# Surviving the upcoming famine



## Loquisimo (Nov 14, 2009)

Ok people, now that we know there will be food shortages this year, how do you plan to survive? I figure my area will be better off than most, since we have diverse agriculture here in California's Sacramento Valley. I can buy fruits and veggies at the numerous roadside stands along Highway 70 between Marysville and Oroville. I'm hoping to have my own land, and some rabbits and chickens, by the worst of it. One thing I haven't figured out, if everybody around you is starving and you're not, how do you keep people from killing you and taking your preps? You can't fend off looters with a shotgun forever. Any ideas on how the numerous HTers in the Midwest will make it, where the crop losses are especially bad?


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

The crop losses here are the crops that are shipped out, not the food that is kept local. Most private and market gardens have done very well. Next year could be a whole different story. I live in a rural area where just about everyone has at least one garden, and they all put up food for the winter. What we worry about is people from town thinking they can come out here and get what they need/want. They will be met by a lot of country boys with a huge amount of firepower. 

I have the makings for a greenhouse, several of them, but don't have the physical ability to put them together alone. If times get as bad as I believe they will, I'll probably have several young men here who will be happy to put them together, and their wives will be thrilled to plant seeds and grow food in them.

In many ways, my life will be better after TSHTF cause there will be so many more people here to share the work. I'm getting to danged old to be doing it all alone so I'm looking forward to having my sons, daughters, their wives, husbands, and children here to share the work load.


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## TurnerHill (Jun 8, 2009)

Loquisimo said:


> Ok people, now that we know there will be food shortages this year, how do you plan to survive?


We don't know any such thing.


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## sgl42 (Jan 20, 2004)

i doubt there will be food shortages here, just the price of food will go up, and for anything where production was lower than the prior years, the prices will go much higher. it will be very poor people in haiti, bangladesh, mexico, etc, who will be most affected, as they will be priced out of the market. americans will be squeezed for sure, but i doubt it will be nearly as bad as poor countries. most will be people who lost their job and have no savings, and for some reason aren't eligible for food stamps and welfare programs.

as the price goes up, people will cut back on waste, and they'll buy cheaper substitutes, eg, eat at mcd's instead of appleby's, cook at home instead of eating out, beans instead of steak. keep in mind that a great deal of the grain produced in the usa goes to animals. reducing consumption of meat by one pound frees up 3-6 pounds of grain (corn, soybeans, wheat, oats) that was used to feed that chicken/hog/cow. 

i expect in a few years there will be real shortages. it will occur if/when we have another global war on the scale of WWII (a major war frequently occurs during economic hard times.) the other thing that would cause real shortages would be hyperinflation, where no one is willing to trade real goods of any sort for worthless pieces of paper. i doubt either of these is likely in the next year, altho i think both are quite possible over the next decade. 

that's why i stock beans, rice, wheat - saves me some money and time now, and provides a buffer in the case of war/rationing/hyperinflation, which i can't predict the exact timing of. i'd like to own land, but at current prices after a huge housing bubble, i'm not convinced it makes sense. food is only one issue -- you also have property taxes, medical care, gasoline. every state and municipality is facing reduced revenues, and they'll be looking to scrape up more money. hard to tell which town invested too much in toxic debt and will go bankrupt, and which will be ok. corps are looking at lots of cost cutting moves too, including layoffs. 

--sgl


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## Ohiogal (Mar 15, 2007)

If you guys expect a shortage, NOW is the time to stockpile seeds. Order extra this year, and crops that can be used like corn and wheat. Not just veggies.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

Wheat berries that you have stored can be used as seed. No need to buy different wheat. 

Crop 'losses' here were due to a overwhelmingly abundant harvest - they just didn't pick a lot of the apples this year. Most of my food comes from my garden and I don't expect losses this year. I think it is the soybeans that were affected by crop losses this year. And the year before it was another crop. And the year before..... 

