A Precarious Position Indeed

I confess that it is doubtful I will make any friends with this particular posting.  It is inconvenient information that I share with you today.  While I happily provide you with a yummy recipe at the end of this blog, one in which you can make from your food storage supplies, I realize that what I am about to share is an unpleasant thought.

Less than one percent of our population claims farming as their occupation–down from 10% in 1997.  Over 40% of those farmers are north of the age 55.  The farmers of our nation are dwindling significantly.  Many of those farmers refused to grow wheat in past years due to an eagerness to earn a better living by jumping on the ethanol train, and thus grew corn and soy.

On average, one farmer only produces enough food for 96 people.  In total there are 2 million farms in the U.S. (including livestock, etc).  We have a total estimated population of over 303 million citizens.  You do the math.  The number of farms has been decreasing about 6 percent per year and yet our population has been increasing by just under 1% each year and is expected to increase by nearly 49% by the year 2050.  A famine would overtake this nation in a matter of weeks if ANY violence or fluke of nature interrupted the operation of this highly interdependent system of food production and distribution.  On a much smaller scale, look at what ripple affect one hurricane had on our entire nation, let alone what it did to Louisiana and other areas.  Food, water, safety and freedoms were scarce.

For you additional consideration, know that our government has shipped all of our surplus wheat to foreign nations due to the famines as of late. There is none to replace it because there are so few farmers who have been growing wheat.  In other words, there is no longer any wheat or other public stores to fight famine in our own nation.

Indeed we are in a precarious position.

Perhaps there is not a people in the history of this nation who have been as vulnerable to starvation as we are today.  Although we are highly specialized in our labor, we are relying almost completely upon electric power and labor-saving machinery.  We have largely forgotten the meaning of physical labor and the art of feeding and clothing ourselves.  If we had an interruption of our power supply, our production machinery, or our transportation, grocery markets would empty within hours and we would all be left to our own knowledge and skills to provide ourselves with the sustenance of life.

This is an overwhelming though to contemplate. But it is more clear to me, in consideration of this additional information, why we have been advised for eons to have emergency preparedness supplies on hand.  Such supplies should address not just food and water, but shelter, clothing, medical, financial, mental, spiritual, and physical needs for protecting and providing for ourselves.

I understand that I may sound ludicrous. After all, it was probably just this past weekend that you roamed the aisle in the grocery stores and saw plenty.  Have you never been in a grocery store on a Monday though, when so many of their supplies have been depleted over the weekend?  I have and certainly feel inconvenienced by this simple anomaly.   Now picture this scenario a hundred fold as the result of a REAL food shortage and a failing currency in our nation.  It is as ugly as anything out of Hollywood has ever portrayed it.  If our currency fails then all of the foods we import into our nation cease.  If our food fails then all of the currency which we bring into our nation ceases as well.  It’s a no win situation and you don’t have to look far to notice that both commodities are under serious threat!

Mark my words, the time will come when ammunition is worth more than any currency we can wave; when a bucket of wheat is held more dear than a bucket of gold; and when life skills such as shoemaking and iron works, and masonry will have a greater value than an irrelevant retirement account.

We are naïve if we somehow believe that this type of forecast is reserved for the future generations in light of all that is blatantly going on around us. We are naïve if we believe that the government will protect us or that anyone else is responsible for our well-being in this matter.

While you may bristle at this wake up call, nonetheless, wake up.  I’m not exactly a “morning person” either, but I know enough to realize just how important this preparation is for you, your family, and anyone you love.  And I tell you solemnly right now that the more complacent you choose to be in your lifestyle, the more hatred you will have for yourself later when you realize you could have done something to stop the suffering of those you love.

Blueberry Dump Cake

The name says it all. This is easy!

2 cans of blueberry pie filling

1 box of yellow cake mix (18.25 ounces)

12 tablespoons of butter or margarine

Simply dump the blueberry pie filling in your baking dish or Dutch oven. Top it with the box of yellow cake mix.  Top that with the butter or margarine (melted or in cold pieces)

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until light golden brown on top.

If you have a way to make ice cream, this is a yummy dish served warm with some vanilla ice cream on top.

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