Two weeks after the Russia-Ukraine crisis began, the world is quickly moving toward a food crisis that could affect millions of people. A spillover of the crisis could soon spark agricultural mayhem in the US.
The curtailment of agricultural exports from Russia and Ukraine will have dramatic knock-on effects on global food supplies. Both countries are known as the ‘breadbasket of the world’ and are responsible for a quarter of the international wheat trade, about a fifth of corn, and 12% of all calories traded globally. Another major problem is access to fertilizers, as Russia has banned exports of the nutrients.
It’s not whether or not there will be a food crisis. It’s how big that crisis will be.
We’ve already noted a handful of emerging market countries to monitor as the Russian invasion is choking off grain exports to them and causing prices to rise, which may result in social unrest. Even in the Western world, agricultural markets have not been immune, and higher prices have stung consumers.
A tweet from Douglas Karr, the founder of the businesses blog Martech Zone, made the point the “media isn’t even warning you” a food crisis in America is emerging.
Karr said he spoke with numerous folks in the food industry who said farmers in the South and Midwest are having trouble procuring fertilizer to grow crops ahead of planting season. He said farmers in the “Midwest are switching,” likely referring to crops that need fewer nutrients because they “can’t get nitrogen nor fertilizer.”
Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, the global food system was strained. Snarled supply chains and adverse weather conditions in top growing regions of the world resulted in low crop yields and rising prices. The supply shock of Ukraine will amplify the crisis as the UN warned global food prices could jump 8%-20% from here (prices are already at record highs).
Responding to Karr’s viral tweet, some people said they were buying a freezer to panic hoard food supplies as the worst food crisis has yet to come.
“Likely getting a 2nd chest freezer soon and stuffing it with meats/frozen vegetables/etc. Also, it looks like “preppers” who were dismissed or made fun of last decade are about to be set on being right,” one person said.
Another person said, “Read this and then understand why in the last 6 months several publications have been grooming us to accept eating bugs. All of this was planned. Buy a 2nd freezer, and stock it. Soon.”
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
Bought a 20# bag of 16-16-16 (16%Nitrogen/16%Phosphorus/16%Potash) today just a month ago the same bag was $16 now $19. But for years 50# bags of this mixture were literally just a few bucks. Still have a friend that farms, between Diesel at $5+ and fertilizer doubling or more. He is about ready to call it quits, he is 65, as are many farmers in this age bracket his kids aren’t interested in the farm life.
The Gates/China consortium will buy the farm!
And I guess this won’t help matters….
Hungry people are easier to control.
Hmmm…I don’t think starving the masses always goes that well for those doing the starving…just saying.
Remember the Holodomer. Millions of Christians starved and murdered. Went swimmingly for the Jewish Bolsheviks who committed the atrocities.
mark… a few days ago I “rediscovered” Dmitry Orlov. I recently subscribed to his blog on Patreon, then discovered he was switching to another platform called Boosty three days later.
Shit. I was considering just saying fuckit and fuggedaboudit when one of those stubborn inside feelings hit and I figured out how to subscribe to his new blogspot behind a Russian paywall. What is telling is that once I subscribed, my first question to others present was “how much in dollars is 350R?” and learned I am paying about $3.50 per month to read his fine commentary.
Dmitry Orlov says Patreon will refund my annual fee to my credit card or paypal. I was about to go cancel my subscription to his Patreon page when I discovered I could go back to his very beginning blog posts and read from the beginning.
I’m telling you, pal. I found a gold mine there.
This was the very first article and I’m hooked. It may be worth the price of admission to just sit and read his blog and learn how the world really works. I knew this guy was smart; I didn’t know how smart.
This “first” post is titled “The guy who created the universe” which is a very clever way to say “in the beginning” isn’t it?
I’m not going to post the whole thing here… for all I know it IS here. I was hospitalized for a time in those days a few years ago. And for another time…
I’ll be a smarter, better person when I read the rest.
This is quite a jewel I’m reading. I think I’ll ask Mr. Orlov if he might share this post here since it is so old. If it isn’t here already…
Orlov is an interesting man. Perspicacity prevails with him. As to the topic of food…I was looking into the price of fertilizer for the pasture. Almost a thousand dollars. I have the cows, they shit like geese. Cow shit is going to be my fertilizer going forward. We’re in a drought and it’s going to get worse. I’m not breeding more cattle until I see where this is headed.
Food shortages are generally engineered, look to the civil wars in Africa. Victory gardens will be popping up like dandelions and dandelions should be cultivated. There is going to be a great awakening, for some that awakening will be tragic, for others said awakening will be the call they were already heeding.