If you are depending on the local farmer's stands - I would rethink that. If the supply really is low-the prices will be high. It might be better to sock away a bunch of cans of stuff now rather than waiting to see if you make it in line first.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

we have food rotting in the fields , it is more that it is not cost efective to harvest it and store it than it is really needed 

if there were shortages such that it would cause that many hungry people then there would be plenty of cheap labor to pick it and use it , it is just that it was a wet fall here and with moisture levels around 25-28% it is not worth the fule to dry it 

thousands of tons of corn pass my house every night , on there way to be made into ethenol , if there was a huge food shortage there wouldn't be a huge fule need and that corn could be proccessed into human food 

if each person needed a cup of ground corn a day a railroad car would feed several thousand people and a hundred railroad cars a night would feed a lot of people 

now if your going to predict a high price that makes food to expensive for many people i can see , but people starving because the food is not available the crops wern't that bad 

the not eating good food is often less a matter of affording the food and more an issue of affording everything else and food like rent and heat 

this does not mean i don't think stocking up is not wise just i don't see masses of starving people because of out cool wet fall and the increases price of corn


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## naturelover (Jun 6, 2006)

Loquisimo said:


> *Surviving the upcoming famine* Ok people, now that we know there will be food shortages this year, how do you plan to survive? ...........


Could you please elaborate on this? Why and where and how do you think there is going to be food shortages and famine? Are you thinking just locally or are you thinking globally?

.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

wow. glad I'm not the only one that missed the memo about food shortages. The graineries around here are turning farmers away..they can't store anymore. The cattle are back in the fields, and more milkers again. With the snow cover we got this year, the farmers are jumping for joy....fields are protected and should be in great shape come spring.

Loquismo, I think you may not understand just how MUCH this country harvests every year. And a great deal of it is shipped to other countries. Should there ever actually be huge crop losses...the government would simply stop the overseas shipping in order to feed those here. 

I can't remember a year in the last 5 decades that didn't have excess rotting, drying, sitting in fields. And we have millions of acres in government programs that lie fallow. Yes, it's possible we'd have a drought of the type that lead to the dustbowl...but the farmers are MUCH more prepared for that now. 

A famine takes YEARS to make. Even during the great dustbowl times in the 20s/30s, it didn't affect people in the cities on the coasts. My grandparents farmed here in Wisconsin, and they always had plenty to eat, plenty to sell.

Will prices rise this year? sure. They have for the last 40 years. Will there be people standing in breadlines? probably not. (other than those who are homeless due to psychological or jobless issues)

Personally, I think it's much more likely that we'll have a melt down from a government standpoint, or a huge natural disaster than a famine.


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## ChristyACB (Apr 10, 2008)

Yeah, who said something about famine?


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## PhilJohnson (Dec 24, 2006)

I am doing nothing. Wost case scenario price of food goes up some and bio-fuels can't compete with the price of gasoline. Seeing how many fatloads are out there (myself included) a little famine could be a good thing


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Loquisimo said:


> One thing I haven't figured out, if everybody around you is starving and you're not, how do you keep people from killing you and taking your preps? You can't fend off looters with a shotgun forever.


It helps immensely to not live in an area with high population densities... like Southern Cali.

There 'might' be shortages in the Midwest, but quite a chunk of the midwest is depopulated, so a little food will go a long way. 

I'd much rather have a silo 1/4 full of grain, and the population density be in the range of <1/square mile, instead of a lot of food, and have jillions pouring out LA looking for crumbs.

The shotgun part IS true... if you only have a shotgun, hope they don't have a rifle. You have to let them get close with a shotgun. With a rifle you can work out to half a mile, without costing a fortune.

Like a conversation I had with some nephews over the holidays... they were so proud of their firearms... I offered to let them take shots at me at 400 yds, if they let me shoot back.... they 'thunk' about it for a while, and decided they didn't want none of their uncle's bets.

Seriously... you have to have a very good OPSEC... operational security... your place needs to be off the beaten path, and not have through traffic, and not let everyone know you have plenty of food. Sure, they might eventually find your place... but hopefully our friends out on the main roads will have weeded out a lot of the looters before they're taken down.

I have plans upon plans upon plans... I'm thinking roads, culverts, bridges, pine trees... diverting people away, camouflaging what we have, and in stages make it more 'costly' to get here.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Loquisimo said:


> Any ideas on how the numerous HTers in the Midwest will make it, where the crop losses are especially bad?


No crop losses in the Midwest at this time.

Winter wheat has already been planted. I think that the weather *IS* cold enough to damage some winter wheat, excepting that there is a blanket of snow on the ground. That will protect it.


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## FarmerChick (Dec 28, 2009)

I don't think there will be faminine heading my way anytime soon.

but even if some foods were a shortage, I can survive without it. I don't have to have any foods. Since I farm I got all the veggies and meats I can handle. I will do fine.

