Plans for possible food shortage

[goingrawchelle]

Are any of you planning on what you're going to do about the possible food shortage? People are talking about having only beans and rice to eat. It got me thinking about eating raw and what cheap raw food we could all eat. Any ideas?

Be assured that I'm not freaking out about this but curious and would like to plan if I could. My husband and I were talking about getting 25 lb bags of buckwheat groats and oat groats, etc. (we just started making raw oatmeal and loooooooove it! ) but we have no other ideas. I could see produce being a thing of the past if it really gets down to nothing (but not likely I know). Anyway, any thoughts would be appreciated. :D

Oh and btw, we are planting a vegetable garden so we'll have that, but come fall if the cost of food keeps skyrocketing what are the plans? :confused:

[DavidZaneMason]

Yes. I think the key, when raw, is to stock up on well-packaged and preserved seeds and seed grains. Your staple would be wheat berries or spelt...along with a variety of other grains that could be used for sprouting. Also having a large supply/variety of seeds will allow for sprouting and growing fruits / vegetables.

-David Z. Mason

[RawHeaven]

The front lawn? :D

[Raene]

Oh good, I'm not the only one worried. I have been feeling like the world is ending or something recently with all of the global warming crap going on like what's happened to Burma and China recently and all of the strange weather going on everywhere. And gas prices...I don't know. I'm usually not so worried about things, but I do feel like food prices are just going to increase until we're all going to be eating dirt and grasses...

[klomasius]

Invest in a good sprouter (I have a three tier one that does the trick for me) and stock up on seeds for sprouting. I usually have alfalfa, sunflower, buckwheat, various grains etc.

If you can sprout, and you have seed/grain stock, you've always got fresh greens.

If you have space, plant fruit trees, sow easy growing low maintenance herbs like parsley, chives, mint, rosemary, even if it's in pots.

Learn about your local edible wild greens and common greens found in most places (like dandelion, plantain, aniseed etc.) and some safe, relatively unpolluted places local to you that you can harvest them at.

Connect up with a produce swap network in your area so you can barter extra produce you have for produce others have grown.

Become a member of a local fruit and veg co op if there is such a thing in your area. Often you can get really cheap good quality produce as a co op can buy in bulk. You might even be able to volunteer your time to pack and distribute to get more of a discount.

Don't be afraid to ask neighbours that have fruit dropping off trees and rotting on the ground if you can harvest some.

Go to your local produce market just before closing to get bargains. Many stalls will simply slash prices just so they don't have to take stock home.

If you have a business, consider going to a wholesale fruit and veg market and stocking up on large quantities of one or two fruits and veg, then distributing to friends and family or freezing, dehydrating.

That's all I can think of now, but I'm sure there's heaps of other things.

Don't get too worried about it yet... :)

[Thick]

Another suggestion for us that Ive read about but have yet to try is growing sweet potato greens. I read on another forum ( and haven't verified it in any way) That Japan has lived through several rice famines by growing sweet potatoes and sweet potato greens. Apparently, you can grow them from inside your house (the greens) all year long.

I've got the sweet potatoes, Ill let you know how it goes=)

Don't just gather seeds for a garden--start learning how to do it, today.

[Aleesha Sattva]

chia seeds... they are filling, hydrating and good for you! You can survive on them alone for quite awhile!

CHIA SEEDS (http://www.rawveganbooks.com/product_info.php?ref=199&products_id=1001333&affiliate_banner_id=1)

[avanderland]

I think it's important to always be prepared, but it's also important to realize there is more than enough food to feed everyone in the planet. We are creating scarcity. Corporations are creating scarcity. It's not that there is not enough food so much as the fact that corporations make the rules about where the food goes and how much the food costs. They control what you use to produce the food, etc... Food scares = prices go up = more profit, yay! Have you read Diet for a Small Planet or Hope's Edge? GREAT sources of information.

This is why I try to buy local, even more than any carbon footprint thing, to know that these people are not the ones getting my money... Same reason I buy organic --- to support sustainable farming practices. I love my coop because even my faraway stuff comes from family cooperative farms usually. If you have a garden, that's even cooler!!

I just think it's important for us to not only think in terms of "How will I get food?" but "What can I do to stop this?" The same with global warming. What can we do cut back on our own carbon footprint? To be a model for others? We must wonder WHY these things are happening -- WHY are fuel prices going up? What can I do to lower my dependency on fuel? WHat can I do to encourage alternative fuel development?

