Food Shortages Are Starting To Become Quite Serious All Over The Planet

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

Food Shortages Are Starting To Become Quite Serious All Over The Planet
 

The worst-case scenario that many of the experts feared is starting to play out right in front of our eyes. Throughout 2022, I repeatedly warned my regular readers that there were all sorts of indications that the emerging global food crisis would go to entirely new level in 2023, and that is precisely what is happening. In response to tightening supplies of food, prices are surging all over the planet and the number of desperately hungry people is exploding. Unfortunately, this crisis is not going to be just temporary. As I will explain at the end of this article, the global nightmare that we are facing is inevitably going to intensify in the years ahead.

Most of us in the Western world simply do not understand how badly conditions have already deteriorated in the rest of the world.

 

For example, Reuters is admitting that the hunger crisis in Africa has now become “bigger and more complex than the continent has ever seen”…

Across Africa, from east to west, people are experiencing a food crisis that is bigger and more complex than the continent has ever seen, say diplomats and humanitarian workers.

Please let that sink in for a moment.

There have been many famines in Africa in the past, but things have never been as bad as they are right now.

Meanwhile, in the Middle East a severe shortage of wheat is forcing many Pakistanis to wait in line for hours “to receive a single bag”…

Pakistan is currently suffering from skyrocketing prices and a shortage of wheat flour, with people waiting in line for hours to receive a single bag.

Would you wait in line for hours for one bag of flour?

If you were desperately hungry you would.
 

In South America, seemingly endless civil unrest has intensified the very serious shortages that are happening in Peru…

As the anti-government protests in Peru show no sign of ending, the country is currently facing a shortage of basic products including food items and fuel.

And on the other side of the globe, Australians are growing increasingly frustrated about the very painful potato shortage that has gripped that nation…

Potatoes are among Australia’s favourite vegetables. However, we are facing a shortage of processed potatoes, especially of frozen chips. Coles introduced a two-item limit for shoppers seeking frozen potato products. Fish and chip businesses are under pressure and some are outraged McDonald’s is launching a new potato product in the middle of a crisis.

In previous decades, there have been times when there have been localized famines in various parts of the world.

But what we are facing now is global.

According to the New York Times, food shortages are “causing intense pain across Africa, Asia and the Americas”…

“We’re dealing now with a massive food insecurity crisis,” Antony J. Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, said last month at a summit with African leaders in Washington. “It’s the product of a lot of things, as we all know,” he said, “including Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.”

The food shortages and high prices are causing intense pain across Africa, Asia and the Americas. U.S. officials are especially worried about Afghanistan and Yemen, which have been ravaged by war. Egypt, Lebanon and other big food-importing nations are finding it difficult to pay their debts and other expenses because costs have surged. Even in wealthy countries like the United States and Britain, soaring inflation driven in part by the war’s disruptions has left poorer people without enough to eat.

Have I convinced you yet?
 

This is serious.

Here in the United States, food prices continue to escalate to frightening levels.  For example, the price of orange juice just skyrocketed to a brand new record high because it is being projected that Florida citrus production will hit the lowest level since 1945…

OJ futures have hit a new high, surging 10 cents or 4.56% to $2.292/lb, surpassing the 2016 record of $2.2585, due to limited supply.

The USDA predicts Florida’s citrus production will reach 44.5 million boxes this year, which could result in the state’s smallest orange harvest since 1945. This is due to “greening disease” and hurricane damage in Florida’s citrus groves.

In 1945, there were 139 million people living in the United States.
 

Today, the population of the country has risen to 329 million.

So there are far less oranges per person now.

The size of the national cattle herd is also shrinking…

The latest figures from the US Department of Agriculture cattle-inventory report on Tuesday showed 89.3 million cattle as of Jan. 1, down 3% from a year ago. The decline wasn’t unexpected and was in line with a Bloomberg survey.

This means that beef prices are going to continue to go higher and higher.

You could try to switch to chicken or turkey, but thanks to the bird-flu pandemic they certainly aren’t inexpensive either.

