As news of the pandemic began circulating, Canadians hurried to grocery stores, laying in supplies for the upcoming crisis. By mid-March, experts had begun warning against hoarding. There is plenty of food in our supply chain, they said; do not "panic buy" lest we create shortages — and very real hardships — for vulnerable members of our communities.

As an historian of Canadian food, I am alarmed to see how pressures for productivity have endangered — and in some cases tragically taken — the lives of food workers. These tragedies are preventable and untenable. And there is historical precedent for strong government intervention in our food marketplace.