Emergency Food Supply » Emergency Food

The Coming Global Food Shortage

Admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:23:26 +0000

While you will never hear about it on the mainstream news, and while we can all walk into supermarkets and buy as much food as we want right now, the truth is that a massive global food shortage is coming. In fact, many scientists are now convinced that a horrific world famine is absolutely inevitable. Why? Well, as we will see below, it is a combination of things. World population is exploding at the same time that overfarming, overfishing and environmental degradation are all starting to catch up with us. The truth is that now is the time to start preparing. Now is the time to build up an emergency food supply. Now is the time to begin storing up food. Because a food shortage that is so horrible that most of us cannot even imagine it is on the way, and when it hits it is going to be incredibly painful.

It is now being projected that global demand for food will more than double over the next 50 years. Right now there are over 6 billion people on earth. Around 2040 or so there will be 9 billion people on earth. By the 2060s, there would be over 11 billion people on earth. So where in the world are we going to get the food to feed all of those people?

A global food shortage is coming. There is no possible way that the world can produce enough food for that many people under the current system.

Already 1 billion people in the world go to bed hungry every single night.

Already somewhere in the world someone starves to death every 3.6 seconds and 3/4 of them are children under the age of 5.

Already approximately a third of all children in the world under the age of five suffer from serious malnutrition.

And the bad news is that the world simply does not have enough water to grow much more food.

Just consider the following quote from IWMI director general Colin Chartres....

"Current estimates indicate that we will not have enough water to feed ourselves in 25 years time, by when the current food crisis may turn into a perpetual crisis."

Not only that, but because of overfarming and pollution, we are rapidly losing farm land. Today almost 25% of the world’s farm land is affected by serious environmental degradation. That is up from 15% two decades ago.

In some of the biggest countries in the world the environmental situation is absolutely nightmarish.

For example, it is estimated by authorities that 75 percent of India's surface water is contaminated by human and agricultural waste. The truth is that there is over a billion people in India, but sanitation is still only just starting to be developed in many areas. So many people there just "use the toilet" wherever they can. In fact, according to a UN study on sanitation, far more people in India have access to a mobile phone than to a toilet.

But it just isn't places like India where rampant environmental degradation is a problem.

It is happening in the United States too.

It turns out that many big American cattle farms actually feed chicken manure to cattle because it is so inexpensive and because we produce far too much of it to properly dispose of as fertilizer.

So are you eating beef that is from cattle that were fed chicken manure every day?

How would you know?

Not only that, but the world cannot get much more food out of the oceans either. 29 percent of world fisheries are in a state of collapse according to Canadian scientist Boris Worm, and in the years ahead the world fishing industry may actually produce less food rather than more food.

But much more food will be needed in the years ahead.

The really sad thing is that we waste so much food right now. In developed countries we throw away anywhere from one-third to one-half of all food produced.

Considering the fact that so many people in the world are suffering from a lack of food, that is absolutely criminal.

In the years ahead we won't be wasting that much food. That is for certain. We will look back on these days when there was plenty of food with longing. These are still good times. Even though the world economy is starting to spin out of control, the truth is that we haven't seen anything yet. A devastating world economic collapse is on the way, and a global food shortage will follow shortly thereafter.

Are you ready?

How To Start An Emergency Food Garden

Admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:01:41 +0000

Going to the store and buying a bunch of storable food is not the only way to build up an emergency food supply.

Another way to build up your emergency food supply is to start your very own emergency food garden.

After all, the food that you store will eventually run out, but a garden will keep on producing year after year.

In addition, as the number of chemicals and insecticides in our food supply continue to increase, as the genetic modification of our food supply reaches frightening proportions, and as the signs of societal collapse have become more evident, the popularity of emergency food gardens has exploded. People want to be able to feel good about the food that they are putting into their bodies, and they want to be ready for whenever disaster or emergency strikes.

So how does one start an emergency food garden? The following are 9 easy steps for getting your garden started.....

#1) Decide What Your Goals Are - Do you want to grow enough food to be able to add a few vegetables to your dinner once in a while? Do you want your garden to be able to provide enough food for your family if there is a major emergency?

Some people who live "off the grid" end up building an emergency food garden that is large enough to provide almost all of the food that their family needs. It is important to have an idea of what your goals for your garden are BEFORE you get started.

