Posted on 01/16/2011 3:54:15 PM PST by blam
Positioning For A Food Riots Economy
by: Kevin McElroy
January 16, 2011
On Monday I wrote something that caused my coworkers to look at me even more sideways than usual.
I said, “I think we can expect the words “food riot” to enter the American lexicon sometime in the next 18 months, and I don’t say that flippantly.” Just to be clear, “lexicon” is a fancy word that means vocabulary – and “food riot” is a phrase that refers to a group of angry, hungry, violent people who destroy property because they feel (among other things) that food prices are too high. And yes, to answer any questions from the peanut gallery in my office, I do believe we’ll see food riots in these United States of America sometime in the next year and a half.
I’m belaboring this point because I want to be crystal clear with this prediction, not because I especially like making predictions. Quite the opposite, actually – I detest making predictions because it’s so easy to be wrong on the scope, specifics, time-frame, location, etc. In that vein, if I am wrong about this prediction, it will probably be a matter of my timing rather than anything else.
But where am I getting these crazy ideas? Let’s take a look at an interesting chart from the folks over at shtfplan.com:
This chart shows us that food stamp participation has risen sharply – with no signs of slowing since early 2008. Currently, over 42 million Americans rely on food stamps – or 1/7th of the entire population. Okay, so the very fact that more people are on food stamps isn’t cause for alarm. But what it means is that 14% of people in the United States already can’t afford to feed themselves – and that number is rising. I don’t know what number of people it would take to break the camel’s back. The number already seems ludicrously high.
The other side of the coin is that food prices are rising too – for three simple reasons:
* The first reason is just plain old bad luck. Bad weather around the world, including heat waves in Russia last summer and flooding in Australia right now, continues to put a crimp in global
food stocks.
* The second reason is sustained levels of higher energy prices. Oil is a vital input to most food production in the developed world. Higher oil prices necessitate higher food prices.
* The third is a global currency devaluation race. Trillions of newly minted dollars will increasingly find themselves competing with trillions of yuan, yen, euros, etc. to buy an
already diminished supply of food.
Perhaps the most common response to these facts is to say something like, “wow that’s scary!” But fear is something that children feel when they don’t know how to deal with a situation, or they don’t understand something.
I’m a grown man and for that reason, I don’t fear these trends. I am preparing myself and my family for the likelihood that these trends will continue down the same inevitable path. You won’t see me in a food riot, because I’ve been positioning my portfolio for survival and maybe even profit during the times to come.
Don’t wait for the Government to start talking about this problem. By then, it will be far too late. Start protecting yourself today, if you haven’t already. Here’s what I’m doing:
I regularly buy physical gold and silver. I’ve stopped paying much attention to the price, though I do try to buy on dips if at all possible. (Both are in a dip right now!)
I’ve been buying durable food goods like rice, beans, pasta, flour, salt, etc. It’s impossible to buy “enough” of this stuff, but a 6 month supply isn’t too difficult to amass. I recently bought a bunch of different fruit and vegetable seeds. We don’t have much of a yard, but seeds are cheap and if stored correctly they remain viable for a while.
I also own shares of blue chip companies that will probably continue to be profitable no matter what happens. I'm continuing to buy shares of precious metal miners, oil exploration companies, and other commodity-based securities.
You’ll notice that none of these things is really “crazy” to own, even in boom times. In the event that I’m 100% wrong, and everything’s going to be A-okay-terrific, I can use or sell all of these different assets, and probably not take too much of a bath.
Hanging baskets and plant stands. I did live in a 600 sq. ft. apartment when I started out, and grew tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and various herbs in a picture window. Maybe you’ll have to lose the space taken up by your favorite sofa or chair ... but we are discussing eating and surviving vs. the feng shui of the livingroom.
Something I would add to the list.
I was kind of lucky in a way, for a while some people lived next door to me, who worked for a moving company. You know, the trucks, the straps, the blankets..
Well, when they moved, they left a boatload of the moving blankets around. So I snagged about 10 or 11 of these REALLY NICE moving blankets, I mean these are the hard-core blankets you use to keep your stuff from getting scratched or dented in the back of the truck. Heavy duty to the max!
They all went through the wash AT LEAST 3 times, bleached and air-dried.
So now I got some REALLY nice blankets (along with all my sleeping bags, of course.) Total cost: maybe 1.00 worth of electricity and 2.00 worth of detergent and bleach.
And one of the things that sticks out most in my mind was that the property owner was surprised that I wanted them, he (and I would bet most others) was ready to just throw them on the dumpster along with the other odds and ends the people left.
Waste not, want not, eh?
You are indeed a rich man...
Thanks. I ran some numbers to determine daily qty. per person. Assuming grains and legumes double in weight when cooked, I get 2.40 lbs per day (for each person over 7 yrs.). That sounds about right. That is not an abundant diet, but it's enough for survival.
This bunch in there now is going for absolute power. The lefts dream of destroying this country so they can rebuild it to their liking, is playing out right in front of everyones face.
Luckily there aren't as many mind numbed idiots as in the past, and people that are talking about it can't be written off as kooks so easy. More and more people are starting to recognize something is seriously wrong with this bunch in the WH.
Another stupid Rambo survivalist thread. These fools think they can store food and fry up powdered eggs, pre-cooked bacon and home-made muffins for breakfast everyday.
That smell will carry for miles and miles to very hungry people. When people discover you have food that they don’t, you’ll be dead within 48 hours and all your stuff will be taken.
To guard your stuff you’ll need to establish a perimeter and patrol it with armed guards.
The only serious solution to a food crisis problem is to move to a small Christian community where people believe in God and the Constitution and are heavily armed.
All the Rambos who think you’ll make a living off the land - unless you know how and are doing so now - and live off your stores when times are lean will get themselves and their families killed.
When tshtf, just kill yourself?
BTW, with an attitude as sour as yours, I'll surely out survive you.
LOL!!
I’m still waiting for my flying car.
Me too lol that would be fun
I looked it up:)
According to Babcock, Iowa State Univesity, ethanol has added 1.5% to the cost of food in general and significantly higher to meat. Taxpayers foot an additional $5 billion in tax credits.
I am of the opinion that subsidies for ethanol should end, let the market work. As far as Babcock at Iowa State I wouldn’t bet on him having the sense to pound sand in a rathole. I’ve been to college and know those folks. Tick from Meister State says ethanol has decreased food prices 1.5%, so that makes it even.
I’m smiling as I write, so hold the flame.
Over what period of time? In Iowa, or nationwide? Please post the supporting data, including the date that the data was prepared.
And....for the record, if I'm supposed to protect myself by starving so no one will want my stuff, screw that. Whether it's Obama's Brownshirts or roaming looters, I'm not going down alone. Anyone that goes after me, my family or my possessions, successfully or not will pay a price.
OK, I'm game. Any idea how that conclusion was arrived at? Doesn't sound logical to me.
I’m laughing too ...
I arrived at my conclusion same way as Babcock at Iowa State. I pulled it out of my rear. My conclusion is better because it had a catfish attached to it.
I’m obviously being facetious. I won’t go into a long rant about my experiences with academic types, both while I was in college and in private work trying to interact with them. Suffice it to say that I would not trade a half pint of warm excreted body fluid for all the shared brains of the Ag Econ faculty at Iowa State.
“I have already had conversations with folks of like mind (including my family doctor!) about the need to network. And they agree.”
That’s exactly what I favor and wrote. We’re in agreement.
Fact is I can smell venison from your place.....
I'm tracking now...
Be there in a week or two....!!
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