Where did you get your info? I don't believe the Midwest is heading into a faminine and I don't think guns will come out blaring to defend food.


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

There will be food shortages. Not because there isn't enough grown, but because people will not have either enough money to purchase it, or that they are homeless. Said on the news today the number of homeless families are way up and will probably continue to rise. Families are loosing their places due to being jobless along with major medical bills. 

So if you have plenty of room, grow a lot of extra and donate to people in your area who is having hard times. Donate to soup kitchens in your area. Many soup kitchens are having a hard time keeping up with demand as the number of homeless families increase. 

I'm gonna try to raise a lot of extra's to donate to families here in my area.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

yes the food panties have been streched thin by our present economic situation local unemployment is high with several plants closing , food banks usualy talk only about non perishable food items and while they can't take any of your home canned goods they can take fresh produce and such and very much like it but you have to contact the panty direct as they need to recive it from you in person , unlike just dropping it in the barrel. but call them they are happy to have produce from gardens.

our pantry is working on several ideas to bring in more fresh food in the comming year and to better educate the recipients about scrach cooking and cooking non boxed items like dry beans and using staples.

this is a time where families may need to share a roof with other family memebers who are out of work and can no longer afford rent or morgage payments.
but no one should be starving for any crop reasons.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

There may not be a famine here for a few years, if at all, but it will still get bad. 

There are famines in other countries. There are crop losses around the world. Some countries that used to export food are now importing it. 

We will have food, but it probably won't be what we are used to, what we want, at prices we can afford. It's all based on supply and demand. When other countries need food, we will export to them. That will leave less at home. 

Some examples of whats coming is the valley in Cali that no longer has water and is turning to desert, the citrus tree (oranges?) disease in Florida (and Texas?), the floods that destroyed a lot of wheat and corn harvests. The govt is giving conflicting statements... one statement claims record harvest, another claims a high percentage of crop loss (maybe some areas are doing great while others are being ravaged?) Corn being used for ethanol when they are having food riots in Mexico over a corn shortage. Lots of things are happening around the world that do not get reported here. 

With our system of on demand delivery it would only take one bad harvest to see empty shelves at the markets. The price of fuel could slow down or halt deliveries too. The entire grocery system is set up for everything to run smoothly. One bump in the system could create havoc. Seems like it's not been to long ago when gas prices were up, the price of eggs tripled in my area. That could happen with all food. 

That's why we prep. IF that bump comes along, we will be ready for it. And it will come one day. We don't know when, it could be next week, next year, or next decade. It's happened and is happening in some countries, we simply have no way of knowing when it may happen to us.


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## Texas_Plainsman (Aug 26, 2007)

The Goldman Sachs Gang is predicting much higher prices for food this spring.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I have read several articles on the web about an upcoming famine. Many on crop shortages for this year. It is not new news to me. However, I don't see how a drop in the soybean crop means food shortages this year. I can't stand the stuff! LOL!!!

Unlike many of you, I can see a time when there is no food available. I already see LESS available as store keep less on their shelves and nothing in the back room. I see empty shelves NOW - I see items only 2 can deep on the shelves. I can see a lot of people being out of food if Wal mart didn't have 2 trucks in a row arrive. But it isn't because of a food famine - it is a money famine. Stores aren't investing as much into what food they do put on the shelves.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

Callieslamb said:


> However, I don't see how a drop in the soybean crop means food shortages this year. I can't stand the stuff! LOL!!!
> .


it is used to make so many things that people don't even know it is in look for soy protine , soy lessiphin, soybean oil, and some soy products in many grocerie items 

correct in that it won't affect much in bulk , raw or fresh foods but the boxed foods that far to many people eat regularily contain it , and many animal feeds use it as the protine witch will cause feed priced to go up causing meat to go up.

but i agree in this country it is more likely to be a change in what we eat 

as for mexico and south american Maze shortages , i was listening to a radio story a while back that talked about how as thier society modernized the diet switched to maze , but the old way was to eat a lot of sweet potatoes that literaly grow native in the ditches in many parts of south and central america.
but even there i belive it is more of a finacial issue that a food availability issue they could easily buy corn from the US except for the cost. the still send millions of tons of mexican produce to the USA it is just that it is more finacialy solvent for them to make the dollar on it than take care of thier own.


