Este artículo fue escrito por Brandon Smith y publicado originalmente en Prepper All-Naturals
El concepto de hambruna masiva no ha estado en la vanguardia de la sociedad estadounidense durante mucho tiempo. Incluso durante la Gran Depresión, Estados Unidos era mayoritariamente agrario y la mayoría de la gente sabía cómo vivir de la tierra. De hecho, Estados Unidos nunca ha sufrido una verdadera hambruna nacional. Ha habido casos regionales más pequeños de hambruna (como durante el Dust Bowl en la década de 1930), pero nada que se acerque remotamente al tipo de hambrunas que hemos visto en Asia, el Bloque del Este, África u Oriente Medio en los últimos 100 años.
Incluso los europeos occidentales se enfrentaron a grandes hambrunas durante las guerras mundiales (como la hambruna holandesa) y esa experiencia ha dejado una huella en su conciencia colectiva. La mayoría de los estadounidenses, por otro lado, no lo entienden. Debido a que hemos vivido en relativa seguridad y riqueza económica durante tanto tiempo, la idea de tener que pasar sin comida parece "ridícula" para muchas personas. Cuando se menciona la noción de colapso económico, se burlan y la llaman "teoría de la conspiración".
En comparación con la Gran Depresión, la población estadounidense de hoy está completamente alejada de la agricultura y no tiene idea de lo que significa vivir de la tierra. Estas no son cosas que se puedan aprender en unos meses de libros y videos de YouTube; Requieren años de experiencia para dominarlos.
Diré que las cosas han cambiado drásticamente en las últimas dos décadas que he estado escribiendo para los medios de comunicación. Cuando empecé, en 2006, el movimiento de preparación era increíblemente pequeño y, a menudo, la gente tenía miedo de abordar estos temas en foros públicos.
En los últimos años, la cultura de la preparación ha explotado en popularidad. Millones de estadounidenses son ahora expertos en supervivencia con una amplia preparación y entrenamiento con armas de fuego. Prepararse y disparar ya no es el reino de los "locos" de sombreros de papel de aluminio, ahora se considera genial.
El colapso crediticio de 2008-2009 ciertamente ayudó a despertar a la gente a la realidad de la inestabilidad económica en los Estados Unidos. Luego, la pandemia de covid, los cierres y los intentos de tiranía médica realmente sacaron a los estadounidenses de su estupor. Todo lo que los "teóricos de la conspiración" hemos estado advirtiendo se confirmó de repente en el lapso de un par de años. Cada vez que los globalistas y los gobiernos crean una crisis, solo inspiran a más preparadores.
El mayor problema en términos de hambruna no es que los estadounidenses individuales no sean conscientes de la amenaza; muchos de ellos lo son. El problema es que nuestra infraestructura y sistemas logísticos están diseñados para fallar y no hay mucho que el ciudadano promedio pueda hacer al respecto.
El sistema de flete justo a tiempo es quizás uno de los peores jamás concebidos en términos de redundancia comunitaria. Cualquier interrupción, por pequeña que sea, podría cortar el suministro a un pueblo o ciudad durante días o semanas. Luego está la interdependencia que viene con los alimentos que se producen fuera de la mayoría de los estados. Si su estado no tiene una base agrícola sólida, entonces dependerá de fuentes externas de alimentos durante una crisis. ¿Qué garantías hay de que su región pueda obtener alimentos de otros lugares?
Además, la mayoría de la población, incluso aquellos que se están preparando, nunca antes han experimentado eventos de hambruna a gran escala. Es difícil adaptarse mentalmente a una amenaza que uno nunca ha visto.
Sugiero a las personas que quieran saber cómo se siente morir de hambre que lo practiquen de vez en cuando. Intente ayunar durante 24 horas, luego intente ayunar durante 48 horas. Fíjate cuántos días puedes pasar sin comer (solo asegúrate de beber mucha agua). Mi máximo fue de siete días (después de meses de práctica), y lo que descubrí fue que después del tercer día las punzadas de hambre en realidad se detienen por completo. No te vuelves loco, no te vuelves violento; A lo sumo puede que te canses, pero también te sorprenderá lo elevado que se vuelve tu pensamiento y la cantidad de energía que aún tienes.
