Food Under Attack - Coast to Coast

It seems that from the east coast to the west coast food providers are under attack. In an article in the June 2009 National Geographic entitled "The End of Plenty: Special Report - The Global Food Crisis", author Joel K. Bourne says "that the world is consuming more food than farmers have been producing for the last decade", and he asks, "What will it take to grow more"?

Recently I watched an interview with comedian Paul Rodriguez (representing local farmers and farms) discussing water rights in a central California food producing valley. California's central valley growing region is one of the most productive farming areas of the country and grows almost one-third of America's produce.

Farmers are being restricted water access for farm irrigation because the water canals are breeding grounds for a particular endangered fish. I am all for doing what we can do to protect endangered species, however, I believe that food production, and the rights and well being of the farmers and workers that feed America deserve better. America cannot afford to lose any more farms or productive lands.

America's growing use of corn-based ethanol has diverted more and more fields away from human consumption to a false sense of energy independence through bio-fuel. As more farmers switch to corn crops for ethanol, subsidized by the US Government, land use for soybeans and other smaller grains is reduced significantly. One interesting note is that China, the largest user of soybeans, is now buying soybeans from Brazil and not the United States.

Water tables are depleted as water is diverted to desert cities or pumped for commercial purposes, or poisoned with agricultural residues.

Meanwhile "thirty-six conservation groups, farm organizations, local governments, and others have joined together requesting that Congress and the Obama administration take quick action to address the crisis facing dairy farmers (June 2009, Country Folks - New England Farm Weekly"). It seems "severe and prolonged low milk prices are well below the farmer's costs of production", and dairy farms are closing by the thousands in the New England States.

At any moment severe weather conditions can wreak havoc in the Midwest, our the nation's breadbox. An over-abundance of rain, hail, drought, and poor soil practices all can create another dust bowl, or massive crop failures without much warning.

It is for this reason that I suggest to all that can to start home or community gardens, plant fruit/nut trees, and berries. If you are in a community that allows you to have backyard chickens then do so. Learn how to can and preserve foods, build a backyard food dehydrator, and harvest rainwater for irrigation, gray water use or even consumption, so that you do not have to rely on city or well water in emergencies.

Keep a supply of basic food stuffs in case of natural or unnatural emergencies. Last week we had floods in Texas, tornadoes in Illinois, and fires out west. Whether the emergency is one that has you flee or stay put, make sure that you have the most basic first-aid, water, food, medicine, and clothing supplies packed and ready, in the most adverse conditions it could take days for state or federal help to arrive.

Remember that now is the time to prepare, before any emergency, so that you can remain calm and sure in your survival and sustainability.

Brett