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## stranger (Feb 24, 2008)

there won't be any shortages, Obamas wife is growing a garden on our land.I'm sure she'll share her bounty now that she's proud to be an American.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Not all food pantries accept fresh produce: call first.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

stranger said:


> there won't be any shortages, obamas wife is growing a garden on our land.i'm sure she'll share her bounty now that she's proud to be an american.


:d lmao


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

We doubled our garden size last year and I suggested to my wife we double it again this year and to my suprise she agreed with no hesitation - in fact she loved the idea.


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

mnn2501 said:


> We doubled our garden size last year and I suggested to my wife we double it again this year and to my surprise she agreed with no hesitation - in fact she loved the idea.


Give that girl a hug !


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## FarmerChick (Dec 28, 2009)

there are "always hard times"

this is nothing new at all

history tells it all


I watched a movie the other day that was 1954 with Clark Gable
Heck they spoke about the same thing that is happening TODAY!

yes it will get worse
yes there will be more out of work
yes it "isn't over yet"---but honestly, it is NEVER over for many


So to me saying that food will be less available of course it will.
It always has been.



but remember that when "they" look back 50 years from now on us, yelling about "their hard times", they will see we had them also----pffttt..it is normal


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## FarmerChick (Dec 28, 2009)

stranger said:


> there won't be any shortages, Obamas wife is growing a garden on our land.I'm sure she'll share her bounty now that she's proud to be an American.


sad
the White House always had a garden for many many years
to single out the current First Lady is just the usual crappola to fit the thread.

ugh


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

I can see the meaning for the OP. Even if we don't experience a traditional famine, the costs of foods going up will make it impossible for those without work to eat unless they go to a food pantry. Homeless people are not just those with psychological problems, etc, many people have been out of work around here so long that their unemployment has run out and they have no money coming in. Which means they are homeless unless they have a loved one to help them out. Times around here are getting worse every day, so it is realistic to say that many are without food.


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## FarmerChick (Dec 28, 2009)

Many are without "alot of things"

housing is one
health insurance is one


yes we should contribute to our communites definitely

I do that with my farm. I give so much away it is crazy....but I know I help my local area.


If we all gave locally, would anyone do without? I mean if the fortunate took care of the Unfortunate in their immediate area....would it ever be tragic to the extent it is?


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## QuiltingLady2 (Jan 3, 2007)

Loquisimo said:


> Ok people, now that we know there will be food shortages this year, how do you plan to survive? I figure my area will be better off than most, since we have diverse agriculture here in California's Sacramento Valley. I can buy fruits and veggies at the numerous roadside stands along Highway 70 between Marysville and Oroville. I'm hoping to have my own land, and some rabbits and chickens, by the worst of it. One thing I haven't figured out, if everybody around you is starving and you're not, how do you keep people from killing you and taking your preps? You can't fend off looters with a shotgun forever. Any ideas on how the numerous HTers in the Midwest will make it, where the crop losses are especially bad?


Where is your link/information? Is that here in the US or in the rest of world? Third world counties have been facing this fact for years. Concern?


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

Yes - being on the other side of the Coastal Range from the OP, I am wondering where are these alleged food shortages?????

If the OP is worried about food shortages in the Sacramento Valley where the majority of divered water goes for crop irrigation of California' s largest agriculture area - they had better stockpile food while it is currently available. Those roadside stands would not be available for them to stop and buy fresh produce from local farmers!

The OP states that they are going to obtain land and animals by the worst of the shortages.. I don't think that would be possible, if things do become that bad...

I was planning on expanding my own gardening space this year, but not due to any projected food shortages.....


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

If there were general VISABLE shortages across THIS country it would spark needed reforms in how we pay our FARMERS and how we handle foods/crops to lessen WASTE. Very uncomfortable and certainly tragic for some until "the fix it NOW" ball gets rolling; but long overdue. Now classic bumpersticker of 4 words; "NO FARM, NO FOOD. Until the need is felt by most instead of just by some, needed reforms will be slow.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

bee said:


> If there were general VISABLE shortages across THIS country it would spark needed reforms in how we pay our FARMERS and how we handle foods/crops to lessen WASTE. Very uncomfortable and certainly tragic for some until "the fix it NOW" ball gets rolling; but long overdue. Now classic bumpersticker of 4 words; "NO FARM, NO FOOD. Until the need is felt by most instead of just by some, needed reforms will be slow.


