Urgent Evoke

A crash course in changing the world.

Food Security: The Collapsonomics Way

Whether or not this is considered a major problem to food security in the UK, or a viable solution to this issue, is perhaps and issue for debate. Some might consider it a more valid outlook than others. But it's something that I do think about frequently and think that it at least makes for good material to debate.

Looking through a lot of recent reports by the UK government on food security in the country, the powers that be seem fairly confident in our ability to weather any type of disruption to food supply with little ill effect. They cite that, not only does the UK produce a sizable portion of food domestically (I think I saw some figures saying something like 60%), but also, the UK being a 'rich country' (quoted from one of the reports), they will be in a safe position to get what they need from the global market.

While I have no objections to the first of these two arguments, the second gives me pause. Yet it is this argument that seems to be the main point of their case for food security. 'We're doing OK now, and we'll do OK if things go south because, at the end of the day, we can buy our way out of it and the market will always be there to deal with us.' This second argument make a lot of assumptions:

1. That the UK will still be a 'rich country' when heavy (or sole) reliance upon the global market for their sustenance is needed. Even if this is the case, the cynic in me envisions food suppliers turning this situation to their undue advantage; milking the country for all it's worth knowing that Britain is in a bind for which they are the main (or only) solution.

2. That the global food supply will still be abundant enough to adequately supply and sustain Britain in a time of global crisis (climate change, financial/political collapse, etc.)

3. That the supply networks will still be operational in times of crisis to continue to import to the UK. If, for example, nations start restricting exports to look after their own interests, or rising fuel prices mean that certain global trade networks are severely reduced, or even discontinued, from where will the UK import?

To have such faith that they'll have the money and that the world will be ready and eager to sell them what they need forever is potentially dangerous. It places a crucial element of survival (access to food) within a single basket, so to speak.

I'm always reminded of something a friend of mine once told me: 'Every major city is perpetually three days from starvation.' What he meant was, given the schedule by which stores are supplied with food, there is only enough food in a city to keep its inhabitants fed for something like approximately three days. If anything should disrupt that delivery system, things could get unsettling quite fast.

This is why I'm a big supporter of self-sufficiency; across the board, but food-wise especially. I support people creating individual subsistence gardens. These could be for an individual family or, properly planned and organized, perhaps even for a neighborhood. Under normal circ**stances it allows for people to reduce what they need to buy from stores, thus saving them money and giving them the satisfaction of being able to provide for themselves. In a crisis, however, such a garden could be crucial to actually keeping a steady food supply coming for a family and/or community.

Sadly, as I live in a city centre flat, this option is doable for me (yet... I'm working on it). What is doable for me is keeping at least a month's worth of food stored at your house at all times. Adrienne grew up Mormon, so this was a practice that she is quite familiar with. Basic is best, but at the end of the day go with whatever you feel is practical. The end goal is to have the necessary resources on hand that would allow you to live on the contents of your house for a month without having to leave at all. This could be useful if food supplies were to be temporarily disrupted, or even for something like a pandemic or period of unrest where people are advised to stay in their homes. I haven't done this yet, but I plan to in the very near future. My idea is to have a massive bag of rice and a massive bag of lentils that will simply sit in a closet (or some other place where it can be safely stored with out risk of spoiling). Rice can be used for countless dishes, as can lentils (I have a substantial spice cabinet, so there's be little worry about lack of variety). I'll probably supplement this with some canned greens as well. Alternatively, I've been thinking of growing spinach on my balcony in some pots, as spinach is quite easy to grow, is very abundant, and regrows numerous times after each harvest. Every so often I'll plan on using up the stored food an replacing it to make sure nothing goes off. In all likelihood this food will sit in that closet and do nothing. But the peace of mind that it will bring will, I feel, be well worth it.

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