Gosh! Better get planting.

[QuakerBear]

This is an article in the Guardian about forthcoming food shortages, what's causing them and what the likely results will be.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0 ... 72,00.html

[ina]

Isn't it funny how it's always the Chinese that get blamed... Makes for a good headline, I suppose. In the small print they do say that it's "China and other countries" that have a rising demand.

Oh well. If people just stopped being so wasteful, we might be halfway there already.

[hamster]

Quite. As if we in the west have a right to eat green beans from Kenya that dry up their water resources and damn the consequences, but if they want to eat cheese in China and it impacts on the food supplies in the rest of the world, then suddenly we get all outraged.....

I was thinking, when idly looking out of my window the other day, how much space there actually was even within towns. My area is mainly Victorian terraces and all the houses have quite long, thin gardens. Not huge, but big enough so that if we all grew lots of vegetables, we could provide a lot of what we need (though not, of course, if you're renting and your landlord has already paved over your garden and you can't do anything about it...) and free up some agricultural land for grain, grazing etc.

[yugogypsy]

I agree Hamster,

if we all made a small effort, big things could come of it. I plant extra every year, for friends who can't garden or don't have the space or in some cases the time(like a family with 6 kids to feed and so many outside activities theres no time for the garden )

But they do have bees and chickens so they are making a small effort.

If the kids had less activities I'd teach them to garden.

And our Food Bank is always glad to see any excess vegetables as well.

I know I am lucky to have an acre to plant in patches, and I'm trying to get as much of it into garden as I can.

Lois

[ina]

Not huge, but big enough so that if we all grew lots of vegetables, we could provide a lot of what we need

Wait for WWIII, and we'll be there again. Not that I wish for another war - but the last one showed what could be done! What was it - dig for victory? Dig for food would do...

[Merry]

Even on our allotment site we have `gardeners` who`ve totally lawned their plots and installed posh summerhouses and patios - in the name of `leisure gardening`.
Not a fruit or vegetable to be seen.
This when we`ve got a waiting list of thirty or so hopefuls.
Can`t do anything about it as they claim - accurately - that their plots are not `unkempt` according to the rules.

[ina]

Even on our allotment site we have `gardeners` who`ve totally lawned their plots and installed posh summerhouses and patios - in the name of `leisure gardening`.
Not a fruit or vegetable to be seen.
This when we`ve got a waiting list of thirty or so hopefuls.
Can`t do anything about it as they claim - accurately - that their plots are not `unkempt` according to the rules.

But who makes the rules?

[Smooth Hound]

Not huge, but big enough so that if we all grew lots of vegetables, we could provide a lot of what we need

Wait for WWIII, and we'll be there again. Not that I wish for another war - but the last one showed what could be done! What was it - dig for victory? Dig for food would do...

thats the problem though they probably will wait for ww3, metaphorically speaking, in my opinion it is imperative that this nation is able to feed itself, not only because of air miles and so forth, but its a basic security and peace of nmind thing, things have got to change and i cant see blaming the chinese as constryctive we shouldlook closer to home.

[Chickenlady]

I have only just got round to reading this. It is really frightening, especially the bit about the effects of biofuels. Just how did we get to be so stupid?

From a purely selfish perspective, this kind of story makes being self-sufficient, if only 'ish', even more appealing.

I have a bit of a seige mentality anyway - I always have a bit of food put by for emergencies. Mind you, it wouldn't last that long, a month at most. Think I might stock up a bit.

[eccentric_emma]

I like to put food by too, and I'm currently in the process of putting together a bulk order with Suma so i can have plenty of foods and the prices (wholesale) are really good. I recently read The Post Petroleum Survival Cookbook by Albert Bates which had loads of good advice on preparation for worst case scenarios. it scared me a bit and a lot of my friends laughed and said i was being pessimistic, but i figure better to be prepared and have nothing extraordinary happen, rather be unprepared and have WW3 break out!

but it does seem so bizarre that our country could not be relied upon to feed itself if necessary. we really are a house of cards!

[QuakerBear]

I've done food stockpiling before. I'd recomend everyone try it at least once as you'll learn a lot. Stockpile what you think you'll need for a couple of weeks, then eat it. If you'd have no way of heating it without mains electricity or gas, then eat it cold. You'll soon learn what works best and what reduces you to eating your own toe nails rather then touch it...

[ina]

Couple of weeks? I'm sure I could survive for 6 months on what I have in the house... OK, milk would run out pretty soon, and eggs, but it's possible to survive without that. Most stuff is flour, grains, pasta, beans and pulses. The neighbours know - if we get seriously snow bound, they can come to me. (So far it only ever lasted a week or so.)

[Chickenlady]

I like to put food by too, and I'm currently in the process of putting together a bulk order with Suma so i can have plenty of foods and the prices (wholesale) are really good. I recently read The Post Petroleum Survival Cookbook by Albert Bates which had loads of good advice on preparation for worst case scenarios. it scared me a bit and a lot of my friends laughed and said i was being pessimistic, but i figure better to be prepared and have nothing extraordinary happen, rather be unprepared and have WW3 break out!

but it does seem so bizarre that our country could not be relied upon to feed itself if necessary. we really are a house of cards!

Shame you're not nearer to me - I would like to do the Suma thing and it would be nice to share with a few friends. I really must get that together (new year's resolution then). That book sounds right up my street too - I frighten myself in this manner on a regular basis! I just wish I could scare my friends and family into taking this whole thing seriously too. They just think I am wierd!

[MikeM]

Even on our allotment site we have `gardeners` who`ve totally lawned their plots and installed posh summerhouses and patios - in the name of `leisure gardening`.
Not a fruit or vegetable to be seen.
This when we`ve got a waiting list of thirty or so hopefuls.
Can`t do anything about it as they claim - accurately - that their plots are not `unkempt` according to the rules.

ours has a rule that not only must it be kept in a high state of cultivation, but that that cultivation must be mostly fruit and veg (and weeds, in my case ).

[snapdragon]

I was horrified by this report on the radio today
we (as a nation) throw away 30% of the food that we buy - must say that I don't think I do - but will keep a sharp eye on it

"we throw away one bag (of food shopping) in every three due to poor planning, poor portion control, and lack of household skills, with the result that we dump 6.7 million tonnes of domestic food a year"

What an horrendous waste