El cuerpo humano puede sobrevivir durante tres semanas o más sin un solo bocado de comida. Mi sospecha es que el pánico inicial por el hambre potencial es lo que causa más violencia durante las hambrunas. La gente se encuentra con la inanición y pierde la cabeza en los primeros tres días. Los dolores de estómago y la confusión en la primera etapa hacen que reaccionen sin pensar y esto conduce a los disturbios generalizados y otros eventos de crisis que estamos acostumbrados a ver en la historia durante la escasez de alimentos.
El ayuno es una forma de educarse sobre lo que significa pasar hambre; No es tan malo como parece, siempre y cuando tengas algunas reservas de grasa en tu cuerpo. Cuando llegas al punto de pérdida muscular y privación de órganos, es cuando las cosas cambian y surge la posibilidad de la muerte. Tener cierta familiaridad con la sensación de hambre verdadera te ayudará a evitar el pánico en caso de que ocurra algo real en el futuro.
Sin embargo, el mayor problema no es lo que puedes soportar. Ver morir de hambre a las personas que te importan es mucho más difícil. Esto no es algo para lo que pueda practicar y podría ser un motivador mucho más poderoso cuando se trata de saqueos y delitos durante un accidente.
El objetivo, por supuesto, es evitar la hambruna por completo. El almacenamiento de alimentos es la base de cualquier plan de supervivencia. Cualquiera que afirme que saltar directamente a la agricultura, la caza y los comestibles silvestres es la solución, nunca ha tenido que sobrevivir de la tierra en su vida. La realidad es que encontrar suficiente comida y cultivar suficiente comida para vivir es difícil para la mayoría de las personas, incluso en tiempos normales.
Durante el colapso, los cultivos a menudo son difíciles de plantar de manera segura. Pueden ser robados o destruidos fácilmente y requieren grandes comunidades de personas para mantenerlos y protegerlos. Incluso los jardines más pequeños pueden llamar la atención de los indeseables y son difíciles de ocultar.
La caza puede ser útil inicialmente si vives en una zona rural, pero no serás la única persona con la misma idea y los animales se mudarán fuera de una región rápidamente si son cazados a diario. Tendrás que ir cada vez más lejos para encontrarlos y eso es arriesgado durante una crisis.
Los comestibles silvestres son agradables en primavera y verano, cuando son abundantes, pero, de nuevo, si estás caminando gastando más calorías de las que puedes obtener de estas plantas, entonces todo el ejercicio no tiene sentido. Tiendo a encontrar que los defensores de los comestibles silvestres son los más delirantes cuando se trata de la logística de la supervivencia. Los supervivientes que piensan que van a correr al bosque y vivir de las plantas aleatorias que encuentran probablemente morirán.
El cultivo de alimentos, la caza y la búsqueda de alimentos son medidas complementarias, especialmente en los primeros años de cualquier evento de crisis. Sin un suministro primario de emergencia, la mayoría de las personas no sobrevivirán. El almacenamiento de alimentos ha sido un pilar de la civilización durante miles de años por una razón: funciona. Cuando se establezcan comunidades más grandes y seguras, la agricultura podrá volver y la producción autosuficiente hará que el almacenamiento de alimentos sea menos importante. Hasta entonces, lo que tienes en tu sótano o en tu garaje es lo único que te va a mantener con vida.
Desafortunadamente, hay algunas personas que piensan que no necesitan almacenar suministros porque planean quitarles a otras personas. En primer lugar, cualquiera que haga de esto su plan A es probablemente un psicópata y no tengo ninguna empatía por él. En segundo lugar, esas personas no permanecerán vivas por mucho tiempo. Con cada encuentro violento aumenta el riesgo de lesiones o muerte; Los saqueadores y asaltantes se reducirán con bastante rapidez a medida que sean eliminados por personas que defienden sus recursos.