#2) Evaluate Your Land - Once you know what your goals are, you need to evaluate the land that you are currently living on. Is it big enough for the garden that you envision? Does it get enough sun? Will you need to put up a fence to keep wildlife away?

If you decide that you want a "mega-garden" but you live on a very small lot, then you may have to end up moving in order to achieve your goals. If you live on a large piece of property, then you will not want to stick your garden just anywhere - you will want to pick the best location possible.

You will want to pick a spot for your emergency food garden that gets at least half a day of sunshine and has easy access to water. Also, be certain that it drains well, because you don't want pools of water to cover your garden.

#3) Clear The Ground - You will need to clear rocks, obstacles and all other plant life from the plot of soil where you plan to plant your emergency food garden. It is especially important to try to eliminate any weeds before you begin. Weeds will choke the life out of your young plants and you definitely don't want that.

#4) Improve The Soil - Unfortunately, it is almost a certainty that your soil will need a boost. These days, trying to grow a garden without improving the soil is a difficult proposition at best.

So what is the solution? Add organic matter to your soil. Putting a three inch layer of compost on your garden should give your soil the boost it needs.

One way to have a continuous supply of organic fertilizer is to start a compost pile. Recycled leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds, eggshells and kitchen waste make excellent organic fertilizer, and if you build it up over time you should always have all the organic fertilizer that you will ever need.

#5) Dig Up The Soil - Churning up the soil enables the roots of your young plants to penetrate more easily. It can be very difficult for your plants to penetrate ground that is very hard or very dry.

If you are able to loosen up the top 6 to 12 inches of soil that will help your emergency food garden immensely. As you dig, try to mix in the organic matter that we talked about in step four.

#6) Pick Your Seeds - This can be a tricky step. The reality is that each type of plant has different needs. Many grow better in some climates than in others. Some grow better in different areas of the country than others.

Make sure that you do NOT get seeds that are genetically modified. You do not want your family eating unhealthy garbage during a disaster or emergency.

You will want to pick plants with good local track records. Consulting with other local gardeners can be a big help here.

Most of the time you can find excellent directions on the seed packets that you buy. The good seed companies will even tell you the best time of the year to plant the seeds and what they will need over the course of their growth cycle.

A word of caution for those of you who buy small plants for your garden from nurseries instead of growing your own plants from seeds. Most nurseries carry plants that were conventionally grown using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. These plants will bring trace amounts of these chemicals into your garden. In addition, plants grown in a conventional manner tend to get almost “addicted” to the chemicals that they are raised on, so they don't tend to do well when they are taken off those chemicals. However, with patience most of these plants can recover and will adjust to chemical free conditions in time.

#7) Put Them In The Ground - This step will really make you feel like a farmer! Make sure to consult the directions for your particular seeds regarding how deep to plant them. If you plant your seeds too deep they will have trouble sprouting, but if you plant them too shallow they could get scorched by the sun or they may sprout too quickly.

#8) Water Your Plants - This step can make or break your emergency food garden. All plants need water, but different types of plants need different amounts of water.

Get educated and figure out what each type of plant that you are growing needs. Then set up a plan and be consistent in executing it so that your garden will not be neglected.

#9) Keep Going And Never Give Up - Success in just about anything comes to those who refuse to quit. Perhaps your first experience with gardening will be a disaster. Perhaps it will be a complete success. Whatever the case is, if you keep working at it and you don't give up you will have the best chance for success in the long run.

The truth is that now is the time to learn gardening skills. With food prices soaring and food shortages popping up all over the world, the truth is that we all need to build up an emergency food supply.

When you and your family have plenty to eat in an emergency situation it will all be worth it.

Welcome To Emergency Food Supply

Admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:47:04 +0000

Welcome to Emergency Food Supply! In a world that is facing economic collapse, sweeping flu pandemics, increasing natural disasters and the ever present threats of terror attacks and war, the importance of having an emergency food supply for you and your family is greater now than it ever has been.

Our goal is to provide you with some of the very best information and resources about building up an emergency food supply so that you can be as prepared as possible for the dark times ahead. If you know of any emergency food resources that you would like to see added to this site, please let us know. Difficult times are ahead, and the truth is that we all need to help each other get as prepared as we can.