G'Day.
New to the forum(s). I'm from east coast Australia (inland from Sydney).
Not good news on the stockmarket today, down 4%.
However, not the main subject I want to air. Food security is. Found reference to this article on another forum;
http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2010/s3253782.htm
...MICHAEL D'OCCHIO, UNI. OF QLD: Australia never has been and never will be a food basket or the food bowl of the world. The reality is that we produce food for 60 million people. We feed 22 million-odd at home and 40 million overseas. But put in the global context, that 40 million that we feed overseas represents less than three per cent of global food movements.
How Australia contributes to food security globally is through knowledge, training and technology transfer.
JULIAN CRIBB: We're very good at farming, we're very, very good at food production. We have better knowledge about how to handle difficult climates, droughts and floods and things like that than almost anyone else in the world, and in a time of climate change that's exactly the kind of knowledge that you need.
KERRY STAIGHT: In this high-tech plant breeding centre in Adelaide, the search is on for hardy crops that will produce more from less to feed a world population that's predicted to rise by more than two billion by 2050.
MARK TESTER, AUST. CENTRE FOR PLANT FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS: It is a bit nerve-wracking, genuinely. Over the last 50 years we've increased the amount of food produced on the planet by 32 million tonnes a year. We have to increase that rate of increase - if you're still with me - from 32 to 44 million tonnes a year....
G,day Bunyip. here in Ontario Canada they say we get most of our food from California, were if the trucks stop coming it would be three days before the stores ran out, now that is a scary though. So if California got hit by a massive earth quake and took out a lot of the roads, we be in a bad place. That said Southern Ontario is now booming with km of greenhouse producing all kinds of food. And there seem to be a very big move for grow local buy local. Especially around here were there was a lot of hippy communes from the 1960,t's. and back to the land type people.
Hi Beth,
Thanks for the reply.
One question I've always worried about for Canada is just how much of a growing season do you guys have?
I know that Vancouver for example has a milder and less extreme climate than you maybe would expect for that latitude and area, but do you rely on greenhouses for a decent length growing season?
Here in Oz, one thing we locals are getting concerned about is Chinese govt buying of agricultural land - long term that can't be a good thing IMO.
oh for sure, Vancouver and our west coast are warm weather pussies. when I'm knee deep in snow with 3 more mouth of winter, they have all there fruit tree blooming. there out running around in shorts and aka family out there bugging us back east. but they have rain rain rain, and slugs bitter than bananas. We have alot of sun and rain hopefully in the right amount, and manage to get a good garden in before fall. We start tomato peppers egg plant type stuff in door maybe 4 to 6 weeks before we plant them out. I'm in zone 4 -5. so can grow all most any thing. other than your tropical plants. If you look at a map you will see that southern Ontario is almost in line with the top of California, so they do have a pretty long growing season for the light, and i think a lot of the green house use industry wast heat for heading the GH
There is a big move and funding from the Ontario Government to support local food growers. they seem to be putting a lot of money into the promotion of local foods. http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/index.html
oh for sure, Vancouver and our west coast are warm weather pussies.
*Laughing* ....
I can't deny that I am thrilled to have moved back to Vancouver island! There are different issues to be found here... it is said that the Island only has enough food to feed the population for 3 days. We are immensely dependent on transported food. Our changes in lifestyle, the loss of family farms and fisheries over recent decades have promoted even more dependance on outside resources.
Like people everywhere across the country, we buy what we need... but I recall eating a lot of wild game, fish and shellfish as a youngster, and going out to my grandmas garden to pick the veggies for supper. Everyone got together to pick the plums, apples and cherries, whatever was due at that moment... times have sure changed... and it wouldn't take much at all for store shelves to be wiped out.
Bunyip,
Being an (immense) Island as well, is there any stats on how many days/weeks Australia can self-sustain without imported food?
Hi Beth,
Thanks for the reply.
One question I've always worried about for Canada is just how much of a growing season do you guys have?
I'm from the dead centre of Canada, (literally... I can make it to the plaque marking the longitudinal centre of Canada, and back in less than 2 hours.) and our growing season runs from mid May to Mid September, at least for those of us planting gardens. The farmers (and boy, do we have a lot of farmers) may run slightly longer than that, but before and after those dates, frosts are not uncommon. The top three crops for the surrounding area in order of most acreage to least, are wheat, canola and either oats or barley depending on the year.
The gardening zone would be 3a here.. which means we hit a minimum yearly temperature of -40C(-40F)
Aphrael
Oh sweetheart, I don't have to run faster than the bear...
I thought this thread was about how to keep scavengers from stealing your food stuff ... 🙂 but preppers are concerned about the food no longer being trucked to their local store. If you are a home owner you should read up on Cold Cellar storage techniques and gardening. Even if you live in a condo or apartment you can store food for over 3 months in a closet or locker. I live in southern Ontario and I believe I'm nearly ready to survive if all outside sources of food were to be shut down. Lets hope the day never comes to test ourselves permanent survival.
Just my humble opinion on that subject
Hi LGClement,
Yes, true enough, we can store it and I have always tried to maintain a pantry that reflected 6+ or at times 12 months or longer in various regions that I lived... But as we all recognize, there are different obstacles to different regions of our country. Is 3 months even enough? Maybe it is to get past some localized obstacle but what if the obstacle is farther reaching.
As a child on Van Isle, there were farms everywhere... many of those farms are long gone today, many more replaced by condos and golf courses.
