Lord Humungus thinks you should prep.

Before I start I would like it to be known that I am in no way a right wing loon who has built a bunker and who thinks the world is going to end. I am a leftist woman with mainly anarcho-communist tendencies. Now, let’s get on with the show.

When you read this blog you will notice that quite a few of my Apocalypse Wednesday posts include links to news stories about droughts and the devastation caused by climate change. Scientists, including those representing the UN, have announced over the last few weeks that there will be shortages of wheat this fall and winter due to climate change caused droughts around the world. Wheat farms in Canada, the United States, Italy and elsewhere have not produced the amount of wheat needed to feed the world. Countries that would normally export all of their excess wheat are now keeping it for themselves. This, in turn, causes those in poorer areas of the world to starve to death because they are not being sent the grain.

Do I think people in North America, Europe, and other affluent areas are going to starve? Nope, but there are going to be limited choices as to what you can buy. There might be only a few kinds of cereal when there used to be dozens. Prices are already starting to go up, especially when it comes to meat and fish. For example, I bought 12 tinned cans of salmon for £24 the other day and this morning the price went up to £33,

I know that all of this seems very scary, because it is. However, with a little planning you can lessen the impact that these shortages will have on you and your family.

  1. Only buy food that you already eat. Others are telling people to buy giant bags of rice and beans, BUT if you don’t already eat beans and rice it doesn’t make sense to buy them.
  2. Make sure you buy enough protein, and it doesn’t have to be fresh meat. You can buy tins of tuna, salmon, chicken chunks, Spam,etc… Peanut butter is another great source of protein, and you can even buy it in powdered form to freshly mix your own.
  3. If you bake buy enough flour, sugar and other ingredients that you normally use. The upcoming wheat shortage is already being felt in terms of pricing so this is a very important step.
  4. If you live in an area with upcoming water shortages buy water storage containers. Fill them as needed.
  5. Instant coffee sachets literally last forever. Buying them makes more sense than trying to store a bunch of coffee beans in the freezer. Plus, the sachets will be very good items to use in food trades, if things come to that.
  6. Buy tinned fruit and veg. There is still produce around right now but the quality has gone downhill.
  7. If you have a hobby get all the gear you will need sooner rather than later. I have stocked up on thread, studs, and other such things because I do a lot of clothing DIY projects.
  8. Been eyeing certain ‘alternative’ type items, such as bright hair dye or platform boots? It’s best to get them sooner than later because who knows what brands are even going to survive all of this. Some are already having constant clearance sales which isn’t the sign of a healthy business.

I hope I have changed some minds about the need to prep right now, because it is the logical thing to do to make sure that you and your family have enough to eat in the coming food crisis.