No es como en las películas, amigos; Los merodeadores desaparecerán rápidamente durante un choque. Después del primer año, me sorprendería si alguno de estos individuos o grupos todavía existe.
Mientras tanto, las etapas iniciales del colapso van a ser un shock para muchos estadounidenses. Podría ser un evento de caída de la red, un colapso económico, un colapso de la cadena de suministro, etc., pero el pánico asociado con el hambre estará siempre presente. Las personas que entienden la naturaleza de la hambruna pueden evitar el pánico y organizarse para ponerse a salvo. Sobrevivirán y prosperarán. Las personas que no entienden la hambruna se asustarán en la primera semana sin comida y cometerán errores perjudiciales.
La preparación mental es tan importante como la preparación física. Téngalo en cuenta a medida que avanzamos hacia tiempos inciertos.
Una compañía de alimentos de supervivencia, Prepper All-Naturals, ha bajado los precios de manera proactiva para permitir que los estadounidenses se abastezcan antes de los aumentos proyectados en los precios de la carne de res. Sus filetes de 25 años de vida útil actualmente tienen un 25% de descuento con el código de promoción "invest25".
I agree with most of the points made.
The problem prepared people face though, is they are the 1 in 100000 with the “have”s
And that means 99999 “have nots” around them.
Not exactly. More like 1 in 10 people, especially in conservative areas, but they will still face a lot of difficulty. That’s why you need to organize with people of like mind.
Be careful of those now supposedly “like minded” people who have so far done nothing to prepare and are now loudly agitating that “WE” have to get organized.
Meh. Get organized anyway. Don’t worry about what other people are doing. Worry about what YOU are doing.
As a law enforcement officer, and taking my experience into account, I think the biggest underestimation is the mental stability piece. Great evil, sadistic thoughts and violence hides within humans, just under what is visible to the everyday person. When people cannot cope, they will lash out, and will justify any criminal action to support their families. The bottom line is most large cities and small cities have very few cops patrolling, the idea law enforcement can protect a city only works when the crime is not occurring at the same time. I patrol a valley with only two other guys, if a few people got together and wanted to create havoc they could do more damage than most people think. The moral dilemma preppers will face will be soul crushing. Depending on how long famine persists, people will eat other people, no doubt about it. Men’s hearts will truly fail them for fear. Minor incidents take place, and people are so distraught they cannot recover, let alone the entire system collapsing. I guess my point in all this is that a collapse scenario will bring terrors people cannot imagine
I wholeheartedly agree with you. The first rule of Fight Club is “don’t talk about Fight Club:. The first rule of prepping is “don’t talk about your preps. Listen to what people say and take note. They will tell you what they will do, even if they don’t know it themselves.
You think to highly of how many are actually prepped. There is not 10% ready.
Of the few dozen people I know who consider themselves “prepped”
Think a full pantry a water bib and 1000s of rounds of ammo means they are ready.
Ready for what? They live in a suburb of a major city and have zero means to maintain supply past their few months of actual food.
No, I don’t. I know for a fact based on my 20 years of experience working within the Liberty Movement. Far more people are prepping than you know and most will not share that info.
I agree that there’s many more prepping than what many may think. An an example, my next door neighbor in LA is a for-sure vaxxer, but even he sees the necessity of prepping and has a chicken coop. He’s definitely not a 100% prepper, but I’ve seen many other Californians that are definitely not Conservatives who are seeing the need to start raising their own food.
Brandon, what is the Liberty movement and how can one get involved? I am all about community…
yup i have gone 21 days without food, wasnt that hard after 3 days.
Supposedly, the reason the first 3 days is tough is that the body is de-toxing. After that, as long as you’re eating pretty healthy, the body just burns clean.
