PowerSwitch

Apologies if this has already been posted.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/ja ... aster-risk

The UK could stand "at most a week" of disruption if a natural or man-made disaster struck before severe problems, economic and social, that would bring chaos to the country, according to a new report from the international affairs thinktank Chatham House.

The authors blame a complacent reliance on the globalised economy and the widespread adoption of "just-in-time" business models that stress lean, ultra-efficient operations with little slack built in for any unforeseen circumstances or stock held in reserve.

Article continues...

The mainstream media are printing this sort of information more and more now. It's heartening, but also a little worrying, from the point of view that maybe things are drawing to a head, but also if we take a selfish/preservationist view as preppers.

If each person who reads these articles properly makes a bit more in the way of preps, even simple stuff like installing water-barrels or having a week's food instead of 2 days in the house, then they're doing some good.

RenewableCandy wrote:If each person who reads these articles properly makes a bit more in the way of preps, even simple stuff like installing water-barrels or having a week's food instead of 2 days in the house, then they're doing some good.

Absolutely agree. even if each article just gets a few to make a change we might buy ourselves a but more time.

Will the "average person " do anything I doubt it their brought up to depend on the all powerful state, when that fails they will expect you to look after them .

RenewableCandy wrote:If each person who reads these articles properly makes a bit more in the way of preps, even simple stuff like installing water-barrels or having a week's food instead of 2 days in the house, then they're doing some good.

If EACH person properly reading the article purchased a water barrel and a weeks food, then I would expect shortages of food and water barrels !
There is that little slack in the system.
In practice of course most will do nothing, only a minority will act, and that will do some good, especialy as each person who prepares may eventually persuade others to do likwise, though not all at once I hope.

Many supermarkets appear to have gone too far in reducing stock levels and have moved from "just in time" to "not in time" deliveries.
In stocking up I regularly buy the entire stock of several products, admitedly perhaps the less popular items.
A recent trip to a major supermarket resulted in me buying their entire stock of
Peanut butter (all 5 jars)
Nestle tinned cream (6 tins)
Cockburns port (both bottles)
Large bars of milk chocolatte (7 bars)

I also purchased more than half the available stock of numerous other lines.
The amounts purchased were not exactly true SHTF hoards, but reasonable purchases for a large family or small business such as a B+B.

At retailers were I am not known, I dont mind doing my best to start a small panic over food supplies.
Better a small panic now than a big one latter !
If any employee or fellow customer comments, I generally reply that I am stocking up "in case of war or terrorist attack"

At retailers were I am or may be known to staff or customers then I keep a lower profile so as not to become known as one who "has a hoard whilst sheeple go short"

That article is rather optimistic as Adam2's post suggests.

The large supermarket chains have tiers of product. High turnover items like milk will have 2 hours supply, lowest turnover items a week, obscure cleaning products.

Other retail chains have 1 to 2 days stock of fast moving and about a fortnight of slower moving items.

As I know firsthand the system barely works now. Just think how often shelves are empty or nearly so from mid morning on especially. One of the supermarket barns locally didn't factor in enough for the recent civil service strike day. Dairy, bakery and meat looked like a Moscow supermarket in the 80s.

I honestly believe that stockpiling is the best preparation by far for people to start with. Just adding a few extra items a week for 6 months and I've got about 7 weeks food to hand.

So how much food should you store? 3 months, 6 months?

Any ideas people?

Red wine, many years; dried fruit, a few months; flour, a few weeks; eggs, a few days.

http://www.emergencyfoodstorage.co.uk/p ... -Pack.html#

How about this? 25 years preservation...

Lord Beria3 wrote:http://www.emergencyfoodstorage.co.uk/p ... -Pack.html#

How about this? 25 years preservation...

Fine for those with a spare £800 burning a hole in your bank account...

(granted, knowing the economy nowadays it might be safer than leaving it in the bank, but for those on the dole...)

Many people reading that article wouldn't do a thing, trusting that they would be quick off the mark in the event of a disaster, which they believe is not imminent anyway. Why worry?

Lord Beria3 wrote:So how much food should you store? 3 months, 6 months?

Any ideas people?

it depends what your expecting start with 3 months then build from there lots of people do a year

look up lds food storage, mountain house is nice but expensive, normal grains and beans can last 30 plus years if stored right



http://lds.about.com/library/bl/faq/blcalculator.htm

Lord Beria3 wrote:So how much food should you store? 3 months, 6 months?

Any ideas people?

I now keep about a years worth, though even a week or two is better than nothing which is what most people have.
I keep a selection of foods, but dried pasta, tinned tuna, spam, baked beans, tinned fruit,peanut butter, jam, and chocolate are the main items stocked in relatively large volumes.
I also keep a few MREs and some Mountain house food.

the_lyniezian wrote:

Lord Beria3 wrote:http://www.emergencyfoodstorage.co.uk/p ... -Pack.html#

How about this? 25 years preservation...

Fine for those with a spare £800 burning a hole in your bank account...

(granted, knowing the economy nowadays it might be safer than leaving it in the bank, but for those on the dole...)

Mountain House foods are indeed a rather expensive prep, but have the merit of extreme long life.
I recomend these to those who normally grow much of their own food and therefore have little use of regular canned goods.
Most of us could stock a few hundred cans of whatever we eat normally, useing this and replacing with new as it goes out of date.
Those who grow much of their own food would probably struggle to use up a "few hundred cans" every few years.
Mountain house foods with a 25 year shelf life would be ideal, good insurance against a failed or looted harvest for example. If stored in a different building to stocks of home produced foods, would also prevent starvation in case of loss by fire.
The extreme long life also facilitates concealement against theft/requistioning/looting. One could build build a false wall to conceal stocks of Mountain House tins, destroying the wall to acces the food. That would hardly be feasible with regular canned goods that need regular inspection and stock rotation.