UK 4 meals away from anarchy in a disaster?

[pcdirector]

There's an article in yahoo (online) that states that 'people in the UK are 4 meals away from anarchy in a disaster. That's like a day or two.

Do you think that is true?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/britain-apos-...00661.html

[CharlesHarris]

I think it probably holds true for almost any apartment dwellers in any large city in the UK, the EU or even in the USA.

Restaurants, commercial food service and the grocery industry all operate on a "just in time" delivery system and any disruption in communications, banking or transportation will cause the flow of food goods to shut down within about 48-72 hours.

Almost all the US urban population buys food for just a few days and make trips to the market once or twice a week. Many have little or no food reserves. This preference is founded upon the public belief in the certainty that when they go to market it will be chock full of everything wanted.

Imagine if something happened to change their preferences to stock food reserves? Suppose a typical American wanted to store a two-month or six month reserve in anticipating of rising food prices or predicted scarcity? An increased demand for food would empty market shelves, further stimulating panic buying, which happens before every prediction of a hurricane or blizzard. Stores are picked clean almost instantly. People’s preferences could even change towards stocking a year's of reserve food to protect themselves from shortages.

Given that modern supermarkets have no warehousing and a fixed resupply capability, people would be looking at a PERMANENT condition of no food on the shelves, as is the case now in Venezuela.

There, armed guards meet resupply trucks when they arrive at the market. Martial law, price controls, and food rationing are enforced, as well as a suspension of our human rights...

Disruptions in the food supply are a precarious situation indeed. And the only way to protect oneself and family is to PREPARE, quietly and gradually, starting NOW.

[CharlesHarris]

Additional links with further info:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...risis.html

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2013/10/n...ster/7294/

https://www.ecohealthalliance.org/wp-con...s-huff.pdf

http://tobyhemenway.com/419-fear-and-the...-supply-3/

https://www.utne.com/environment/nine-me...0z13jfzros

[Straight Shooter]

A few weeks back we had Snow....i only heard about it a day ago ....a fight broke out in a local super market over one loaf of bread ! .

Yesterday All local super markets were FULL ...why ? mini beast from the east.....cold high wind and snow last night -5 here ,if you take a look , all over Europe has much the same ......that means grower's can't grow = shortages and high prices WILL follow....most super markets operate on a 72 hour turn around of supply....in a panic ....you can half that no problem.....snow continues to fall as i type.

[Skean Dhude]

The saying used to be 3 meals so things have gotten a little better. \the fact is that many of the poorly paid or unemployed do not do a weeks shopping but shop daily for their food. When the supply chain stops completely and they can't just go to another shop then they will need to resort to drastic measures to get their food. That means they will need to call on people that have a weekly shop.

[Skean Dhude]

Oh and welcome to the site, pcdirector.

[MaryN]

Isn't this the sort of situation that we plan and prep for? It should be no surprise that the potential for chaos has suddenly short to the forefront of the news. Just wait to see if the public pick up on what they need to do. Somehow, I doubt it!

[Pete Grey]

We have known this for years and this is why we prepare, the sheeple will read this and then bury their heads in the sand “the government won’t let happen” they think.

The American Red Cross gives excellent advice on basic home disaster preparation, advising two weeks food and water stocks etc, wether people take notice is another matter, but no organisation or agency seems to do so here (i may be wrong).

At the end of the day as individuals we decide what are the threats and what action to take, we know that we will be on our own when TSHTF, and as the world gets more dangerous time is getting shorter.

[Mortblanc]

Yep, everyone knows that Russia has control of every cash register and computer in every food store and shop in GB. How would that work anyway? Are they just going to shut down the entire world wide web?

Several things to address here.

1. Yes this is the reason this forum exists so asking this question here is a bit of a mute point. Thread after thread in the archives on this matter.

2. This situation has existed since the mid-1700s. It is not new. You dealt with it at the immediate start of WW1, didn't learn then and repeated the process in WW2, then for 10 more years after the War. That is what all that rationing was about. Then immediately after the last cube of sugar was unleashed the entire nation breathed a sigh of relief and went back to not keeping any food in the pantry.

3. Is this a political responsibility or an individual responsibility? Is the government supposed to store the food or is the individual supposed to store the food? Or is the government to mandate that the individual store the food and give fines to those that do not?

4. How much is enough? If you kept a one year reserve food supply for the entire population the island would sink!

5. Don't worry about Russia hacking your local Tesco computer system, if Russia is involved the nerve gas will get you first.

[bigpaul]

its not Tesco's you need to worry about but the national grid being hacked and shut down, then everything stops.