At this point, the bird flu has already killed more than 58 million chickens and turkeys in the United States.

If that wasn’t bad enough, now a lot of chicken farmers around the country are reporting that their hens have suddenly stopped laying eggs.  This is something that Tucker Carlson recently discussed…

Now healthy hens lay eggs on a regular basis, every 24 to 26 hours. But suddenly, chicken owners all over the country – not all of them, but a lot of them – are reporting they’re not getting any eggs or as many. So what’s causing that? Clearly, something is causing that. Some have concluded their chicken feed may be responsible.

Egg prices have already shot up to a level that most people never dreamed would be possible, and this is creating quite a bit of panic.

More Americans than ever before are suddenly interested in raising their own chickens, and this has sparked quite a buying frenzy at local hatcheries…

Google search interest in “raising chickens” has jumped markedly from a year ago. The shift is part of a broader phenomenon: A small but rapidly growing slice of the American population has become interested in growing and raising food at home, a trend that was nascent before the pandemic and that has been invigorated by the shortages it spurred.

“As there are more and more shortages, it’s driving more people to want to raise their own food,” Ms. Stevenson observed on a January afternoon, as 242 callers to the hatchery sat on hold, presumably waiting to stock up on their own chicks and chick-adjacent accessories.

Unfortunately, everything that I have shared in this article so far is just the tip of the iceberg.

That is because global food supplies are going to continue to get tighter in the years ahead no matter what we do now.
 

If we suddenly stopped using all fertilizer immediately, we would only be able to feed about half the world.

So the production of fertilizer is absolutely critical.

Unfortunately, almost all of the phosphorus that we use in our fertilizers comes from “non-renewable phosphate rock”, and 85 percent of the remaining supply is located in just five countries…

Without phosphorus food cannot be produced, since all plants and animals need it to grow. Put simply: if there is no phosphorus, there is no life. As such, phosphorus-based fertilisers – it is the “P” in “NPK” fertiliser – have become critical to the global food system.

Most phosphorus comes from non-renewable phosphate rock and it cannot be synthesised artificially. All farmers therefore need access to it, but 85% of the world’s remaining high-grade phosphate rock is concentrated in just five countries (some of which are “geopolitically complex”): Morocco, China, Egypt, Algeria and South Africa.

As supplies of non-renewable phosphate rock continue to get tighter and tighter, global food supplies will continue to get tighter and tighter.

Eventually there will simply not be enough non-renewable phosphate rock to go around, and at point we will be in all sorts of trouble.

The kind of horrifying global famine that I have been relentlessly warning abouthas become inevitable.

It is just a matter of time.

I would encourage you to learn how to grow your own food now, because we are moving into times that will be extremely “interesting” indeed.
 

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[Talorgan]

Permaculture type and mixed farming is answer everywhere 

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

32 minutes ago, Talorgan said:

Permaculture type and mixed farming is answer everywhere 

This is true, but takes a massive amount of hard work, people don’t realise. If you were to do it, it would be your life, that’s It, no breaks no holiday just hard hard toil day in day out. 
I know this is what I might have to do and it scares me a little bit. 

[Talorgan]

30 minutes ago, LastOneLeftInTheCounty said:

This is true, but takes a massive amount of hard work, people don’t realise. If you were to do it, it would be your life, that’s It, no breaks no holiday just hard hard toil day in day out. 
I know this is what I might have to do and it scares me a little bit. 

Yes I suppose what really need is go back to the clan type system too

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

Clans as in Scottish type? Ay the noo, yeah that might work. One clan could specialise in fruit trees, another could be Mediterranean veg production, another for poultry production etc etc. 

Might be some Romeo and Juliet scenarios going on, especially at the harvest festival.

 

In all seriousness though, people are too used to paying low amounts for food, and that is changing as it should, although the availability and quality is starting to decline, which it shouldn’t. 
As this article mentions, in the end it’s all about fertiliser, if the oil runs out- no more ammonium nitrate (nitrogen) so no more vigorous plant growth, if the rocks that make phosphorus run out, no more good yields. 
 