Exactly. I use 72 hour fast from time to time just to clean up.
It takes the body that long to switch from living off of carbohydrates, foods that break down into sugars easily, and to go into ketosis. Fasting is often used as a tool to help one get into a state of ketosis.
I live here in the Mojave Dessert. My Section 8 neighbors are “have nots”, they depend on Big Daddy, (me and you) to pay their rent I am well aware of their Uber take out and grocery on goin purchases. Their actions tell me they are clueless. They just bought 2 brand new cars, last week, with one being wrecked this last weekend by a sister who lives with, it’s her fourth or fifth she’s wrecked in the five years I lived here.
The .99 here is closing in nine days, the Family Dollar is scheduled to close by the end of the year and the Dollar Tree to follow all owned by Hilco Global. These companies are reducing the availability of food and needs for the 65,000 folks in this area, all planned trauma. Ya know trauma is big business, makes folks weak, sick, confused, easier to control.
I magine all their liquidation products will be funneled, some how for free, to the folks who have been invited to walk on into our states and scatter. Ya know what I mean? Thanks for your comment and listenin. pmoneypod thumbs up
And the best answer is…. wait for it…. Chickens. You can bring a couple back in the woods with you and survive for a while if you really had to. The eggs are natures perfect protein. If you aren’t forced into the woods and have a rooster, you can hatch them for meat and be eating them in 90 days. And still have the eggs all along.
Food storage will run out. Food production will keep you alive.
You’ll need a large number of chickens to feed a family everyday. Also, they generally don’t lay eggs in late fall through the winter. They are great, but only a supplemental food source at best unless you have hundreds of them.
You need 2 birds per person and a solar panel with battery and heat lamp keep them laying year round.
We eat eggs daily
Incorrect. You will never survive on that. Two eggs a day is less than 200 calories. The average person needs at least 2000 calories per day.
Think rabbits too, New Zealanders. One male and two does. Should get you going nicely.
Big plus. They’re QUIET, and don’t crow.
Stealth is now a virtue.
We thought about raising rabbits which is ok in city limits in subdivisions. I discussed this with several others like-minded. We agreed to pass because they are too much like cats, their paws, hair texture.
I like rabbits as pets and couldn’t kill them myself for meat, but kudos to those that could. Also, I hear that rabbits are too lean on fats, so much easier to survive on chicken meat.
Exactly – you’d have to plan for at least 1/2 a chicken per day per person, under ideal scenarios.
We’ve been farming/homesteading for years. There is also the matter of feeding the chickens (they are excellent foragers but don’t expect regular eggs or meat in 90 days if that is all they get).
They also need ample protection from predators of all kinds.
If you aren’t already set up with a generally self-sufficient homestead, you better find someone in your circle who is and offer whatever help you can!
My first hand account on how to safely store 50 lb bags of rice for 24 years, the short answer is DoD Hardigg cases such as you can find in Army surplus stores that sells with latches every 2 inches and rubber seal. We are still eating rice stored since Y2K, thus first hand experience beats the “best guess”.
Chicken and rice, heaven in a desert. Rice sustains 2/3 of the world’s population. Think of the possibilities of canning meat……
How do you feed them? They need proper nutrition and secure housing and water in order to produce those eggs!
Also geese. double as intruder alarms. Have to train the dogs not to eat them..
Great article! As many have found, for those who are able, periodic fasting helps clear the mind and spirit. It also gives the digestive system a rest which in turn will reward you later by working more efficiently.
One thing not mentioned is when coming off a prolonged fast, don’t rush out and get a burger and fries… you’ll be sicker than a dog! Start back to eating with a couple of days of light meals such as soups or bone broth. Your stomach will thank you later!
Also reboots the immune system
Practice growing food now, and if you live in long season areas, sweet potatoes will save your life. They are full of nutrients and the average marauder won’t know they’re food.
Let us look at how many people actually have the space to grow anything?
What percentage of our population could grow enough to last, a week? Let alone survive.