The only way for any kind of 'reform' to happen is to have famine, pure and simple... lose all the excess members of society (pretty much everyone that doesn't have dirt under their nails) and the strong and well armed farmers might actually make a killing.

After the thinning, if it were light, we'd be right back to the market based system again... I don't know if the system can be reformed...

Methinks I need to order an extra years worth of seeds, muy pronto!

Farmer/ranchers that I know would love to be able to name a price and the customer takes it or leaves it.


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## Midwifemama5 (Jan 14, 2010)

I'm new to these forums, but I'd be interested in some links or further information that can back up the statement by the original OP...thanks!


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Midwifemama, that's quite often a request heard in forums..not just here, but on any site. "give me some verifiable date" or "what's your source of information?" Sometimes it's forthcoming...sometimes not. 

Welcome to the forums


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

I`m in the midwest, right now we have plenty. Last year more rain than we needed, so we will be half way through the season if we don`t get any for awhile. We had a drought in 88 and we still got a crop.maybe not as great but still got some. I have never seen a complete crop failure in the midwest.As far as shotguns, don`t forget we use deer slugs out here, pretty good range for a half inch chunck of lead. And makes a big hole also. I`m not to worried about anything, fuel will be my big thing. Thanks Marc


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## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

Famine, you say. It is possible for me to have a famine while neighbors a couple of hundred miles away do not. We don't know what may happen. Could be problems with transportation or power, who knows?

Looks to me like the person who has prepared will do considerably better than the ones who did not.


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## wally (Oct 9, 2007)

One of the reson wheat arces are down this year was due to the rains last fall. I was late getting my soybeans out so I could not get my wheat planted in time. So now I have next winter wheat seed in the barn. I will plant another row crop this spring, weather permitting


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## Jena (Aug 13, 2003)

Well, since crops are not yet planted in the midwest, I don't see how they can be considered lost.

Jena


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## margoC (Jul 26, 2007)

stranger said:


> there won't be any shortages, Obamas wife is growing a garden on our land.I'm sure she'll share her bounty now that she's proud to be an American.


The problems we may face will have less to do with an actual "shortage" and more to do with fallout from ineffective political decisions. Things that affect the market price and stuff. For instance, lets say a farmer can't get the price they need for the milk or grain, they can't stay in business selling at a loss so they quit. Or like in venezula, where the money is devalued, yet prices cannot be raised because that was declared against the law. 

There may be food available, or potential food that can be grown, but there is much more to the process than that. 


Don't worry about the underlings, they always get theirs. They will take it from the middle class if need be. Like in haiti, the thugs are doing fine, it's the ones trying to live within a system of morals that suffer.


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## margoC (Jul 26, 2007)

texican said:


> The only way for any kind of 'reform' to happen is to have famine, pure and simple... lose all the excess members of society (pretty much everyone that doesn't have dirt under their nails) and the strong and well armed farmers might actually make a killing.
> 
> After the thinning, if it were light, we'd be right back to the market based system again... I don't know if the system can be reformed...
> 
> ...


That's a nice fairytale but the reality is the ones with the dirt under their nails will be the first to suffer. For a real life example look at rhodesia. Opps, I mean zimbabwae. The farmers were murdered, land stolen, and left unproductive. Machinery sits rusted and disabled. 

Like I said in my previous post, political interferance will cause shortages, and the ones that produce will be the ones that pay the price.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

margoC said:


> That's a nice fairytale but the reality is the ones with the dirt under their nails will be the first to suffer. For a real life example look at rhodesia. Opps, I mean zimbabwae. The farmers were murdered, land stolen, and left unproductive. Machinery sits rusted and disabled.
> 
> Like I said in my previous post, political interferance will cause shortages, and the ones that produce will be the ones that pay the price.


Vive la difference...

Rhodesian whites were outnumbered by a huge majority of Rhodesian blacks. The Rhodesian whites could have taken care of the problem, but the world community supported a pure marxist that put on democratic affectations, but afterwards purged the country of it's whites.

I don't know if you know many farmers or ranchers, but to a T, everyone I know is armed to the teeth. After America got it's first Marxist President, the farmer ranchers that before were happy with an old lever action 30-30, a shotgun, and maybe a .22lr or two, went out and bought lifetime supplies of ammo for the current firearms, and bought newer and more powerful weapons.

If our Marxists try the Zimbabwe trick, a few country folks might get cut down in the first simultaneous raid... but after the first raids, the rest will be openly carrying, and then the game is on.