This is where your suggestion of permaculture/organic/natural farming comes into play. Phosphorus can be obtained from animal bones, nitrogen can be naturally cycled in the soil by composting to feed the bacteria. 
So in a way, it comes down to the availability of animals to breed and slaughter. This is why mRNA vaccinating animals and the whole vegan agenda is actually quite a threat to the future of humanity.

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

30 minutes ago, Talorgan said:

Yes I suppose what really need is go back to the clan type system too

Soz forgot to quote you, see post above 

[Talorgan]

3 minutes ago, LastOneLeftInTheCounty said:

Clans as in Scottish type? Ay the noo, yeah that might work. One clan could specialise in fruit trees, another could be Mediterranean veg production, another for poultry production etc etc. 

Might be some Romeo and Juliet scenarios going on, especially at the harvest festival.

 

In all seriousness though, people are too used to paying low amounts for food, and that is changing as it should, although the availability and quality is starting to decline, which it shouldn’t. 
As this article mentions, in the end it’s all about fertiliser, if the oil runs out- no more ammonium nitrate (nitrogen) so no more vigorous plant growth, if the rocks that make phosphorus run out, no more good yields. 
 

This is where your suggestion of permaculture/organic/natural farming comes into play. Phosphorus can be obtained from animal bones, nitrogen can be naturally cycled in the soil by composting to feed the bacteria. 
So in a way, it comes down to the availability of animals to breed and slaughter. This is why mRNA vaccinating animals and the whole vegan agenda is actually quite a threat to the future of humanity.

This is true and nitrogen fixing legume lays ,mixed farming ,rare breeds , seaweed, etc

I'm sure this is happening all over on small scale , perhaps

,I even studied it for a year way back in 90s ,land is the thing and location.

I used blame it all on the Romans ! 

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

You know you’re stuff! It’s time to get busy!

[Campion]

24 minutes ago, LastOneLeftInTheCounty said:

This is where your suggestion of permaculture/organic/natural farming comes into play. Phosphorus can be obtained from animal bones, nitrogen can be naturally cycled in the soil by composting to feed the bacteria. 

 

I've used bonemeal fertilizer which contains phosphate but are we saying that there isn't enough of this for all the commercial farming? But if the non-renewable phosphate runs out, the price of the renewable will rocket and I won't be able to afford it. 

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

1 hour ago, Campion said:

 

I've used bonemeal fertilizer which contains phosphate but are we saying that there isn't enough of this for all the commercial farming? But if the non-renewable phosphate runs out, the price of the renewable will rocket and I won't be able to afford it. 

Yes it will increase, especially if there are less animals being slaughtered cos everyones turned vegan. The bonemeal fertiliser you use probably also contains phosphorus pentoxide which is the non renewable, rock based stuff. 
 

There are other forms of phosphorus you can use, it usually adds bulk to the produce, more than likely natural growers will look to use more potassium and a natural nitrogen cycling for quality crops in a phosphorus emergency: potassium increases quality and quantity and health of the fruits. It’s basically ash and charcoal, which is easily produced. Add some seaweed, comfrey, chitosan (crushed crustacean shells), sugars like molasses and some excellent green and brown compost from straw, wood chips, stinging nettles, animal manures and some worm castings, then you’ll be laughing! 

[Grumpy Owl]

It is important to understand that there isn't actually any shortage of food - any such 'shortages' being reported by the mainstream media are merely to fuel 'perception' of such in order to push certain narratives and agendas.

 

People in African countries have been 'starving' for years - yes, I remember very well the Live Aid and Band Aid appeals, and it looks like the millions of pounds raised have done nothing.

 

Because it was never meant to. Farmlands in Africa (and elsewhere) have been bought by multi-national corporations - or locked into 'exclusive' supply deals - so much of the crops and produce grown/harvested there end up being exported to production facilities in order to 'supply' Western countries. The multi-nationals make huge profits from starving the natives, then the ordinary public are expected to 'donate' what little disposable income they have to 'big charities' in order to 'help the starving millions'.

