Countries are stockpiling food

Ah - okay. So we keep hearing about the population going to 9 bil. Anyone ever wonder why we never hear about it going further? That's right. Earth will not support 9 billion people. Period. We're already over the critical mass number. Over 1/6 of the world's population is now starving. Why don't we hear about that?

We are in a human caused extinction. 9 billion would wipe out the whole planet. It will never happen.

Over carrying capacity of human numbers became possible because of the interglacial period bringing in warm enough weather to support an overgrowth of the predominant species (us).

GMO's were supposed to be an answer to the growing food need but are now turning out to be a bad idea instead of a good one. Human food fed stock animals (corn, oats, etc) became popular in this era. Now there are so many that we can't support them and us with any population increases. In the US some farmers that were once subsidized for growing corn are now being subsidized to grow natural grasses in the grasslands - gives a quickly renewable natural food source to grazers while restoring ecosystems and even offering plant mow for gas substitutes that will grow back for food source again rapidly - we can have the environment, herd animals, and the natural ecosystems with natural grass in the grasslands.

Unfortunately, with population continuing to rise, forests will continue to be cut and ecosystems destroyed, and that is nothing but the fall of the axe.

There are countries that have populations that exist solely because of aid already - yet their populations were allowed to continue to rise. Make sense that they aren't going to survive once aid is cut because the countries giving the aid won't be able to much longer with their own populations at risk?

The UN has been debating for over a decade now how to enforce population control without mass revolts. They have failed to do so. They, instead, have been relegated to education and birth control programs in hopes that people will see the problem and fix it themselves. Problem? Anyone who has enough thinks they are above the need to self-regulate. They still think it's all about money and contend to "But I can afford to have another kid."

It's not working. Scientists figured natural famine to be at the onstart in 2020 - but they have moved that up ten years to ...well, about NOW. The first strokes of famine will be manmade - distribution, the same as all famine has been for the last thousand years or so. In the years after, famine will become a natural phenomenon.

It should stabilize again at about 3 billion people, but that depends on more ecosystems being restored than destroyed as starving people start stripping the earth of anything green or moving to feed on. The world will be a lot different in the aftermath - hopefully the survivors will learn a thing or 6 from it all.

This is not the popular view - just the scientific view that has been sequestered by politicians since the late 80's. They've known this stuff for 50 years now.

Not sure what populations have to drop to in other countries to right stuff up, but the US is over 1/3 over carrying capacity - and one half population loss would put everyone back to work and allow enough ecosystem reconstruction to allow survival as long as people didn't start reproducing at exponential rates again. Population loss in a few places like Ethiopia and Haiti will have to be much larger to save those areas. Haitians have their forests almost completely stripped already and the chain reaction that will cause is a worldwide threat.

I don't know what the political reasoning was all about (other than an oxymoron) that they sequestered information about the desertification and population devastation. It's been a more pressing problem than any others for a lot of years and was the main reason China installed the birth rate controls that everyone spits at. Even after you install those controls it takes a few generations for population decrease to start happening. Theirs is just beginning to turn now after 60 years.

Just save what you can. It's the only thing that anyone can do now. That and adopt one of the millions on millions of homeless, starving kids instead of producing another one if you think you absolutely need another kid.

I'm not a doomsday person - but I've been stockpiling food for months now.

Sales here have been great on products I use regularly - and these foods have 2-3 year shelf life. When inflation hits (and it will), food prices will go up first. One product I buy was $1.15 per can for two years. This past year the price has gone up to $1.79. What will it cost 2 years from now? I just bought 80 cans at $1 each on sale. Expiration date 2014.

I have a couple large items I'ld like to buy - waiting for Christmas as the sales this year will be very good in a rough season.

Did you read his links? It's all good in his world

Well a total break down of society is expected. I joke that I have supplies to bug in but someone would likely take them from me. I can't wrap my mind around how many guns I would need to defend my stash.

