Wednesday, April 15, 2020

The coming Dark Winter – food scarcity…famine


What will it be like, food shortages, scarcity and famine?  

That bowl of soup—it was dearer than freedom, dearer than life itself, past, present and future.
-          Alexander Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

You might think, say, “It will not happen here, in the U.S.  But then, it has happened before; yes, this nation has survived more than one such period albeit the 1930s (Great Depression) or much further back, the 1860s (Civil War) or still, the early 1800s (Solar Minimum). 

Folks that experience food shortages, the basics or staples, never forget the experience as more than once I have read of such memories sometimes expressed as, “When you’re hungry all you think about is food.” 

John L. Casey is among others who warn that the coming grand solar minimum will greatly affect the food supply, production and distribution.   He elaborates as well on preservation and protection; that in accounts of such times, homes and other stores of food are looted—and any of lesser power or ability are dealt with on a scale of savagery that is scarcely conceivable in “the civilized world”. 

On occasion, I volunteer for Feeding Northeast Florida; a non-profit that warehouses and distributes food over at least a five-county area.   By most standards, food scarcity in pockets of both rural and urban settings are manageable; and moreover, many children qualify under Title 1 for free meals at public schools.  Present circumstances, while concerning especially to those who are involved, simply don’t compare with hunger on a world scale given underdeveloped countries, greed and graft and other conditions. 

Still this Dark Winter is coming and preparation, given both serious economic and environmental conditions, is very concentrated to those who are aware and active.

No comments:

Post a Comment