 

As I have repeated stated here in this forum, the UK missed a huge opportunity following Brexit, to get our own farmers growing produce and harvesting crops again, in order to meet our own populace's needs. Instead, they prefer to pay our farmers to install solar panels and wind turbines, or let the land 'go wild', and thus maintain this dependence on imported produce.

 

Rising energy and fuel prices mean the cost of transporting such produce across the world has increased, yeah they'll blame the 'Russian invasion of Ukraine' for that, but it is governments' sanctions policies that have caused this, and deliberately.

 

Millions of poultry and waterfowl have been slaughtered because of 'bird flu' concerns, and cattle and sheep are being blamed for causing global warming because of their farts. Reduce the meat supply, and people will be forced to consume insect-based substitutes, or 'lab-grown'/plant-based alternatives.

 

 

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

I agree with everything you’ve said. 
 

It’s a strange time, but what is really getting to me and what is contributing to the current emerging food quality/price emergency is the amount of neo pro re wilding lefty woke Attenborough worshippers who all hold government or charity jobs and have no clue how to really manage a countryside setting, they just follow legislation, fill in accredited paperwork and blindly follow their university degree methodology ( aka communism ) whilst taking a fat pay check, all the time working towards making this country a private game reserve for the privileged rich. 
 

These people and policies are contributing to a sicker, anaemic, weaker population that will put up far less of a fight once the canary has left the cage. 
 

It all filters down from the top, but what people are taught in education makes it all the more normal in practice, so yes lab meat, GM crops, mRNA jabbed animals and poisonous vegan meat replacement foods will just merge into everyone’s reality until that is all we know. 
 

We’ll all be ‘Soy Softies’ soon, barely able to walk up the stairs, and no one will bat an eyelid

[DaleP]

1 hour ago, Grumpy Owl said:

It is important to understand that there isn't actually any shortage of food - any such 'shortages' being reported by the mainstream media are merely to fuel 'perception' of such in order to push certain narratives and agendas.

 

People in African countries have been 'starving' for years - yes, I remember very well the Live Aid and Band Aid appeals, and it looks like the millions of pounds raised have done nothing.

 

Because it was never meant to. Farmlands in Africa (and elsewhere) have been bought by multi-national corporations - or locked into 'exclusive' supply deals - so much of the crops and produce grown/harvested there end up being exported to production facilities in order to 'supply' Western countries. The multi-nationals make huge profits from starving the natives, then the ordinary public are expected to 'donate' what little disposable income they have to 'big charities' in order to 'help the starving millions'.

 

As I have repeated stated here in this forum, the UK missed a huge opportunity following Brexit, to get our own farmers growing produce and harvesting crops again, in order to meet our own populace's needs. Instead, they prefer to pay our farmers to install solar panels and wind turbines, or let the land 'go wild', and thus maintain this dependence on imported produce.

 

Rising energy and fuel prices mean the cost of transporting such produce across the world has increased, yeah they'll blame the 'Russian invasion of Ukraine' for that, but it is governments' sanctions policies that have caused this, and deliberately.

 

Millions of poultry and waterfowl have been slaughtered because of 'bird flu' concerns, and cattle and sheep are being blamed for causing global warming because of their farts. Reduce the meat supply, and people will be forced to consume insect-based substitutes, or 'lab-grown'/plant-based alternatives.

 

Very well written Grumpy Owl.

And thing is not to panic. I think we need an alternative solution based on what we've have learned so far about vibrational level.

Panic fear is low vibrational and that will shut any opportunity or inspiration out.