We cannot simply be fearful or wonder how to take care of ourselves, although that is the natural reaction. We must go to the next step, though, and take little actions each day to change things. Imagine if everyone in the US took 1 small action to fight back against corporate greed. Imagine if everyone cut back on one aspect of their carbon emissions. Imagine if everyone ate one (raw!) vegan meal a week. You know? Those things would add up, and we can be models of how sustainable, NONcorporate living can be wonderful for all those around us.

[debilana]

Oh and btw, we are planting a vegetable garden so we'll have that, but come fall if the cost of food keeps skyrocketing what are the plans?

we put in a few raised beds and my hubby is going to make a greenhouse tent structure over them so we can grow greens, leeks, etci n the winter. Just having fresh greens from the backyard in December will be lovely!

If I saw things going downhill I would plant lots more stuff, invest in seeds and store well, dig a root celler and store apples, onions, carrots, etc, and stock up on buckwheat groats, rice (my family is still mostly sad), beans, spelt, etc. I would plant way too much and dry it, can it , freeze it- even raw foodies should can or have cans because if you are hungry, you need food, raw or not, and if we lost power due to an earthquake here in Seattle...I would want my family fed, sad or not. In times of crisis, the body takes what it can get!

I read once about a soldiar who eats rawmost of the week,but also eats SAD a time or 2 a week so when he has to ship out he wont get sick eating military rations. Makes sense , in his case!

[Raw Yogini]

Yes, definitely do a greenhouse for more year round food if possible. If you have extra produce from you garden, dehydrate it for food storage, just soak in water and make soups, yum!
I bought a book w/ color photos and names of edible wild plants in the northwest US and I'm going to learn about and eat the edible plants while I hike this summer so I'll have good knowledge about foraging. I plan to eat more wild plants anyway, but if the food shortage happens it will come in very handy!

[RawPaw]

I think the food shortage has more to do with politics than an actual shortage of food. Either way, at the least buy a mechanical water filtration system and stock up on organic seeds and planting materials.

And even if you don't believe in politics, like I do, you should still vote for the candidate that would least meddle in our daily lives and err on the side of personal freedoms rather than the government and its subsidized corporations.

[FloridaPatty]

It takes of lot of veggies to eat 100% out of the garden. I've been working on that. Sweet potatos are one of the few plants that grow during the summer in Florida. It's nice to have a supply of greens during the summer. They taste like greens to. Ate a lot last year. Am planning on planting a lot more this year. They need their own yard.

[goingrawchelle]

Hey thanks for all your replies! You all are so articulate. It looks like I'll be stocking up on groats, spelt, and seeds. I've never sprouted seeds so I ought to try practicing that eh? lol Again thank you. No worries here, just wondering. ;)

[Avacado7]

goingrawchelle...we must be related!!! I think the same way! My son keeps saying "don't worry!" I tell him...I am NOT worrying!!!...I just like to be prepared!!
My first thought when I read this is "quinoa" because it is such a powerhouse! But seeing as how I am new to being "raw" I don't know how it fits in. Anyhow, I googled quinoa and came up wiith this site:
http://www.areturntosanity.com/a-return/2008/3/17/quinoa.html
Also in my search to be self sufficient I came across a site in which the woman is testing out having a greenhouse. It is by Chicago, so I am assuming that it would be a pretty good guide for a greenhouse in cold weather. The site is:
http://fastgrowtheweeds.blogspot.com/2007/10/cold-weather-crops.html
Saw a show on TV the other night that explained that China, and I think a couple other countries are looking at changing to more automobiles....and hence are looking for supplies of oil. As I understand it....this is one of the reasons gas is getting so expensive, there is more demand, and then of course food prices go up.
A couple years ago we came across a book entitled "The Long Emergency." He went into what would happen when gas prices get too high. Interesting read. He talked about "buying locally." He also talked about people coming together to network in able to meet their needs for food and other necessities.
I am not a political person by nature, but just watching the food prices makes me want to be cautious. Food prices have been going up in our area, and I don't foresee any change soon. Am looking at all options for having a garden in my yard. I actually was hoping to learn how to cook ...ooops..."uncook" the raw way. That way, if necessary, we could live off a garden, as much as possible.
Great ideas in this thread! Thankyou.
(my 2 cents)

[jacsam]

I have seeds in my food storage. The seeds I buy each year are the seeds I save for next year and the seeds I plant are the seeds I bought the year before. I also have alot of sprouting seed on hand.