Our marxist thugs are still slackers compared to the Black Marxists of Zimbabwe... 

If it comes down to it, I'll bet on red blooded Americans living on the farm eating a lot longer than a gang banger, apartment dweller, or average Joe living in town. I like my fairy tales. You should read some of my serious doomer porn posts.


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## two_barking_dogs (Sep 17, 2002)

Midwifemama5 said:


> I'm new to these forums, but I'd be interested in some links or further information that can back up the statement by the original OP...thanks!


I've been on vacation for the last couple of weeks and am just now catching up. 

But since a couple of you have asked. There have been numerous articles on upcoming food shortages so I have provided snips of several recent articles with links to the full posts. 

One article below talks about an upcoming seed shortage. I know my feed/seed store will not be getting in kennebec seed potatos this year because of harvest issues.

Last is on the proposed cap and trade bills impact on ag. I lost the link, sorry, for that article while I was cutting and pasting but I posted the full article below. 

Mike


From Here

http://www.cnbc.com/id/34874608


The financial crisis is likely to lead to food shortages in a few years because the agriculture sector is in dire need of funds, legendary investor Jim Rogers told CNBC Friday.


...snip...


From Here

http://www.naturalnews.com/027924_fo..._patterns.html

(NaturalNews) The global deep freeze now striking North America, Europe, China and other regions may lead to severe food shortages and price hikes throughout 2010. Right now, rare freezing temperatures are destroying root crops in their ground, wiping out citrus orchards and devastating food producers around the world. The upshot of it all? Expect food shortages and rising food prices throughout 2010.

This global deep freeze is all part of the extreme weather now being unleashed on the planet due to human beings polluting the world and altering the atmosphere. Scientists can't agree on whether the trend is global warming or global cooling, but no one can argue that something's wrong with the weather.

Rainfall and temperature patterns that used to be reliable are now going haywire. Where there were once reliable seasonal rains, there are alternating periods of drought followed by floods. Where temperatures were once mild and predictable, they're now fluctuating out of control, becoming too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

All this adds up to escalating crop failures that are now poised to have a real, noticeable impact on the global food supply.



....snip....

From Here - upcoming seed shortage

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/gardening/features/6809275.html

Will there be a shortage of vegetable seeds for gardeners in 2010?
It is possible, says Barbara Melera, owner of the oldest seed house in the country, D. Landreth Seeds, formerly of Baltimore and now of New Freedom, Pa.
After back-to-back good years â 2008's salmonella scares and 2009's poor economy send homeowners into the garden to grow their own food â you might expect a backslide in seed sales, Melera said. New gardeners get discouraged or bored.
But, she said, âIn 2009, we had the worst growing season in 50 years.â Rain and disease destroyed crops and with them, the seeds for next year's garden.


âOnion sets. And a cucumber seed shortage,â she predicted. âWe are being told that the cucumber harvest was catastrophic, attacked late in the season by woolly mildew. There was fruit, but no viable seeds inside.


âWe are being told that many, many varieties simply won't be available.â
Likewise, Europe had a terrible harvest this year, and Europeans purchased much of their produce from the United States, taking with it the seeds.
And, as further proof that we are in a global marketplace, Europeans and Australians have taken a fancy to eating sprouts â tons of sprouts.
âWhen you grow vegetables just to get the sprouts, nothing gets to fruit. And they are consuming gigantic quantities of seeds just for the purpose of sprouts.â


Word of possible shortages must be leaking out, Melera said, because retailers are telling her they had their best December in years.
It is certainly true that vegetable gardeners are ordering seeds earlier and earlier, but Melera said she thinks it is more likely that gardeners are acting out of fear of shortages.


It would be a shame, she said, if the young gardeners for whom it is just becoming a passion should face such a setback. 

From Here

http://www.marketskeptics.com/2009/12/2010-food-crisis-for-dummies.html

If you read any economic, financial, or political analysis for 2010 that doesnât mention the food shortage looming next year, throw it in the trash, as it is worthless. There is overwhelming, undeniable evidence that the world will run out of food next year. When this happens, the resulting triple digit food inflation will lead panicking central banks around the world to dump their foreign reserves to appreciate their currencies and lower the cost of food imports, causing the collapse of the dollar, the treasury market, derivative markets, and the global financial system. The US will experience economic disintegration.

The 2010 Food Crisis Means Financial Armageddon

...snip...

