Emptied supermarket shelves across the Southeast reveal the hidden cost of extreme weather panic

Economists have found U.S. consumers tend to overbuy in a panicked frenzy before storms like Fern, racing to hoard milk, bread, and canned essential goods, clearing shelves of grocery stores in a storm’s projected path.

But this pre-storm panic purchasing can have major consequences on the planet and on communities with the highest concentration of food insecurity.

Grist staff writer Ayurella Horn-Muller speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about what happens when our storm prep instincts tend to backfire and who it tends to hurt.