Security fears over food and fuel crisis...(Coming soon to a neighborhood near you?)

[LiveToShoot]

The rising food and fuel costs make their impact around the world...

FT.com / World - Security fears over food and fuel crisis

http://www.cnbc.com/id/25237074

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...0,194715.story

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25196080/

...staying up to date on happenings around us and being "prepared" is taking on greater significance.

A "very aware of what's happening and works diligently to be prepared" friend of mine spent some of his valuable time yesterday updating me on preparations he and his family are making, while such preparations can be made...

[TXplt]

Waiting for Pred to weigh in

[Pred]

Originally Posted by TXplt

Waiting for Pred to weigh in

.... Well, personally I don't think our economy as a whole will last through this time next year. People are only just now starting to realize what the coming winter holds. I pity anyone who has gas heat, and I'm already starting to notice that electric has gone up also. Our electric bill jumped $30 from last month to this month, and my wifes friend who lives in a little larger apartment down the road got an almost $200 electric bill. Granted she has 3 kids, but still. I've got a feeling this winter many people are going to be shutting up unused sections of their homes and setting the thermostat on about 65 or so. On top of that everyone keeps screaming for Saudi Arabia to increase output of oil, which will do NOTHING to help with current gas prices. The problem is we as a civilization can't refine enough oil a day to meet our needs. At some point this ticking time bomb of supply and demand will hit rock bottom. It's been a long time since we've had a true depression and a war. Vietnam, the war on terror, thats nothing compared to WWI and WWII. It's a cycle, no government lasts forever, and given the current amount of corruption thats infested ours, it's about time for a regime change. History repeats itself, it comes back around, we will see some very bad times in our lifetime. Now, personally my advice would be to prepare for the worst, hope for the best. Make sure you've got enough weapons for your family(which I'm fairly certain most of us do), that they know how to use them and maintain them, and you've got plenty of ammo. Worst comes to worst, those with more guns will have food and water. That said, I would also stock up on a 60-90 days worth of food. Not to bad, just spend an extra $20 each time you go to the store on cheap canned items. Again, if nothing else, you won't have to worry about running out for food if you get a foot of snow and can't leave home for a week. If it's getting close to going bad, just means no cooking and cleaning dishes for a few days. "Be prepared" has never been so true as it is today. Maybe my tin foil hat is to tight, maybe I pay a little to much attention to "other" websites. If I do, oh well, means I'm wrong and we go on living and nothing else changes. The scary part is, if I'm right. Even a crazy gets it right once in a while.

[LiveToShoot]

My wife and I are going through our gear and getting things updated for a multi-day (3-5 days) outing in two weeks, to have some outdoor fun and help ensure a facet of our preparations are in order...

[Pred]

Yeah, I just got done taking inventory of my ammo.

[Windwalker]

Food costs are going up because of transportation costs and the price of gas at the pump is already cutting into the food dollars we have to spend. Depending on how far you have to drive to and from work, a minimum wage job may not pay your fuel costs, not to mention your rent, utilities, and food. Then what?

[LiveToShoot]

"Then what?"

...reminds me of an earlier time in our great nation:
Photographs of the Great Depression

[nathangdad]

it is a bit hard to use the words "fears and crisis" over conditions that
have been discussed for decades.

Perhaps catastrophic result of failure to plan would be a better choice of words.

However, word choices do not lessen the impact for the currently hungry and the soon to be hungry.

If you want a kicker for today you might want to read up on Australia where vast tracts of ag land that could be exporting foodstuffs have been recultivated for grapes as the wine industry is far more profitable for the farmers.

[LiveToShoot]

This is what my dad did back then, to survive and help provide...
Photograph of Civilian Conservation Corps During the Great Depression

...and I don't want to be standing in one of these, or family to be there either:
Photograph of a Breadline in New York City During the Great Depression

The Cost of Going Green...
http://www.newswithviews.com/DeWeese/tom112.htm

[GlockMeister]

Food costs are going to be going up also do to the flooding in the Midwest.I figure, if it hasn't already, the cost of E85 will probably also take a jump as many cornfields in the Midwest are under water?

[Pred]

All we need now is another Cat 5 hurricane to come roaring up into the Gulf of Mexico. Knock out a refinery or two, and this country would be in a world of hurt.

