In Strategies Part 1 we looked at the idea of saving several months worth of expenses in easily accessible cash to insulate from the current crisis.
In Strategies Part 2 we examined the objective of converting a portion of net worth to gold as hedge in times of uncertainty.
In this post we will examine practical ways to insulate ourselves from a substantial increase in food prices.
This strategy is threefold.
· Grow much of your own food
· Reduce dependency on pre-packaged instant foods
· Eat lower on the food chain
The first part of this strategy is to secure good quality land for vegetable production. In a northern climate, much of the required food needed for a small family can be grown on half an acre (the equivalent area of two or three city lots). In Cuba, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, urban gardens sprouted up everywhere as fossil fuel shipment stopped and there were insufficient supplies to bring all the vegetables required to the cities. The average Cuban lost close to 20 lbs. until they adopted a more self sufficient urban gardening strategy.
A similar situation could develop if severe inflation began eroding the buying power to the consumer’s dollar. Dependency on ever increasing wages to provide enough purchasing power to buy groceries is a real risk.
A second part to this strategy is to reduce consumption of instant foods. Certainly these foods are very convenient, but the cost per portion is out of this world. Learning cooking skills from elderly people (particularly if they are from rural areas) would be a money saving investment. The dollars saved could be put toward the Strategy #1 cash savings, or toward Strategy # 2 gold and silver purchases.
The third part of this strategy is to consume lower cost foods.
This idea emphasizes grains, starches and vegetables as a greater portion of the daily diet. The calorie count of these foods varies from 190 calories per pound for carrots to 350 calories per pound for potatoes. Wheat has roughly 1200 calories per pound.
While the calorie count for chicken (775 calories per pound) & pork (1170 calories) are higher by weight, the cost to purchase is also high.
Just checked the local grocery store and found that 5.75 pounds of carrots cost $2.90 (1100 calories) and 3.5 pounds of potatoes (1200 calories) cost $1.57 while 1.5 pounds of whole chicken (1162 calories) cost $2.96 and 1 pound of pork chops (1170 calories) cost $2.98 and 1 pound of sirloin tip steak (976 calories) cost $4.99. When doing the calculations, it becomes apparent that eating a greater portion of grains and vegetables will reduce food costs as generally their cost per calorie is lower. Meat has higher calorie density but those calories tend to be more expensive.
In Strategies Part 2 we examined the objective of converting a portion of net worth to gold as hedge in times of uncertainty.
In this post we will examine practical ways to insulate ourselves from a substantial increase in food prices.
This strategy is threefold.
· Grow much of your own food
· Reduce dependency on pre-packaged instant foods
· Eat lower on the food chain
The first part of this strategy is to secure good quality land for vegetable production. In a northern climate, much of the required food needed for a small family can be grown on half an acre (the equivalent area of two or three city lots). In Cuba, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, urban gardens sprouted up everywhere as fossil fuel shipment stopped and there were insufficient supplies to bring all the vegetables required to the cities. The average Cuban lost close to 20 lbs. until they adopted a more self sufficient urban gardening strategy.
A similar situation could develop if severe inflation began eroding the buying power to the consumer’s dollar. Dependency on ever increasing wages to provide enough purchasing power to buy groceries is a real risk.
A second part to this strategy is to reduce consumption of instant foods. Certainly these foods are very convenient, but the cost per portion is out of this world. Learning cooking skills from elderly people (particularly if they are from rural areas) would be a money saving investment. The dollars saved could be put toward the Strategy #1 cash savings, or toward Strategy # 2 gold and silver purchases.
The third part of this strategy is to consume lower cost foods.
This idea emphasizes grains, starches and vegetables as a greater portion of the daily diet. The calorie count of these foods varies from 190 calories per pound for carrots to 350 calories per pound for potatoes. Wheat has roughly 1200 calories per pound.
While the calorie count for chicken (775 calories per pound) & pork (1170 calories) are higher by weight, the cost to purchase is also high.
Just checked the local grocery store and found that 5.75 pounds of carrots cost $2.90 (1100 calories) and 3.5 pounds of potatoes (1200 calories) cost $1.57 while 1.5 pounds of whole chicken (1162 calories) cost $2.96 and 1 pound of pork chops (1170 calories) cost $2.98 and 1 pound of sirloin tip steak (976 calories) cost $4.99. When doing the calculations, it becomes apparent that eating a greater portion of grains and vegetables will reduce food costs as generally their cost per calorie is lower. Meat has higher calorie density but those calories tend to be more expensive.
And besides grains and vegetables have
ReplyDeletemore natural vitamins and antioxidents.
Be healthy for whatever our future may
be.
An excellent point Anonymous, we probably eat too much animal protein and processed foods anyway in the Western diet. Preparing for harder times can be good for us.
ReplyDelete