Food Shortages and Anarchy
We could very well be headed towards this scenario of anarchy…just look at the global situation and how what everyone keeps trying to deny is happening everywhere, including here in the U.S. (referring to the protests in WI over the teacher unions). The people are finding their voice and being heard now.
I expect that we will continue to see more ‘social unrest’ as the days, weeks and months go by…if this is indeed the case and we have already seen some serious spikes in prices for food and gas…what do you think more of this will look like for you and your family?
I urge everyone to store some food and water there is nothing crazy about that!
Connecting the dots to anarchy
Last year here in north Idaho, my garden failed. Miserably.
Not from lack of trying. But after having the “winter of no winter” (very little snow), we also had the “summer of no summer.” Well into the third week of June, the cold and rainy conditions made it nearly impossible for vegetables to grow.
It was a harsh lesson in some ways. Right now a garden’s failure is merely an inconvenience. But in times past, a garden’s failure could be catastrophic. After all, the French Revolution was triggered in large part because people were starving. Some say the recent riots in Egypt were fueled by surging wheat prices.
Keep this in mind for a moment as we review some recent headlines:
* A leading U.K. scientist warned about a threat of food riots around the world unless research into increasing crop yields is stepped up.
* A severe drought is threatening to destroy China’s wheat crop. Emergency measures to divert water for irrigation are leaving nearly 3 million people short of drinking water. “China’s grain situation is critical to the rest of the world – if they are forced to go out on the market to procure adequate supplies for their population, it could send huge shock waves through the world’s grain markets,” said Robert S. Zeigler.
* Global food prices have hit “dangerous levels” that could contribute to political instability, push millions of people into poverty and raise the cost of groceries. The USDA predicted last week U.S. corn farmers will have 675 million bushels of corn at the end of August, before next year’s harvest begins. That’s just an 18-day supply.
Are you prepared for societal upheaval many believe is inevitable? Take the first step with Gen. Honoré’s book, “Survival: How a Culture of Preparedness Can Save You and Your Family from Disasters”
Of course it’s not just food that’s an issue. What about debt?
* President Obama’s budget, released Monday, was conceived as a blueprint for future spending, but it also paints the bleakest picture yet of the current fiscal year, which is on track for a record federal deficit and will see the government’s overall debt surpass the size of the total U.S. economy.
* The chances of a government shutdown are on the rise.
* Silver is spiking.
* Like it or not, unemployment is at 17.3 percent, not the relatively soothing 9 percent we’re being spoon-fed by the mainstream media.
* Just four years ago, our budget deficit ($161 billion in 2007) was 10 percent of what it is today ($1.65 trillion).
British columnist Andrew Simms isn’t afraid to state the obvious: “This year is the 10th anniversary of the fuel protests [when protesters blockaded British oil refineries, bringing the supply of fuels to gas stations to a halt], when supermarket bosses sat with ministers and civil servants in Whitehall warning that there were just three days of food left. We were, in effect, nine meals from anarchy. Suddenly, the apocalyptic visions of novelists and filmmakers seemed less preposterous. Civilization’s veneer may be much thinner than we like to think.”
Are you connecting the dots yet? This is the elephant in the room that everyone refuses to see: We’re not as secure in this country as the government and mainstream media would like us to believe. There are sporadic news reports about dire possibilities, but few people are willing to connect the dots on the individual level. And yet it’s well-documented that America, too, has a mere three day supply of food in stores, thanks to just-in-time deliveries and the efficiency of modern-day transportation and manufacturing systems. America itself remains a mere nine meals from anarchy.
What this means, of course, is just what it says: After three days with no food, the veneer of civilization breaks down and people will commit just about any violence necessary to secure some food for themselves and their families. Remember Katrina?
Except for localized disasters, how long has it been since we’ve had food shortages in America? Certainly not in my lifetime. For too long, our complacent, secure nation has viewed resource troubles as someone else’s problem. There is a subtle underlying ethno-superiority when it comes to addressing scarcity. It’s always “those people” (in other countries) who suffer, not us. We’re Americans. We’re better. We have our benevolent government to save us.
Lulled by entitlements that have pervaded our nation in the past few decades, we believe we will always have food. So we sit. And wait. And fold our hands. And refuse to help ourselves. And stay vulnerable.
Read more: Connecting the dots to anarchy http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=265253#ixzz1EjDEzqZL
Meanwhile, a 50-pound bag of rice can still be bought for about $25 and a 50-pound bag of beans for less. A hundred pounds of rice and beans will last someone a long time. That kind of food security is affordable for nearly every citizen in this country, especially since food – right now – is still relatively cheap and available.
Yet anyone who preaches about keeping a full pantry is endlessly mocked and ridiculed as a right-wing extremist, a fear-monger and even a domestic terrorist. For centuries, a full pantry was simply a sensible precaution against the inevitable variations in weather and personal economic conditions. But America has developed a sense of arrogance and an “it can’t happen to me” attitude – coupled with an astounding ignorance of basic survival skills – that bodes ill for when disaster strikes. And history shows that sooner or later it will strike.
What worries me about this attitude is that when food shortages hit on a long-term basis or when unemployment spikes beyond the government’s ability to provide, hungry folks will listen to anyone who claims to have the ability to solve their problems and blame others for causing the hunger.
