Devastating freeze in Mexico is worst freeze in over 50 years
By Sysco Corporation
Feb. 8, 2011
All of our growers have invoked the act of god clause on our contracts (force majuere) due to the following release:
The extreme freezing temperatures hit a very broad section of major growing regions in Mexico, from Hermosillo in the north all the way south to Los Mochis and even south of Culiacan. The early reports are still coming in but most are showing losses of crops in the range of 80 to 100%.
Even shade house product was hit by the extremely cold temps. It will take 7-10 days to have a clearer picture from growers and field supervisors, but these growing regions haven’t had cold like this in over a half century.
This time of year, Mexico supplies a significant percent of North America’s row crop vegetables such as green beans, eggplant, cucumbers, squash, peppers, asparagus, and round and roma tomatoes.
Florida normally is a major supplier for these items as well but they have already been struck with severe freeze damage in December and January and up until now have had to purchase product out of Mexico to fill their commitments; that is no longer an option.
Read full post at Sysco Corporation
Food Freedom 
the hits just keep coming.
God will not be mocked
There is no god.
After the initial knee-jerk reaction, i noticed that since the article source is Sysco it would follow that it contains lots and lots of FEAR MONGERING…
But, as we are, by and large, in the dark… what is real? Certainly, if these corrupt corporations want to generate food, water or any other type of shortage there is nothing to stop them as it stands right now. They own everything… even own the weather. We need a massive conscious awakening and fast.
I am so over all this destruction, deception, lack of respect and pain.
well, I believe a substantial portion of Mexican crops were lost just because I know the freeze happened… but what that portion is remains in doubt. And, no doubt sysco would use the news to hike prices, like any psychopath whose only value is profit.
I do wonder how much of this freeze is generated by nefarious human forces and how much is a result of reduced sunspot activity.
glad you got your garden, eh?
Rady, the sun’s output has barely changed since 1970.
What has happened is, as you refer to obliquely, that humans have continued to dig up carbon buried for millions of years, and transfer that into our atmosphere. The result is that the lovely, relatively stable global climate that human civilization has flourished under for the last 10,000 years or so is getting increasingly unstable. While one can never tie any one single weather event to the increased warming of our atmosphere, the statistics are starting to pile on – floods, huge dumps of snow across parts of NA, freezing in Florida and Mexico, etc.
All in all, a good time to be relying more and more on local foods, preserving, etc, all of the things that you promote in this blog. Keep up the great work!
Au contraire, Christine ~ I’ve added a new pic to the bottom of this post to show you (and other readers) that solar activity is reaching lows obtained during the Maunder Minimum, when Europe experienced a mini ice age.
Also see Ebbing sunspot activity makes Europe freeze.
Factor in La Nina, and we see colder temperatures across much of North America, particularly impacting agriculture.
I just wish winter gardens were easier in NC.
Patrick, check out: A Geodesic Greenhouse: Year-Round Gardening at 6000 Feet (Video)
Hence my warning back on 12-12-10 stock up on tomatoes while they were .60 per can.
Did just that, GardenSerf.
Patrick – It should be quite easy to winter garden in NC. I’m doing it over the mountain in TN. This winter was rough though with the hard freeze in November. I’ve gotten some additional supplies now to do a better job even with the single digit & teen temps.
This sort of thing with Mexico may create more opportunity for small, innovative growers though!
agreed with all above, and now an even more compelling reason to become a locavore or grow your own. Also, for those who have (ha) money, take a look on Coto (I think that’s where I saw it) about the amazing GrowDome project in CO. It is an absolutely GREAT way to grow off season.
This is the grow dome link: A Geodesic Greenhouse: Year-Round Gardening at 6000 Feet (Video)
Any reason is a good reason to become a locavore.
btw, I wouldn’t eat canned tomatoes, given the BPA and that the acid in the tomatoes breaks down the BPA so it mixes in with the food.
See 7 Foods So Unsafe Farmers Won’t Eat Them
The author claims it is ‘decreased sunspot activity’ that has created this freeze, while supplying a graph that shows an increase in sunspot activity.
In addition, the author claims that La Nina is a cause, even thought La Nina generally makes Mexico WARM and DRY.
just another denier FAIL at actual science..
David, you might want to take another look at the graph… it shows DECREASED sunspot activity. (talk about failing at basic math, let alone science.)
As to La Nina contributing to the colder temps, I cite AccuWeather.com, which predicted on Jan. 17 that this La Nina will cause:
“colder-than-normal conditions to continue affecting the East through the end of January and possibly the first half of February. In contrast to December, which was coldest compared to normal in the Southeast, the upcoming cold in the East is expected to be most extreme in the Northeast.”
why not start with greenhouse program which will elimenate needless gmo foods and pesticides. Both in USA and Mexico, gringos.
All the more reason to go back to local growing of food. Development in industries that would support this could create a lot of jobs. By using technology and greenhouses in northern climates you could create a need for these industries. Industries such as solar, wind, and geo-thermal heating, hydroponic growing and aqua-culture are just a few examples.
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