get that far.

So, we have the trains and trucks, we just simply may not have the sweet source of Vitamin C.  It’s like we're experiencing a milder form of the biblical plagues of Egypt.

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