I have been thinking, the Cabal will bring this, that and the other agenda. Yes, they are lining up till 2030, how lucky for us. But it is US who perceives the situation which matters believe it or not. Imagine if you live in Cardiff/Wales, it rains more than any other part of the country and these people have to be miserable than the rest of us. But I don't think that's the case. People will find the way to enjoy themselves etc. Equally, people find things to do during the cold months of winter. So learn from the nature. It is how we perceive in any given situation. If you can keep your vibration high by simply enjoying what rain/winter brings then you can always find something beautiful, fun out of what seems like a miserable situation. I think this is the only way because if YOU can stop the Cable's agenda, you are already doing it but you are not. You might say, "oh yeah but I am leafletting, warning people about it." But you tell people then what? Are you hoping that someone else will solve the problem because your leafletting isn't solving the agenda. It is telling people in the hope that someone else will do it. And someone like Thai King, he had to stand up for his daughter. I think he was the right person to raise his voice.

 

You don't have to agree with what I say but it makes sense to me.

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

The Chicken and the Egg: What to Do as Supply Chain Problems Keep Getting Worse
 

By Marie Hawthorne

Whether you call it St. Lucia’s Day, Candlemas, or Imbolc, the halfway point between the winter equinox and spring solstice occurs this week, and that traditionally has meant eggs. I got my first egg of the year just last week and am looking forward to more. 

The average price of eggs is currently $4.25 per dozen, up from $1.79 a year ago. Now, this is a nationwide average. In my area, I have not found anything for less than $5.50 per dozen in over a month. Also, my store only carries medium eggs these days. I’m not sure when the last time was that I saw large or extra-large. 

(Fun fact: I have a good friend who has been in the egg industry for years, and before Covid, Americans either exported medium eggs to Asia or just threw them out. There was zero domestic demand. Now medium eggs seem to be all we can get.)

 

Unfortunately, there are a variety of problems facing egg producers at the moment.

The big talk has been bird flu. Nearly 60 million birds have either died from the flu or have been put down due to the most recent outbreaks. That puts a dent in production. 

Less widely discussed have been the damages to egg production facilities, but they’ve occurred, too. Just this past Saturday, January 28, a fire occurred at an egg facility in Connecticut, killing over 100,000 birds. No causes for the fire have been given yet. 

The OP reported on the food facility fires back in April, but mainstream media keeps insisting that there’s nothing to see here. 

I don’t know enough about average industrial facility fire rates to make a bulletproof argument regarding whether or not these fires have been intentional. However, even if they are just a series of accidents, this series of accidents could be seen as evidence of the increasing Thirdworldization of the U.S.

Fabian described Thirdworldization as a slow-burning SHTF event, where things just gradually get worse and worse. Quality and availability go down; prices and crime go up; quality of life gradually erodes. Decreasing workplace safety would go along with this. For decades, the American workplace has been getting cleaner and safer. The string of fires, if nothing else, gives evidence that that’s no longer the case. Some of the fires in 2022 occurred in plants known to have sloppy safety protocols.  

And this, of course, affects our ability to process food, which in turn leads to decreased availability and increased prices. 

Given these situations, it’s not unreasonable that more people than ever have expressed interest in starting their own backyard flocks. Between the pandemic, food shortages, and general increased awareness about animal welfare, many urban and suburban dwellers have gotten into raising their own birds.

However, many of these same small flock owners have been complaining recently about a larger-than-usual drop in egg production. Rumors have been going around about feed being tampered with, and anecdotally, people have been saying they’ve had problems with the popular brands Producer’s Pride and DuMor. Both of these happen to be owned by Purina and typically have a 16% protein content. People have been claiming that the feed manufacturers have lowered the protein content recently, though I can’t find any confirmation of that. I have always bought my feed from a small regional producer, so I didn’t start paying attention until recently. 
 

 

And, unfortunately, I haven’t been alone in my lack of attentiveness. Tucker Carlson just did an episode about problems with our food supply and points out that it’s hard to get solid evidence about anything from the fires to the feed issues because the people in power are genuinely not interested. Curiously, he does remind us at 0:54 that Biden promised food shortages last year. Biden seems to be delivering. 

 

It might be time to start getting feed locally.

I am hesitant to point fingers and level accusations at big-feed producers without anything more to go on than hearsay. 

However, if you are genuinely concerned about this, I think there are some excellent reasons to look into procuring feed locally from independent producers. 

