As you watch Harvey drown Houston and the gulf coast pause for a moment and realize that a local disaster for the people in that area is about to demonstrate just how much the entire country is interconnected. Would you be surprised to learn that Cheese (and other dairy products) are about to go up in price due to a hurricane over 1000 miles away.
Most cheese in the US comes from the upper mid west and California, sure there are some local producers in NY and New England but the bulk comes from Wisconsin and surrounding States. So howcome a hurricane in Houston can increase the price of cheese?
There are a couple of good diaries up now looking at the refining industry that the gulf is so well known for and the impact as plant have to shut down and are flaring off excess gas. This will near certainly result in an increase in the price of gas at the pump. Certainly that will push up prices but that is not the main driver. All along the gulf coast and the Mississippi river are other chemical plant that produce a range of caustic soda, bleach, nitric and phosphoric acids. All those chemical plant are shutting down along side the refineries, with no one quite sure when they will go back on line.
It may come as a surprise to you but if you want to make cheese or pasteurize milk you need a lot of fairly nasty chemicals (its called cleaning in place or CIP) to maintain a sanitary environment in the processing equipment. Much as the industry has looked at replacements and less harsh alternatives when you have been doing something for 40 years it is hard to make changes and without CIP dairy products are hard to maintain in terms of quality and safety. Its not just the large commercial producers, even your artisanal cheese comes from some one who can tell you all about the need to sanitize equipment. Nearly 26 percent of all the chemicals used are manufactured in the gulf region, or rather they were. There was already a shortage of caustic soda in the country (Sodium hydroxide for the chemically minded, lye for the old fashioned) and some upward pressure on prices had been observed. Now that we have lost the gulf coast production prices are going to spike.
It is amazing how many household items are made with caustic soda as one of the basic components; Soap, dish washer detergent, clothes detergent, bleach, paper pulping, production of organic chemicals (plastics), baking soda, bagels, noodles, grits and many many more. All that and its used to make cheese.
There is a strategic reserve of caustic soda but it wont last long, the other issue is the standard method for transporting caustic soda from the gulf to the places it is needed is by barge, there are no barges moving (on purpose) in Texas right now and it may be some time before navigation is possible. Depending on what happens over the next couple of days the Mississippi may also get closed down.
One example of our interconnected world, why we all need to work together, a disaster for Houston means that the Brie and Feta you get from Wisconsin is likely to increase in price.