There’s not going to be any great awakening. Everyone with two brain cells to rub together already figured out where things were headed during the past two years.
This is crunch time, eat or don’t.
Can’t wait for dandelions, but first the last of the snow has to melt.
Well, here in S. Texas we are pushing 80’s and nary a dandelion to be seen. The great awakening will come from those who had their heads buried up their butts.
When we had the small farm we put into practice what I’d learned from our extended family farm in Sask. As kids we spent the days doing chores and some of those chores was running a tractor in the field with a shit spreader behind it.
Every spring the lean-to off the side of the barn where the cattle and hogs wintered under was cleaned out with a bucket loader and piled by the previous years contributions. The seasoned shit was then spread on the fields.
What we did on our small farm was to do much the same. All cleanout from sheep, chickens and a steer would get piled to season. Then the hogs would be sectioned into where we wanted to turn over the soil. At the end of the summer, after hogs were processed, we’d spread the manure out and then rototill the area, seeding it with either alfalfa or other winter cover.
We never bought fertilizer or even pesticides. To keep insect pests out of the garden areas my wife would plant sacrificial plants and every predator bug/insect she found around the house was transplanted to the garden. On a small scale this works, but obviously a large scale operation wouldn’t.
That is precisely how we do it and it works exceedingly well, not to mention it adds inches of topsoil to the ground we cover that would, under normal circumstances, take decades.
100%…
When a farm is properly managed you don’t get disease and pest over runs. In the ten years of farming our acreage we never lost animals to disease or pestilence.
We fed our hogs, chickens and steers a mix of wheat, barley and cracked oats. No commercial feeds except layer pellet for the layers. Once field and orchard culls became available we fed nothing but culls to the hogs and chickens. Best tasting and lean product you’ll get anywhere.
We never used pesticides either. If we had an aphid bloom that the predators couldn’t handle we sprayed with detergent. Kills most of the aphids and not the predators, allowing the predators time to catch up.
I surely miss our farm… on the hunt for some more acreage, get my daughter and grands to do the work…
Until their not.
“Control food and you control people” -Henry Kissinger
I don’t think so. A hungry man has noting to lose so he will take what the tormentor has and kill him/her.
Don’t forget to stock up on dog food people.
Don’t forget to stock up on ammo people.
A man with a firearm won’t go hungry for long.
Government hired longpork will be abundant any where you need food. 😉
Gotta check the vaccine status of the fresh meat. Most Gov workers are vaccinated, so the dead ones should be treated as contaminated meat, not fit for consumption by man or animal. Best to burn to destroy all the contaminants.
The US and Canada produce more than both countries.
I went through my preps yesterday. I realized I have A LOT of food stored. I also realized as far my canned good rotation is concerned, I have let some things expire too long without rotating out. So I actually gathered up a 50 or so canned items and am shipping them off to the food pantry. Others I am putting in a different area to store for the dogs when things get bad. My focus the last 5 years or so has been on very long term stored food that is dehydrated or freeze dried.
I almost never eat canned food which are unhealthy.
I have tons of garbanzo beans, coconut oil, quinoa, and Oliver oil and some wheat flour.
And lots of fish and some chicken.
I not only need food but also need healthy food, each time and everytime.
Either do we. However, when the SHTF we may have to resort to slightly unhealthier food for the time being. Considering most long term stored food is filled with salt and preservatives. The plan is to incorporate wild caught fish and game into the mix for lean sources of protein. Canned goods are a good thing to have in the preps as long as they are cycled out appropriately. Dinner may be some brook trout, rice, and some form of canned vegetable. Beats the soup line or nothing at all.
Canned food stored properly will easily last 10 years. The dates on cans are useless. We just cleaned up some canned meats purchased in 2012 and 2013. Only difference between those cans and the new is there is more meat and less liquid in the old ones. Found a few cans of mushrooms that got “lost” and were 13 years old. No difference than fresh cans. No food pantry inour area will accept expired use by dates.
A garden is good of course but there are many wild things everywhere you can eat to get your veggie dosage. I would recommend (especially to starters) stocking up on meat and fats. Also I kind of go along with Bison prepper on wheat.
I know it’s not popular now but if food is scarce you need carbs (also can sprout). Read up on wheat. Also it helps prevent food fatigue. My thought, if things get really bad, are tortillas (made) with beans and chili powder and meat bits (whatever) in there. Most people like this and it would be easy to cook.
Also sugar is cheap (and easy to store) and a little goes a long way. Good for trade.
You can still buy Wheat Montana bulk wheat (grains) online.
Starch and sugar are among the worst food.
Stockpile garbanzo beans please. And Fish, quinoa and coconut oil.
This should help….