If money is worthless and food is hard to come by, how long before we react with fear and anger? How long before we’re willing to blame anyone and anything? How long before some charismatic leader assures us that he can solve all our problems? How long before violence erupts?
Can’t happen here? Don’t fool yourself. Hunger has no nationality. It doesn’t belong to any skin color, language or culture. Buy food now – because when the pantry is truly empty, it’s too late.
Read more: Connecting the dots to anarchy http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&
Again I would urge everyone to begin to store some foods and water. Enerfood and a Berkey water purifier would be great ways to start. Sprouting seeds are also wonderful and everyone should have them!
Food shortages coming soon
The proverbial stuff is beginning to hit the fan. As we have been saying, this weather will result in higher food prices and now it looks like shortages in row crops is imminent. I only hope that this article is not true.
I suggest you get some food stocks stored, frozen veges that you like for example and some Enerfood.
Major Food Distributor Sysco: “Immediate Volatile Prices, Expected Limited Availability, and Mediocre Quality at Best”
Adding to already rising food prices due to monetary inflation and weather related supply problems around the globe, one of the world’s leading food distribution companies, Sysco Corporation, is advising clients and their customers that the recent freeze across North America has significantly impacted growing operations in Mexico (as well as parts of the U.S.) leading to 80% – 100% crop damage:
ALL OF OUR GROWERS HAVE INVOKED THE ACT OF GOD CLAUSE ON OUR CONTRACTS DUE TO THE FOLLOWING RELEASE. WE WILL BE CONTACTING YOU PERSONALLY TO REVIEW HOW THIS WILL AFFECT OUR CONTRACTED ITEMS WITH YOU GOING FORWARD.
THE DEVASTATING FREEZE IN MEXICO IS WORST FREEZE IN OVER 50 YEARS…
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 AND OPTION.
WITH THE SERIES OF WEATHER DISASTERS THAT HAS OCCURRED IN BOTH OF THESE MAJOR GROWING AREAS WE WILL EXPERIENCE IMMEDIATE VOLATILE PRICES, EXPECTED LIMITED AVAILABILITY, AND MEDIOCRE QUALITY AT BEST. THIS WILL NOT ONLY HAVE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON SUPPLIES, BUT BECAUSE OF VERY STRONG BLOSSOM DROPS, THIS WILL ALSO IMPACT SUPPLIES 30 – 60 DAYS FROM NOW.
SOME GROWERS ARE MEETING WITH THEIR BOARDS RIGHT NOW TO DETERMINE WHETHER THEY SHOULD IMMEDIATELY RE-PLANT, HOPING FOR A HARVEST BY LATE-MARCH-TOEARLY-APRIL, OR WHETHER THEY SHOULD DISC THE FIELDS UNDER AND WAIT FOR ANOTHER SEASON.
Source: Sysco Release/Memo: Mexico Freeze [PDF]
Now might be a good time to hit the frozen foods (or fresh produce if you’ve got a vacuum sealer) aisle at your local grocery store and stock up on your favorite fruits and veggies, as there may be a severe supply crunch coming in the next couple weeks lasting perhaps several months. Why pay premium prices later when you can prepare yourself today, before the rest of the country gets wind of it.
The February 8, 2011 memo from Sysco Corporation comes on the heels of a report the day prior suggesting that Sysco will be forced to raise prices on foods ranging from dairy to meats (and probably grains, based on this report and chart) as a result of higher raw material costs and margin compression:
Higher raw material costs have pressured companies across sectors, and many of them, including Kellogg Co the world’s largest breakfast cereal company, raised prices to combat rising ingredient costs.
Sysco shares were down more than 6 percent on Monday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange.
On a call with analysts, the company said a double digit price rise in meat, dairy and seafood — categories that account for one-third of its sales — created substantial margin pressures.
“It is unlikely that these pressures are going to subside near term,” Morning Star analyst Erin Sherin said, “This is in stark contrast to the 3.5 percent deflation Sysco was experiencing in the year-ago quarter.”
Food inflation is a mounting worry globally. A recent study on global food prices by a U.N. agency showed they hit their highest level on record in January, and are set to worsen after a massive snowstorm in the United States and floods in Australia.
Sysco CEO Bill DeLaney said, “Recovery and to some extent, (its) financial results may be somewhat choppy due to the economic challenges that consumers continue to face.”
We previously warned readers (Agflation Goes Retail and Broke and Hungry: This Chart Says It All) to expect this very effect of margin compression to hit consumers in coming weeks and months. Sysco has now essentially confirmed that their prices are going up, which means your prices at local grocery stores are headed north. And you can bet that if their raw material costs are up double digit percentage points, your retail prices will be as well.
The strategy we outlined in January of 2010 – Buy Commodities at Today’s Lower Prices, Consume at Tomorrow’s Higher Prices – may have sounded a bit doom and gloomish to some, but considering what has transpired in commodity markets and the food production sector, it was and still remains a viable investment strategy. While day traders and stock brokers on Wall Street exchange ETF’s and commodity options, we recommend to those of our readers who could care less about paper financial markets, to buy real food and store it for the longer term. Prices will likely continue to rise, and holding your own food stores gives you peace of mind knowing there is no counter-party risk, as you have the physical asset in your possession, ready for consumption or trade at a time of your choosing.
I hope you have heeded out warnings and have at least some food stocks in your pantry!