Lost link while cut-n-pasting 

The USDA has provided a summary of its latest analysis of the cap-and-trade bill, and we now have a clearer picture of just how much damage the bill would do to agriculture. Several of my Senate colleagues and I requested the analysis in July, and it's taken USDA nearly six months to provide it. While the Senate has yet to be provided a copy of the actual analysis, the USDA testimony confirms we are right to be very worried.
USDA's claim that the legislation will result in a net gain of $22 billion in income for farmers notes that the increase is only because many producers will be forced out of business by increased input costs and decreased production. This leaves whoever is left standing to benefit from higher prices as the overall food supply goes down significantly. The details of USDA's own testimony paints a far more troubling picture.
USDA testified that the costs of fuel, oil and electricity will increase by about 22%. And here's a staggering estimate: the bill drives 59 million acres of cropland and pasture out of production by 2050. With millions of acres coming out of production and energy prices going through the roof, itâs not surprising that USDA also predicts significant declines in farm production. USDAâs testimony shows that corn production will decrease by 22%, soybean production will drop by 29%, beef production will decline by 10% and pork production will sink by 23%. This decline in production will threaten our nationâs food supply, and is estimated to drive up food prices by as much as 5%.
Yet the administration supports this bill. How can USDA support a policy that so drastically and negatively impacts agriculture? Hit hardest will be the small and mid-sized family farms, like many in Nebraska â many of whom cannot incur the cost increases imposed by this bill. Moreover, the net effect of the House bill is to take 59 million acres out of production as the world's population is projected to increase by 2 billion people. Two billion more mouths to feed and 59 million less American acres from which to feed them, while China, South America and our other global competitors gobble up the demand.
While our farmers will be sitting on the sidelines, planting productive acres into trees, our global competitors, unencumbered by the cap-and-trade dagger, will be tearing down forests and planting more crops.
This is not a vision for American agriculture, it's a death sentence. The administration-backed cap-and-trade bill passed by the House represents a paradigm shift in the wrong direction for American agriculture. It is a dangerous public policy proposal that would dramatically impact farmers and ranchers, driving many out of business. I find that unacceptable; the administration needs to go back to the drawing board.


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## bowdonkey (Oct 6, 2007)

I leave for a few days and now I find out I'll be facing starvation this year, LOL! It's really to bad how politics has shaped our food production in this country. It's to bad it's even involved for the most part. Anyway if worse comes, I hope farmers get political and more importantly community support. A farmer on a tractor carrying an M16 is still an easy target.


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## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

Well if the electricity goes off we are in deep trouble. No microwave ovens. No light to read the directions on how to start the generator. No dishwasher. Yellow Dollar, and Red Doller will be closed so we can't get paper towels and plates, toilet paper, plastic spoons and forks, not to mention styrofoam cups. What terror. 

The electric can opener won't work and we will surely starve. The trash compactor will not work and we will be overrun with trash, we will have rats. The electric tooth brush will not work and we will have bad breath on top of starving. It's a horror of horrors.

Now we could eat Cats:benice:, and dandelions. Not where the cat has been digging around. We could cook on the outdoor grill except that we are out of propane, and that and the "Oggie" patrol might get us.

China is about to have a bunch of bubbles in their economy this could be a slight problem. They may not want to sell us any food like garlic and so on and they might just want to keep it for themselves. Now with our electric toothbrush out of commission we will be in a real pickle. 

China may not want to buy our debt any more, so we will not have the money to feed all of us who are assisted by the government in the eating process. That's about 50% of all of us one way or another. Things could be getting very bad, what with 50% of our population sitting on the front steps waiting for "meals on wheels" to come, and the rest of us out looking for some relative who has preps. What will we do? Starvation is eminent, definate too.

Meanwhile we will need a distraction so that we do not have to worry so much.:icecream::icecream:


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Hey, this is an excuse to build up my own survival 'bulge' around the waist!

Become a fat cow in the fall, you will be a thin cow come spring.


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## Pouncer (Oct 28, 2006)

Hmm, I read an article a couple days ago, that basically said that the "shortages" were due to futures commodity markets and a little diddling by the USDA on the difference between projected harvests and what was actually put up. Wish I could recall where I saw it, but its mostly a paper issue. There are a lot of counties in the US that had significant crop losses. I just try to keep in mind that it happens every single year to some part of the US or other.


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