I'll leave you a pot of tea

This isn't aimed at you, or anyone else here.
Now I'm assuming most are planning to flee to the wilderness and away from people. How many actually know how to survive there? Planning on where to go is one thing, knowing what to do when there is another.
If you have a bug out bag ready, then grab it and bug out to the area you've chosen and stay at least a week, a month would be better.
First you will learn what items you brought that are useless and you will learn what items you really need.
Get a pair of real Indian moccasins and learn how to use them (here's a hint. You walk toe to heal and not heal to toe).
Practice making and using a Gilly Suit.
Guns are ok, but what happens when you run out of bullets?
Can you make your own hunting and defensive weapons?
The wilderness is a huge supermarket, but you will have to eat what's offered, not what you want. Many insects and their larva are great protein sources.
Seeing how I plan for the worse, vegetable seeds are on my list of what to bring.
I could care less about govts. stockpiling food. It's not like I'll see any of it if the sh*t hits the fan. Besides, they could just as easily be the disaster as an earthquake or volcano eruption

Lee there are still many without homes. Most of the damage is within an hour of me. There are still whole towns that are just rubble.
Here's the thing about the Gilly suit, you can disappear.
Great help for hunting or fishing or avoiding anybody. The deal with moccasins is simple. They allow you to walk the way our feet where designed to walk. By walking properly in the woods you will walk quieter and leave less of a track. After you become accustom to walking properly you can also do those things and walk faster or run. By the way, the proper way to walk is to come down toes first then your heel. This produces almost no blunt force to your joints. Western shoes make it impossible to walk like that.
Sal I'm behind you 100% on the lighters and matches. I know how to start a fire a bunch of different ways, but I'd still rather have a good supply of matches (waterproof) and some bic's
I have that book also, will have to dig it out for some refresher reading

EDIT: Something I forgot to mention about the veggie seeds. Besides planting, think sprouts.

It started a few years ago when food reserves went to zero in many countries. Right now it's still a distribution - man made problem, but if this winter is a bad one - it's turning natural.

As far as the US producing less corn - it was mostly GMO anyway. Grown for cattle and ethanol - they are planting grass instead - natural cattle food plus can be used for ethanol and grows back in a matter of weeks rather than per season, once a year, etc. and it restores the natural ecosystem to boot. Cutting some of the corn crops back to grass is one of the smartest things our gov has ever done. As far as human food corn crop - we still have about the same amount as long as we have a good growing season.

The countries that are going to be hit the hardest fastest are those who depend on aid to feed their people already and those that have to import their staples.

America can make it through this as long as they start restricting the influx of illegals. This is not the time to allow population growth. We have over 13 million to feed that shouldn't even be here and in a food shortage, that is a disastrous number.

We grow most staples - so if people with property grow even a portion of their own food, we can take the heat off within our own borders. Actually, there isn't much we can't supply ourselves. Maybe a few rare earth minerals, but we have most of those, too. We could probably completely close down and still survive.

You gonna carry that stuff with you, though? I am talking having a couple of pairs of old panty hose in your kit. coffee filters are good...until you run out of them. Make a filter - layer of sand, layer of charcoal (don't forget that the charcoal from your fires is useful, too) a layer of sand layer of charcol - three or four layers if you can get that many. Then you drip the water through the layers - boil after filtering. Change the filter material accordingly - and wash the sand before you use it unless it "croaks" when you step on it meaning it is clean. Not much sand you will find does that any more, though. If you can burn animal bone or cocoanut shells for charcoal, that will even remove fluoride. Panty hose make great filters - or belts if you bust a belt in your car in the middle of nowhere as long as they are real nylon and not the cheap synthetic ones. Bit spendy - but they can last you awhile.

You gonna carry that stuff with you, though? I am talking having a couple of pairs of old panty hose in your kit. coffee filters are good...until you run out of them. Make a filter - layer of sand, layer of charcoal (don't forget that the charcoal from your fires is useful, too) a layer of sand layer of charcol - three or four layers if you can get that many. Then you drip the water through the layers - boil after filtering. Change the filter material accordingly - and wash the sand before you use it unless it "croaks" when you step on it meaning it is clean. Not much sand you will find does that any more, though. If you can burn animal bone or cocoanut shells for charcoal, that will even remove fluoride. Panty hose make great filters - or belts if you bust a belt in your car in the middle of nowhere as long as they are real nylon and not the cheap synthetic ones. Bit spendy - but they can last you awhile and are bizarrly useful. I prefer to wear them until they run before giving them over to utility.