Sid Mahanta — Latest Stories

Big Beef

Imagine if the federal government mandated that a portion of all federal gas taxes go directly to the oil industry’s trade association, the American Petroleum Institute. Imagine further that API used this public money to finance ad campaigns encouraging people to drive more and turn up their thermostats, all while lobbying to discredit oil industry critics—from environmentalists to those calling for better safety regulations or alternative energy sources.That’s a deal not even Exxon could pull off, yet the nation’s largest meat-packers now enjoy something quite like it. Today, when you buy a Big Mac or a T-bone, a portion of the cost is a tax on beef, the proceeds from which the government hands over to a private trade group called the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. How did this system come into being? And what is the NCBA doing with all that money?

A Year After Sandy, Food and Fuel Supplies are as Vulnerable as Ever

A year ago, Hurricane Sandy revealed harrowing realities about the basic systems New Yorkers rely on every day. The reality is that private food and fuel systems everywhere are already extremely fragile, and grow more so almost by the day. At best, Sandy-like shocks cause temporary price spikes. At worst, these ruptures can trigger the sort of panic that can forever change the character of a community.And, so far, no government has even begun to study these risks.

Sid MahantaOctober 28, 2013hurricane sandy, resiliency, Sid Mahanta

New York's Looming Food Disaster

In New York City, locating a bite to eat is rarely a difficult task. The city is a food paradise or, depending on your mood, a place of overwhelming glut. But when Superstorm Sandy pummeled New York last fall, it revealed the terrifying potential for sudden food shortages.Disturbingly, city officials have little concrete data on how reliant their food system is on the private food distribution industry, and whether society is teetering a mere "nine meals away from revolution" (an ominous old expression that appeared in The Atlantic all the way back in 1945). Worse yet, they have little understanding of the logistical changes that have revolutionized how companies warehouse and distribute the food on which New Yorkers depend.