There are far more have nots that will be ensuring the haves…..”share”
The numbers say, majority of society has 7 meals on hand….
Exactly! The ultimate in preparedness is not massive amounts of food and weapons storage. It is establishing a garden with soil that can sustain a crop now and knowing how to grow and raise your food before you need to. It’s having redundant water supplies and filtration, proper sanitation, etc. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals. Get out of the cities and into a farming area where you can participate in supporting your community and be supported by them in return. Surviving isn’t about going it alone, it is about relationships and having many others watching your back as you all work together. This abundance with those who create it. If you are focused on scarcity, that is what you will end up with.
The problem is that you’re going to need a large food supply to get you to the point where you can grow your own food in a self sustaining way. Even farmers with decades of experience have no clue how bad things can be during a collapse. Try growing food while organized gangs of marauders are lurking around your area; it’s not going to happen until your community drives those looters out. And, driving out the looters means not having time to grow food. Food storage is not negotiable for anyone – Either you have it, or you die.
What would u suggest if im moving to Oh in next few months looking to find home somehwere in between Massillon or Canal Fulton/country but also not too close to the Amish but not too far either.I am planning on growing a garden…mostly fruit n veggies, and canning, i want to create A trade station for the community and ralley up in that area…I truly dont believe the way things are that we even have a year before the shtf.I really dont care if people think im a consipracy nut.At least Ill be alive and be able to help others.Any tips? I joined alot of gardening and canning and prepper and homesteading groups in Ohio online to try to get to know people and fo help learn…
I totally agree. Many people want to grow leafy greens, which are high in nutrients, but very low in calories. Better in my opinion to go with say sweet potatoes which are great in nutrients and also a good source of energy and easy to grow. Every time I get a spoiled spud I don’t want to eat, I bury it in the garden and it takes off.
My only question, is when we KNOW individuals or agencies are directly disrupting weather, food and logistics, why we don’t take them down, sieze their assets and ultimately STOP them?
Remember the Bundy Ranch standoff?
Because rebellion takes time.
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Clean water will be the problem after just a few days. Most don’t have much if the tap shuts off, and surface water in most places will get you sick with parasites.
Grab yourself a few pairs of those ‘berkey’ style filter replacements. Run about $50 for a pair
I have been using them for years to clean water retrieved from a pond near the property
I have also used them to filter swimming pool water.
Get about 1500 gallons from each filter.
Slap a pair in a diy 5gal bucket setup and you are good to go on the filtration part. And they are easy to store and carry extras.
You can use one and make a small portable 1 gal rig using PVC pipe for taking on adventures
Berkey website has no black filter elements available. I bought a Big Berkey and replacement filters in the fall of ’20, haven’t needed the replacements yet. The single best prep I’ve done.
It’s necessary to do a lot of unpleasant thinking to be able to prep effectively, and most people cannot think ahead. I live a block from the Gulf in hurricane country and the unprepared mob the stores every storm. Someone has always saved them in the past and they have expectations for that to be the case in the future.
Berkey water filters are not $50 they are $180 a pair black ones last 5 years the arsnick and fluoride white ones last 1 year or 10,000 gallons those are $100 for 2
Grab two of those silver coins you got before the dollar ran out of gas- hint.(99.99% pure) Hook them up to voltage- around 27 volts . And make you some colloidal silver. Very useful stuff. One Tbls to gallon water and wait an hour. Good to go. Screen out any larger particulates.
Another “threat” is from the powers-that-be who are making noise about registering your livestock, you know, to “keep us safe” from another plan-demic (like bird flu)
Said powers-that-be absolutely hate folks who are self reliant.
Same goes for weapons and ammo.
Hmmm…. defintely “food” for thought…..
who would sit by quietly, peacefully, patiently, and stoically while starving to death? (OK…maybe the japanese) after 30 days, what is the probably that cannibalism would occur?
