The world is currently facing a food shortage crisis, and it is becoming increasingly clear that this is not a temporary problem. With greater conflicts and changing global systems, businesses are shifting from a "just in time" supply chain to a "just in case" model. This is a signal of degraded communications and the inability to operate a globalized system, which inevitably leads to failure. It is important to note that there are larger systems in play, such as the relationship between the Earth and the Sun, which are also changing. This disorder could be sticky, and we may need to turn to more localized systems to combat the food shortage crisis.
When consumption and production are dislocated, it becomes challenging to produce finished goods. For example, a car or cell phone may be missing a single screw that is produced in Mexico, causing significant delays in production. However, these issues are trivial compared to those seen in the food systems. For instance, beef production has not seen herd sizes like those of 1960, despite a human population of 2023. This consumption and production dislocation means that some people will not be able to afford beef, which will lead to significant cost increases. Unfortunately, these issues are not easy to fix, as the maturation of life takes a long time.
It may take five to ten years to get the herd back to previous levels, which means that we are looking at a long lag time of inflating beef prices. The situation gets even worse when we run out of cattle feed because overall food yields have also dropped. This means that we need to take the initiative to get control over our own personal food stocks. Growing our food from seed to harvest and birth to death can help us control our expenses since meat and vegetables will become increasingly expensive or unavailable.
It is best to focus on meat with short maturation times, such as rabbits that can be ready to eat in less than a year or sheep in about two years. Vegetables can also be grown relatively quickly, with maturation times ranging from 20 to 60 days. We are entering a period where even government welfare may not be able to help us purchase what is not on the shelves or stocked for rationing. Therefore, it is essential to plan ahead and focus on local food systems to combat the food shortage crisis.
The world is currently facing a significant food shortage crisis that requires immediate attention. As we enter into a period of instability and uncertainty, it is important to take control of our own personal food stocks and focus on local food systems. By doing so, we can combat the challenges posed by the dislocation of consumption and production, and the long lag time of inflating food prices. With a proactive and community-based approach, we can mitigate the effects of the food shortage crisis and ensure a sustainable future for all when we create an equilibrium of people producing / people that consume food which at this point per capita the numbers are so low even one additional person that is self sustaining adds a huge buffer to the abundance of foods.
