With climate change comes wild shifts in weather patterns ranging from lengthy, severe droughts to torrential rains.
As this article goes to press, massive droughts are affecting the crops and livestock of Canada, the U.S., and parts of the Russian Federation’s wheat belt. Prices on the commodity future’s markets are spiking through historical highs, and many economists and food experts are warning of higher prices in the coming fall and winter months affecting everything from bread and cereals to cooking oils and meat.
The crisis is being exacerbated in the Southern Hemisphere by terrible rains and flooding across the Brazilian farm-belt.
What can you do to protect yourself and your loved ones from the coming food shortages and price hikes? Start storing food in bulk.
Severe drought adding to current woes
Humans need three basic things to survive: water, food and shelter from the elements. Food is a foundational need and as prices rise and choices become limited maintaining nutrition can become problematic. The step after malnutrition is starvation. Unfortunately, many underdeveloped countries are already experiencing malnutrition and some outright starvation. The people of those countries rely on corn as a staple, and corn has become priced out of their reach on the world market.
Soon, many Americans will be feeling the pinch too. For some the pinch will become a bite.
Corn-fed livestock and other animals like farm-raised catfish and salmon could skyrocket beyond the reach of more Americans’ pocketbooks.
2012 sees the U.S. being hit with a triple whammy: a severe, ongoing recession that, for some, is virtually a depression; high, unrelenting unemployment; and the specter of approaching hyperinflation affecting many consumer goods including food.
The bad news is that 2013 may bring more of the same. Long term outlooks for next year’s crops look little better than the current year.
Bulk food storage: your solution to approaching scarcity
Many reasons exist to store extra food and water. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security advises all American households to have a sufficient supply of potable water and edible consumables on hand at all times-enough to last at least weeks, preferably months. The reasons are many and include natural disasters, terrorist attacks on national computer systems affecting utilities and the financial system, an electromagnetic pulse attack, intense solar storms, even ongoing civil unrest.
None of these catastrophes is on the radar screen of most Americans, but the probability of one or more occuring is inching higher.
At the moment, what’s staring every consumer in the face is the drought. It’s so severe that the federal government has declared more than one-third of the country a disaster area. Even the mighty Mississippi River is being affected. Water levels have noticeably fallen, river barges are having difficulty navigating, the cost of commerce is rising, and emergency measures have been put in place to stop the salt water from the Gulf of Mexico from flowing into the river.
While many people during the past few years began hoarding gold, you can’t eat the yellow metal. Most food is still at bargain prices right now and it’s easier to stock up when supplies are plentiful and relatively cheap rather than to wait until the prices soar and some are not to be found at any price.
Factors directly affecting food prices other than the weather are energy (oil), the federal program to convert nearly half the nation’s corn supply to ethanol despite the drought, transportation, and politics. The rising unrest in many countries is having a long term impact on worldwide food supplies. Wars, insurrections, rebellions and revolutions do not make for stable food prices and commerce.
Activist Post states that: “…food commodity prices have already spiked as a result of the current drought. Corn and soybean prices are up about 40 percent since June [2012], and are only expected to increase further.”
Now is the time to begin investing in food supplies. Food in the future is better than money in the bank.
Why is that? Activist Post explains that “if retail food costs rise by 40 percent or more over the next few months, you will only be able to buy 6 units of something that you could have stored 10 units of for the same price. Imagine you have $1,000 in your savings account versus $1,000 worth of food stored in your personal food bank. The future value of your dollar bank account for buying food essentials is $600, while the future value of your food bank is $1,400. That is an 80 percent swing in real terms.”
Bulk food that can be stored for years is available at many wholesale food stores. Check for the ones located near you.
There are also many Internet companies that sell food in bulk. Simply Googling “bulk food” will start you on your way.