Food Companies Hope You Won’t Notice Shortages Are Raising Prices
Between climate change, geopolitical strife and supply chain bottlenecks, consumers better get used to the food volatility tax.
What is French cuisine without Camembert? It’s hard to fathom. The round, gooey, slightly pungent wheels of cheese are an iconic part of any Parisian dinner party. Yet in March, CNN forced that very question, with a headline warning that Camembert was facing an impending “‘extinction’ crisis.” The fungus used to make the classic white rind was running out, scientists warned, possibly endangering its production.
It turned out to be a bit of a false panic. The head of a French cheesemaker association was completely unconcerned—he hadn’t heard about any serious fungus problems—and even one of the researchers behind the original study acknowledged that the famous cheese wasn’t really going anywhere. “There is no short-term danger to Camembert production,” scientist Tatiana Giraud told CNN.