Gardening is not guaranteed. Bad weather, critters, disease, etc., can damage or wipe out a garden completely. Always, always, always, plant twice what you need.
Food storage (a well stocked pantry as mom called it) is a absolute necessity, a “Plan B” or “Safety Net” if you will for those times your garden is insufficient.
For those that say, “God will provide”, your correct, but not always in the ways we think.
God does feed the birds, but He does not throw the food in their nests.
God given freedoms, come with responsibility, not entitlements.
I moved to the sticks. Bought a farm/ranch. Surrounded by wilderness with water resources. I’m effectively the caretaker of the family bug out destination. Unfortunately, it’s doubtful anyone else will make it here unscathed. Medical Supplies and medical knowledge are often overlooked. Also, knowledge of local flora and fauna. There remain four legged predators out and about. Snake bite (rattlesnake, copperhead and water moccasins). While prepared, it’s a tough go! Plus, you accumulate birthdays and your body doesn’t always cooperate. Don’t go it alone! Friends, family and neighbors (mutual aid).
100%
Well Said!
The reason this article clicks with me is because humans globally and for the most part in the US have been domesticated. The “JIT” delivery system was designed to accelerate the need for the populace to rely on the system.
Also the government for decades has been steering people away from self reliance and growing food, instead relying on supermarkets and fast foods. In some local municipalities it’s against the law to grow your own food. Then we have people like Bill Gates buying up massive amounts of farmland.
Was it Henry Kissinger who said, he who controls the food supply and you can controls the people?
“Mass Starvation: Here’s Why Most Of America Is Completely Unprepared”
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The effects of food starvation are immediate and obvious to everyone. We all need to eat and drink life-sustaining essentials to survive.
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But there is another kind of mass starvation going on these days. That is, Spiritual starvation.
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The human family is starved for meaning and purpose. It is starved for honesty. It is starved for a sense of cooperation and shared fellowship. It s starved for anything positive and uplifting. It is starved for… Joy. Happiness. Even… Bliss.
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And all of these starvations have been deliberately fostered and engineered by the Dark Side to dehumanize and dis-spirit the human family. And ultimately, to move us off a Planet that They try to fully seize for Their own
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We need good purpose and shared goals and a sense of shared humanity to thrive both individually and as a species. And the damnable Dark Side knows this – and know this well.
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We are being starved… as well as we starving ourselves with such things as our total attention to anti-social media and its humanity-debilitating effects on our minds and bodies and spirits. And our eagerness to separate ourselves and fight with each other. We are being choked of life in just about every means possible.
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In an environment such as this… one wonders how long we can survive without the food…the nutrition… and the spiritual grounding and sustenance we need to exist.
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We can take just so much. And then… we won’t have a second chance to save ourselves from the inevitable that the Dark Side has engineered for our previous lives.
I agree.
Anyone who believes they can derive a sense of meaning and/or purpose from the State, from “infotainment” distractions, etc. is lost. Far too many can’t go a day without their “fondle slabs” (portable electronic devices). How are these folks going to maintain sanity, much less survival in a post SHTF world?
Everyone has a breaking point, and the stressors of survival, immediate and long-term push us toward that. Spiritual beliefs are like a grounding influence that help pull us back from the edge, and make it less likely that we will succumb to despair. It’s an every day challenge that becomes far more challenging with deprivation.
Even if we ourselves are at least somewhat prepared for the coming times, it will be very difficult for any with empathy for others to watch the unprepared suffer and die. I believe that like faith, community is ultra important. Even if we can’t, as a family, assist those in need we are faced with, a well-organized community might be able to.
As to raiders and looters, well … into the wicker man with the lot of them.
Another great article!
Occasional fasting is also good for your physical and mental health; indeed, it’s worth remembering.
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Still on the topic dealt by your post, comes to mind “The Grapes of Wrath” (1939), a novel by John Steinbeck (later a movie starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford).