I began raising birds in 2014, catering to customers looking for pasture-raised, organically-fed birds. Now, I have never had an organic certification myself, but I have always bought feed from an organically certified producer. Despite the high cost, I have never had any regrets. 

First of all, you get what you pay for, and higher-quality feed means higher-quality eggs. You will notice the difference in the color of the yolk, the texture of the white, and the hardness of the shell. 

Second of all, I have long suspected prices for specialty feed will be more stable in the long term, and so far, the past couple years have proved me correct. My feed prices have increased 20% since 2021. My egg industry friends, using conventional feed, have seen an increase of 100%. Yes, it’s cheap, but it’s doubled in a year. That is a big change to make, and as a business owner, a much harder adjustment for customers used to certain prices.

 The reasons behind this are many and varied. If you want an in-depth discussion of why what most of us think of as “luxury food” may be more stable in the long run, I would recommend watching Joe Rogan’s discussion with Will Harris of White Oak Pastures here. For now, I will just say that the gap between conventional and specialty feed price-wise is still there, but it’s considerably smaller than it was a few years ago. And that may not change much for the foreseeable future. 
 

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[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

Fake Meat Fail: Sales Collapse At Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods As 20% Of Staff Laid Off

By Tyler Durden

The fake-meat industry appears to be in a death spiral as sales at plant-based “meat” companies Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have imploded.

As Axios reports, “after years of hype, the tide is turning against the first generation of plant-based protein makers.”

Last year both companies were riding high – with prime placement on supermarket shelves, and Burger King even adding an Impossible Whopper to its menu.

Impossible Meat even began to branch out – looking to expand offerings to highly processed meats such as chicken nuggets and sausages.

Sales have collapsed, however, which according to a recent Bloomberg report, has resulted in Impossible Foods planning to lay off around 20% of its workers.

Impossible Foods Inc., the maker of meatless burgers and sausages, is preparing to cut about 20% of its staff, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Redwood City, California-based company currently employs about 700 workers. The new round of dismissals could reduce that amount by more than 100. 

Impossible Foods also offered voluntary separation payments and benefits to employees at the end of 2022, said the person, who asked not to be named discussing private information. An internal document viewed by Bloomberg confirmed the separation packages being offered. The company previously reduced headcount in October, cutting about 6% of its workforce at the time. -Bloomberg
 

 

Beyond Meat’s sales fell over 22% in the third quarter of 2022, as the company is preparing to similarly cut 20% of its workers. The company has also lost several executives.

According to the report, supermarket sales fell by 15% y/y as of Jan. 1, according to market-research firm IRI, while orders in restaurants dropped 9% in the12 months ended in November, according to NPD Group.

Meanwhile, data from consumer-experience strategy firm HundredX suggests waning interest in general – as the percentage of shoppers polled who have eaten Impossible products and say they won’t do it again has risen.

Beyond Meat stock is also down around 67% vs. one year ago.

 

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[Florian Haas]

I don't understand how half of the planet is dying from hunger, and the other half has all the shelves full of food. When I was 18 years old, I worked in a supermarket and had to throw away a lot of food. That's not fair!

[LastOneLeftInTheCounty]

12 hours ago, Florian Haas said:

I don't understand how half of the planet is dying from hunger, and the other half has all the shelves full of food. When I was 18 years old, I worked in a supermarket and had to throw away a lot of food. That's not fair!

Same here. It’s a sad, worthless feeling dumping thousands of pounds worth of food in a skip, because some inexperienced section manager over-ordered on the Christmas delivery.

Fookin muppets! 

[Velma]

13 hours ago, Florian Haas said:

I don't understand how half of the planet is dying from hunger, and the other half has all the shelves full of food. When I was 18 years old, I worked in a supermarket and had to throw away a lot of food. That's not fair!

 

When I was 22 years old, we had a "butter mountain" the European Economic Community’s famous food stockpiles, accumulated under the common agricultural policy to maintain farm prices.

 

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/thatcher-wanted-to-raid-european-butter-mountain/37149125.html