Food costs to soar as big freeze deepens
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/09/food-costs-soar-big-freeze
This story goes on to talk about how local crops in the UK and Northern Ireland are either being destroyed or delayed by the weeks of freezing conditions on both Islands. And while it is"Warmer" today, in that it is not 17 degrees, though that is the "real feel" temperature according to accuWeather, that is unlikely to be enough to change things very much. It is straining (snow mixed with rain) and 37 officially, but if more snow keeps falling it may get colder. We also have about forty to fifty mile an hour winds, which we did NOT have during the snow falls. Even if it is does not, In Ireland, many towns and cities are having spot stoppages of water and places like Cork are starting flood again.
Rain, can be just as destructive as snow, though you would that that Ireland at least would be used to it and have better back up plans in place for when it gets out of hand. Despite my comments about "I am not the Minister for Snow," John Gormely, I can understand why a country with a bad freeze every forty years or so might not be prepared for one that happens suddenly one Christmas Eve. Even if that "Christmas" timing did seem part of the problem in getting anyone in Government or elsewhere to admit there was a problem or try and figure out who was in charge of what.
On a house hold and even community level, self-sufficiency is a great idea, and one we celebrate here on the prepping forums. But there are some things, like roads, emergency services and even sidewalks are generally considered to be the brief of at least local and sometimes National Governments.
Here in Ireland, it was not even possible to get a direct answer from anyone as to the legality of clearing sidewalks (here called footpaths) of snow and ice by homeowners or businesses. As soon as hospitals flooded with broken bones and shattered people started begging people to do this, some lawyers group got on television to inform people that "in their opinion" this would leave a home-owner or business in danger of being sued if someone fell away. Best not to do anything, they suggested and people complied with gusto, a shortage of snow shovels could also have had something to with this, but preventing a law suit sounds a lot better than "baby it is took cold to go outside and do something!"
Meanwhile, the Irish Tax Payer will not be paying for the medical leave and bills for the four hapless Postal Workers who desperately tried to get mail out on the untouched ice sheets that many side walks and walkways to homes had become. The post office says they have never seen anything like this, gee maybe in the past people had just shoveled up the snow, taking care of themselves and their neighbors? But now, they have been told not to do it or they could lose their home when someone falls. The lawyers insisting that as long as the sidewalks were untouched, it was the government who was responsible.
I should point out that in parts of Scandinavia where they do know a lot of about living with snow, you CAN be sued for not clearing your own walk ways. The same, I believe is true, in many places in the USA.
But, the real reason for bringing this up here is that once again, when people tried to desperately find out which way it really was, as in "please, can we clear the snow on our own driveway," no government spokesperson would comment. There was not even an effort made to get a judicial ruling of some-sort, no emergency decree, just well, no one really and that rather seems to be the point.
Whose in charge? While no one...
No one really seems in charge of potential all the snow (and now heavy rains again) are having on the local food supplies. You do get a few articles in the paper, such as the one highlighted about and in Ireland the army is helping farmers get feed to stranded live stock. But over all, one thing not talked about a whole lot is the issue of real food shortages. The type that go beyond the lack of Callifower that delighted my husband last week, knowing none of the white things are likely to appear on our table for a few months.
With that in mind, I have to say that the one good thing that could come out of all this weather (besides questioning the idea that people alone cause global warming or global cooling) is that smaller nations like the UK and Ireland may start to realize that food is a national security issue. That growing as much food locally is more than just a slogan it is a practice that can save lives.
Same thing, is true for North America of course, but island nations with good farm/grazing lands that destroy their own farming to import food from 10,000 miles away, are just asking for famine in a crises.
While I have no problem importing things people want that really don't grow here, like nice Sunshine ripened tomatoes from Italy in March; shutting down all growing of sugar beets overnight (because to import them was "cheaper," and getting rid of all sheep subsidies (eliminated up to half the local sheep population and more every year) because imported lamb is "cheaper," creates a situation where even the knowledge of how to farm is being lost.
Ireland is lucky because the population of the entire Island is less than many major US cities (about 4 million) but the UK has more like 60 million. They do have three nations under one roof over there, plus more land, but not that much.
All famines in Europe since the 1918 Year with out a Summer, have been considered man made in some way and that includes the Irish Potato Famine. People starve to death either in the midst of food they can not afford, or because of disruptions to the food supplies because of war or transportation problems.
I hope we are not about to see the next man-made famine, the last big one was World War II, and it was only by the gardening efforts of folks on both sides that allowed the majority of people to keep total starvation at bay. My friend from Berlin says her mother would never eat goat again, because for months they ate nothing but tough goat stewed with greens, but she lived to grow up and have a daughter.
It has taken nearly 60 years for the West to forget why their grandparent's grew Victory Gardens or Sent their "Youth to Farms and Fields" (Germany) during the last war. To grow food at home, for use at home (as well as the war effort of course).
I think in many ways, the same thing that can be said of Food, as real Gold aficionados like to say about gold, "If you don't hold it, you don't own in," or in this case perhaps,
"If you don't grow it, you may not be able to eat it."
