If push comes to shove...?

lostinrates

Lotus-eater wrote: »

I tried I can't, it almost gave me an ulcer, so I discovered the ignore feature and since then I have much happier days.

You are very naughty. I shall have to put you on ignore.;)

Interestingly of course, the civilisation thing is interesting...because I think in many ways it is falling. We certainly are not that ''civil'' any more! When forced on to our resources...like last winter, people did pull together more...it was quite lovely and enjoyable.

cootambear

rhiwfield wrote: »

Thanks for the good luck message CB, even though I've no desire for the fall of civilisation.

You said earlier "If the poor cannot afford to pay the price that the market system requires to make a profit, they go hungry". Precisely.

Please remember that this is a money saving forum and that many on here on lower incomes will have a higher than average % of their income spent on food bills. That applies to me.

So when it looks probable that food prices will rise further in real terms, and when there are increasing threats to global food supplies coupled with increasing demand from a rising global population, please bear with me if I explore the possibilities of taking mitigating action myself or at a community level.

What cheeses me off is that we are becoming a more and more risk averse society. Kids don`t walk to school anymore because of stranger danger (when in reality they are more at risk from a car crash). A small volcano goes off in Iceland and thousand are stranded in europes airports, all because of imagined worst case scenarios. Alarmism over food production is part of this malaise.

I do agree with you that food prices will rise in the short to medium term, and that coupled, with attacks on social policies and the pressure to drive down wages to subsidise the banks, will unleash serious civil disorder.

There is a difference I believe between agreeing there will be price hikes, and believing `there are increasing threats to global food supplies`. Populatation rises have allowed incresing technical specialisation, which among many other benefits, have led to a revolution in food production. Even at todays abilities, there is the capability to produce enough food to feed billions more.

Alarmists alaways take todays limitations and extrapolate in to the future, without taking in to account increased efficiences of scale and more importantly, technical innovation.

30 years ago they said the same when the worlds population was 2 billion less. If their theories had been correct we should all be starving now. 1,000 years ago scholars were saying that the world could not sustain a population above 100 million.

30 years ago I was saying that women had the right to control their own fertility, against the wider social pressure to have babies they did not want.
Today I am saying that women have the right to control their own fertility, against the wider social pressure to have babies they do want.

Gm food will be the next revolution, allowing for higher yields that require less water, fertilisers and pesticides.

Alarmists never take in to account the world greatest resource - human ingenuity.

Rummer

Oh can we please keep this thread on track as it is something I find really interesting. If you want to discuss disaster planning and the politics etc please go to another board. This discussion should be about how to maximise yield from your garden should the need for homegrown food become more important.

wssla00

I bought a book called make your garden feed you- a reprint of a book from ww2. It is very interesting and not one scrap of land in a normal garden is wasted. Very interesting. I think I paid about £3 for it, so may be a good ready for anyone interested in the subject?

cootambear

Rummer wrote: »

Oh can we please keep this thread on track as it is something I find really interesting. If you want to discuss disaster planning and the politics etc please go to another board. This discussion should be about how to maximise yield from your garden should the need for homegrown food become more important.

I don`t think it ever will. Sorry.

RAS

cootambear wrote: »

I don`t think it ever will. Sorry.

In which case, why do you fell the need to "contribute" to this thread". It is not in Discussion time.

lostinrates

Rummer wrote: »

Oh can we please keep this thread on track as it is something I find really interesting. If you want to discuss disaster planning and the politics etc please go to another board. This discussion should be about how to maximise yield from your garden should the need for homegrown food become more important.

Just as it has got more important for me. Lot of us are finding keeping food bills down and food quality up a priority.

Right so....

I have no polytunnel or green house yet. How much of a priority should I be making this?

Rummer

I have a greenhouse but I have found that I am far too lazy to grow things in there properly and they often wilt or die due to inadequate watering. However used properly it provides increased variety and a longer growing season!

Rummer

cootambear wrote: »

I don`t think it ever will. Sorry.

I would disagree strongly on this point, a lot of people have seen a drastic reduction in income and are finding it challenging to provide healthy chemical free affordable food for their families.

It may not be the case that there are mass food shortages however it is still relevant to discuss approaches.

rhiwfield

lostinrates wrote: »

Just as it has got more important for me. Lot of us are finding keeping food bills down and food quality up a priority.

Right so....

I have no polytunnel or green house yet. How much of a priority should I be making this?

I think it makes the difference in some cases between cropping and not cropping. Blight can easily wipe out an outdoor crop leaving you with not a lot.

Another thing is that greenhouses allow you to extend the season more, cropping both earlier and later.