[Rave]

I am not going to get started,Iam not going to get started,I am not....

[Windwalker]

Me neither, Rave.

[Girlgun]

I buy corn for my livestock. I paid $6.25 for a 50 lb bag two years ago. Now, it is $11 a bag. Hay has gone up a dollar a bale and my supplier says expect another expect another dollar increase next fall. Don't get me started on diesel... they just lost 3 million in corn crops in the midwest. And they are selling a third of what is left for ethanol, not food. That means I'll be paying another dollar a bag very soon. And the public will be paying more for everything because livestock depends on corn and we have less of it than ever. Meanwhile, folks drive by my farm and get their meat and produce at the grocery. the grocery gets it from at least a thousand miles away, sometimes from Europe, Australia, etc. The guy who buys my lambs and kids sells em to an organic "producer" 50 miles away who keeps em for a couple of weeks and resells em to an organic butcher 70 mies the other way who sells em yet again at 4 times what I sell em for. To the restaurants right down the road. really.
People say, "oh, we'll just start producing more local agriculture." Not. Because they subdivided those farms years ago, and most the hayfields, pastures and tilled fields are either suburbs or are overgrown w/ woods again. There is simply no way folks could produce any quantity of food w/ the limited land they have left. They could grow gardens, I guess, once they get the chemlawn outa their soil... and find some manure to fertilize with. And dig a well. Assuming there is any groundwater left.
All I have to say is: I think we should use our guns to hunt, we should grow our own food, cut our own firewood. We should think long term. And even a small acreage can support a few chickens and goats, which in turn provide much needed manure on stripped and depleted soil. No matter how much we set aside for storage, aren't we looking at long term shortages? What good is 2 weeks of food if we are looking at a decade long stretch? isn't it prudent to plan for self sufficiency, not just short term survival?
. I think about building all the time: another woodshed, a storage cave, a grain silo. Prices will only go up. I wonder if i will be able to get steel in 2 years? If I will be able to afford fuel for hauling in materials? I think about encouraging my neighbors to start developing their skills and developing a local agriculture. But they have blinders on. They drive an hour to get groceries, then come home and switch on the heat or the AC. They think they will somehow always be able to buy food, heat, fuel; they think the government will fix things.... maybe I am just getting myself all riled up. Sure, I am being silly.
'course, w/ my luck, the government will come in and take my flock, my fields and my home away when tshtf, because someone will deem it unfair that I have more than the rest.
ok, that's my rant for the month. I'll be nice now.

[Mad Hatter]

Things are going to get bad very quickly if oil keeps going up at its current pace. I don't think most of the public has a clue what is going to happen come winter when they need to heat their homes..

[troy2000]

Originally Posted by Mad Hatter

Things are going to get bad very quickly if oil keeps going up at its current pace. I don't think most of the public has a clue what is going to happen come winter when they need to heat their homes..

Well, I know what'll happen: for the first time in almost twenty years, I might be burning firewood in our wood stove faster than I stack it. Every time I cut down or trim a tree I turn it into firewood, and we usually only fire up the stove a few times each winter.

[LiveToShoot]

^+1
I like the smell of a wood fire, especially if there are a few pieces of apple, cherry or some other fruit tree burning with the pine.

[Brother Bob]

Originally Posted by LiveToShoot

^+1
I like the smell of a wood fire, especially if there are a few pieces of apple, cherry or some other fruit tree burning with the pine.

Well if you do that, you'll have to buy carbon credits!

[LiveToShoot]

Oh yea...reminders of the Goreism! Well, what a bummer. Of course, following Gore's example would mean that there's no need to worry about your carbon foot print...the same way he doesn't when he fires up the jet for commutes.

The wood fire sounds good though; especially with some marshmallows, grahams, and a chunk of chocolate...and a good fire-cooked smoked sausage in a bun, before the s'mores.

[Brother Bob]

Originally Posted by LiveToShoot

Oh yea...reminders of the Goreism! Well, what a bummer. Of course, following Gore's example would mean that there's no need to worry about your carbon foot print...the same way he doesn't when he fires up the jet for commutes.

The wood fire sounds good though; especially with some marshmallows, grahams, and a chunk of chocolate...and a good fire-cooked smoked sausage in a bun, before the s'mores.

Hey! You're making me hungry! I'm doing Brat's on the grill tonight.