The synopsis? Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of tenant farmers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, agricultural industry changes, and bank foreclosures forcing tenant farmers out of work. Due to their nearly hopeless situation, and in part because they are trapped in the Dust Bowl, the Joads set out for California on the “mother road”, along with thousands of other “Okies” seeking jobs, land, dignity, and a future.
“Mental preparedness is just as important as physical preparedness. Keep that in mind as we move forward into uncertain times.” INDEED! This novel remains more than topical.
Hi everyone,
One crucial thing to know if you’re going to try to have a home garden is DON’T BUY HYBRID SEEDS! Hybrid seeds are almost all that is available but they germinate and grow a season but the seeds from their fruit either don’t germinate or if they do, they are spindly and die. Perhaps 3% will fruit but even If they do produce anything
it is usually small and does not stay true to its ancestry to
the point of being inedible. Buy only “heirloom” seeds. They put off lots of fruit and their seeds will germinate and be true to species. Good luck to us all.
An odd thing happened this week, Brandon released this article and then one of the two major supermarkets in Australia had a situation where a lot of their fresh produce shelves were empty
looks like a beta test from where I’m sitting. Well done on your analysis Brandon, looks like you nailed it again.
“A beta test”; before the big crisis by design?! That does not sound good.
I haven’t forgotten the health dystopia in Australia and New Zealand during the “CV19 crisis”.
Linda, get ready: hard, very hard times are coming.
Agreed, there is a housing crisis in Australia but the government still won’t allow the homeless to occupy the new concentration camp that were built during Covid (oops sorry Wellcamps). The unvaccinated know what their future purposes is
can one afford to buy all they need?
My grandparents canned fish and vegetables for winter because of the high shipping cost and price of shipping in food. The ability to grow crops goes hand in hand with canning and preserving food. Preserving food each year allow one to build up a stock to carry one over till the next planting season. This can greatly supplement purchased food with long storage time. Also, fresh food offers many nutritional advantages. Think sprouts, micro greens, etc.
One can make a cheap hoop house with rebar, PVC pipe, and clear plastic cover. This allows extended growing season for cold weather crops.
One should also look at edible landscaping if they have the room.
The objective is calories per day required! Then comes nutritional requirements.
Grains and root crops make up the majority of calories consumed around the world.
Preservation is not the issue – Growing in the midst of a collapse and civil unrest is the issue. Food storage is essential in the beginning. Without it, people will die. Some might be able to grow food, many will not until there is town or county-sized community organization and security.
Doing some fasting NOW is a great way to learn practical facts about starvation. As you say, three, four, five days can be a real education.
You say: “Unfortunately, there are some people out there who think they don’t need to store supplies because they plan to take from other people. Firstly, anyone who makes this their Plan A is probably a psychopath and I have zero empathy for them.”
I try to be rather choosy about whom I speak with when it comes to survival plans. Over the years I have had a couple people tell me they just plan on taking other people’s stuff. They usually say it with a little laugh: “Ha! I’ll just come to YOUR cabin and take your food! Ha ha!”. My response? “You won’t have to take our stuff. We can use someone like you for security. Just show up, we’ll share with you and you can join up with us!”
Of course I was lying. No one needs a sociopath. But now, if for some reason they actually DO show up, I know who they are, I know what kind of person they are, and I know what to expect from them. On the other hand they do NOT know what to expect from me. They will only last until they turn their back once. Dogs got to eat too.
I started planting fruit, nut trees, edible shrubs and groundcovers 25 years ago. I mixed them all up into an edible forest, most people cannot even tell anything is edible. I built pizza ovens, smoke houses, gravity fed bath/ shower area and have 30,000 gallons of tank water. My toilets works without power and have several tons of stored wood, with another hundred ton of standing timber. I have a solar powered hydroponics and a vegetable garden. I am an excellent archer, have different types of animal traps, and I have studied herbal medicine for years. I live in a semi-rural area where locals have everything I have missed.
The only problem is I am now 70 and will most likely be dead of old age soon.
Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.