Having lived on the prairies ( Alberta and Manitoba) and central and Southern Ontario ( North Bay and Hamilton), there are some long winters and depending on your year, sometimes a cold spring, a shorter and not-so-prime growing season, or higher precip winter that led to wide-spread flooding.. etc I had 2 homes (both interestingly enough in Manitoba) that came equipped with cold storage. The closest thing I could have to cold storage here is probably a tote on my balcony... (kidding of course 😉 )
There are a fair number of community gardens going on in Victoria, though none in my proximity( so far, but I am looking) ... I have eyed up the roof top of the apartment building for container gardening if the owner will allow it...and will utilize my balcony. I have been doing some great reading on 3 sisters gardening/symbiotic gardening and learning what will thrive in this region, to see if I might be able to approach gardening differently ( and am in the process of acquiring a book on edible plants of canada)
I have previously grown large and small gardens, canned, baked, dried, frozen, shared a side of beef with a neighbor etc but that is not the current opportunity, situation nor space I have so I am considering all possibilities to self- sustain and work towards that lifestyle. Unless you can put away years of food, producing your own food is definitely a consideration and seriously, who wants to rely on store shelves? Eventually the flour and rice will run out... so then what ... these are the kinds of things I consider and my prepping has several tiers to it...I am not new to prepping, just re-established in another province and figuring out what will work better for my current environment and circumstances.
The well publicized 100 mile diet, while popular, has also illustrated just how deep some of our food issues and obstacles run. It sounds great in theory but there are a number of blogs out there attesting to the difficulties faced , a great education and lesson in demonstrating just how much of our food is imported ...
Food security regarding shipping lines is the reality of every canadian or American or Australian, everyone, who is not currently living in a self sustaining farm/home environment. Water is becoming a growing issue as well thanks to every shrinking water tables and our current trend for drinking bottled water.
Grocery stores no longer like to warehouse beyond a couple of days, ordering/warehouse/trucking and door-to-the-floor is typically on a 3 day turn around for most retailers. A catastrophic earthquake here on the Island will grind everything to a halt and shelves will be picked clean within a day or two with nothing coming in. So a pantry will hold you for some, but then what ... so we are not just working on plan A, but also B, C ...
We have not been good to Mother Earth and I truly believe we are now paying the price via pollution, genetically engineered food and livestock and obliteration of our natural resources...dependance on the store for food is not where I want to be in the short term or long...
Bunyip,
Being an (immense) Island as well, is there any stats on how many days/weeks Australia can self-sustain without imported food?
Hi PG (and sorry for the delay in replying.
Interesting question, can be answered at several levels.
Oz has (in common with Canada I understand) the farming output to feed twice as many as we have a population, ie we export half our food production.
ABS stats on meat production suggest about 6% of the sheep flock is processed to meat each year;
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/7215.0
Now 'the average city family' is a different kettle of fish.
We try to keep a reasonably stocked pantry. Many/most (in the west generally) do not.
The supermarkets I'd hazard have maybe 3 days turnover on the shelves, and if the nightfill people didn't restock, may things would be off the shelf and not available after 1-2 days.
I'd say then. a week or 2 at most in the cities, better in the rural areas (depending on the major farming activities in the area). I suspect Queensland would do better than Western Australia, and rural NSW would do better than Sydney, so far as access to food goes in the context of your question.
(We also have a broader graowing season than (say) Canada and your harsh winters - which also needs factoring in).
Hi everyone I've just registered tonight here as I can not find anywhere in Canada/ western Canada where I can buy mylar bags and those oxygen tabs.
I'm a 50 yr old Single Lady on a limited fixed income but I have been prepping for the past few months, as long as with honing up on my survival skills WTSHTF. I purchased an army pack as well as the load bearing vest and have got that pretty well loaded up now.
I've been purchasing what extra foods I can tho I have very limited space in my mobile home for storage at all.
I've finally found a half decent vacum sealer that I purchased from Cabela's and have been in my glory today doing that.... what I am looking for is a decent square shaped dehydrator and where I can get those mylar bags and oxygen tabs
If anyone has any ideas, can you please email me links, or ideas Thank you Dawn dlfshilo@yahoo.ca
Organic Food Industry Bought Up by Corporations Like Coca-Cola
You may be wondering why some supposedly ‘healthy’ and ‘environmentally conscious’ companies deceive unknowing consumers into purchasing products with hidden additives and fillers. Perhaps one of the main reasons is that a large number of these pseudo-organic brands are owned by their very unhealthy ‘competitors’, such as Coca-Cola and General Mills. In fact, some of your favorite “All Natural” and organic companies may be owned by a corporate giant.
so i would just suport local farmers and farmers market, grow your own or support the companies who tell the truth.
Hi everyone I've just registered tonight here as I can not find anywhere in Canada/ western Canada where I can buy mylar bags and those oxygen tabs.
I'm a 50 yr old Single Lady on a limited fixed income but I have been prepping for the past few months, as long as with honing up on my survival skills WTSHTF. I purchased an army pack as well as the load bearing vest and have got that pretty well loaded up now.
I've been purchasing what extra foods I can tho I have very limited space in my mobile home for storage at all.
I've finally found a half decent vacum sealer that I purchased from Cabela's and have been in my glory today doing that.... what I am looking for is a decent square shaped dehydrator and where I can get those mylar bags and oxygen tabs
If anyone has any ideas, can you please email me links, or ideas Thank you Dawn dlfshilo@yahoo.ca
http://www.thecanadiansurvivalcompany.ca/main.sc
"We 'Prep.' to live after a downfall, Not just to survive."