FOOD SHORTAGE

[7thson]

What is the general opinion that there will be a food shortage in the United States? Also, what do people recommend? What to purchase? How to store? How to prepare? Any good web sites to go for tips?

Thank you in advance.

[Mr. K]

I looked at that mormon calculator- that is slightly ridiculous.

750 pounds of flour for a family of 5? I dont think I have used that much in my life. there is about 10 pounds of food per day per person on that list.

In emegency you should be prepared for a pound per day per person and consider yourself LUCKY if you have that much.

[LibLieSlayer]

The Super Markets that I shop at, for the first time in my life, have had some shelves running empty (except for hurricane times). Far fewer choices... they were out of all bananas today... produce was in short supply and quality sucked... beef is double the price that it was in December. Certain brands have all but disappeared. Bottled water has fewer brands and only available in bulk quantities. They blame it on supply, fuel prices and corporate cutbacks of deliveries. I think that we are already in deep kimchi... that is what I think.

LLS

[ebshumidors]

http://www.survivalblog.com

[TruthConquers]

One way there might be a food shortage is if riots interfere with food deliveries. If McDonalds and other processed favorites of ghetto areas got very expensive, they just might riot.

[backwoods-engineer]

why do i keep hearing ‘non-hybrid’ what does it mean and why is it good?

Hybrid seeds are kind of like mules. They can't breed true to the parent form. The people who buy heirloom (non-hybrid) seed either a) like the idea of saving their own seeds for next year, or b) assume that TEOTWAKI is coming and there won't be anymore seed makers left to make hybrid seeds.

I buy both heirloom and hybrid types. There is nothing different about growing heirloom types, except you grow them from seed you saved last year.

[familyop]

A general US food shortage that would include all foods would be very unlikely, but inflation—possibly steep—will be likely.

[scorchedearther]

The farmers don’t mind because that is one reason why prices remain at such an artificially high level.

[AdamBomb]

Ping

[familyop]

"750 pounds of flour for a family of 5? I dont think I have used that much in my life."

...about 30 25-pound bags. That would last as little as 9 months for a family of five having bread with breakfast and supper along with homemade pastries, pancakes, biscuits,... ...experience--about 83 pounds per month.

[workerbee]

I read elsewhere that beef prices will begin to skyrocket, because the U.S. cattle herd is as small as it’s been since the early ‘70s. Corn is so expensive (read: ethanol) that farmers can’t afford to feed the cattle they have, so they’ve been culling their herds. Ergo, reduced supply will lead to huge price increases.

[gorush]

Have you noticed that all the newer grocery stores have no windows to speak of? Many have some easily defend-able vestibules. I first noticed the trend about 15 years ago. When I was a kid grocery stores were all windows which provided the most room for signage. Food riots were unimaginable then.

[familyop]

BTW, my experience is with high altitude baking—3 cups of flour per loaf. At lower altitude, you’d probably need about a half cup or so less.

[editor-surveyor]

Buy dry beans, peas, and grains; grow potatoes instead of shrubs.

Spam and canned hams will keep for decades too. Good for making soup.

Cream for your coffee could be a problem unless you have a cow. Powdered non-dairy creamers are not very healthy to use; they’re made from very deleterious veg oils.

[Walts Ice Pick]

Another sunny optimist, eh?

There are trees that produce tasty, nourishing bark.

And, I've heard that so long as there are people, there will be protein. ;-)

[JamesA]

Here is my vote http://www.survivaltopics.com/

[thefactor]

I’m already experiencing a shortage. For the last week, my grocery store has not stocked my carrot juice by Bolthouse Farms. I’m having withdrawal symptoms.

[omega4179]

Many or most commercial seeds are hybrids so when they grow you have sterile plants that won’t give you seeds back.

[Pollster1]

I like these threads. Marking for SURVIVALIST reference.

[RayChuang88]

We have one major advantage over almost every other place on Earth: an awesome ground transportation infrastructure to move almost any goods around the USA--including perishable items like food. As such, we may have to eat less but all-out starvation is not likely.

Remember, most famines occur for political reasons such as war or deliberate interruption of the delivery of food. Look for example the infamous collectivization of the farms in the Ukraine that caused the famine that killed (by some estimates) 14 million Ukrainians; what happened was that Soviet authorities deliberately enforced grain production quotas that essentially exported all the wheat and other grains out of the Ukraine, and as such it triggered off the famine because no food was left for the Ukrainians.

[blueplum]

hybrid seeds do not breed true if you plant them - they are a cross of two or three or more breeds

non-hybrid seeds produce exactly the same plant they came from

very important difference to know if your intent is to harvest the seeds from what you eat to grow some more the next season