Cheap Energy Must Stay Cheap In Order For Millions Of American To Eat

The headline to this article says it all, without cheap energy millions of Americans will fall below the poverty line and require assistance, to be precise, tens of millions more!

If you consider the fact that all food production, harvest, shipping, packaging, distribution, etc. all require cheap energy you will come to understand the predicament we all face. We have never lived in a $4 a gallon scenario for this long, ever. Sustained high fuel prices (including diesel) is new phenomenon that has the power to devastate our economy. As noted above, the entire food system has been built upon cheap energy and long distance shipping, gone are the days when your food was grown locally, harvested locally and packed locally. Instead, our food is global and it requires so much cheap energy to get to the store shelves.

There are two additional facts that place a huge percentage of this country in a bad spot, the dwindling of the SPR (strategic petroleum reserve), and the prospect of a wider war in the Middle East. Our competent leader sold off most of the SPR in an effort to lower gas prices after they sky rocketed due to the cancellation of pipe lines and drilling rights to help win the mid-term elections. Now, with warships steaming toward the Middle East the powder keg that is being dangerously heated brings to life the possibility that already high energy costs could literally double or triple!

Most Americans have never heard of the Straights of Hormuz or the Suez canal let alone being able to find these two choke points on the map. The vast majority of global oil flows (IE: cheap energy) flow through these tiny channels that are right smack in the middle of a potential war. A war that has the potential to cause a massive shortage of oil flows at a time when our SPR is drained and political appetite for domestic energy is non-existent.

Recently the World Bank chimed in with this headline…Israel-Hamas war could push oil prices into 'uncharted waters', leading to higher food prices worldwide, World Bank warns

The World Bank report simulates three scenarios for the global oil supply in the event of a small, medium or large disruption.

Effects should be limited if the conflict does not widen in a 'small disruption' scenario - as oil prices are expected to decline to an average of $81 (£66.83) a barrel next year, the World Bank estimates.

But during a 'medium disruption' - equivalent to the disruptions experienced during the Iraq war - the global oil supply would decline by three million to five million barrels per day, driving oil prices up possibly by 35 per cent.

In a 'large disruption' scenario - comparable to the Arab oil embargo of 1973 - the global oil supply would shrink by six million to eight million barrels per day and prices could go up by 56 per cent to 75 per cent, or $140 (£115.51) to $157 (£129.53) a barrel, according to the report.

So as you see, this tumultuous situation we face is scary, especially when we as a society in large part have given up our food security and come to rely on “just-in-time delivery” and we don’t produce our own food. I have felt uneasy for years seeing how we have become so lazy and live such an easy, convenient lifestyle; UBER Eats, drive-thru lanes, fast food everywhere, Butcher Box, etc.

Every one of these conveniences relies on cheap energy and if it vanishes, we’re screwed. This is why I created the Food Storage Feast Online Course 7 years ago, to help you the reader realize why you need to MASSIVELY expand your pantry and learn to cook with inexpensive (still cheap but rising fast) shelf-stable foods so that you can lower your grocery bills, provide peace of mind and be able to make meals that your family will eat. These are all very, very important issues. Once your pantry is stocked I suggest planting an orchard, planting berry bushes, and learning how to grow crops with very high yields that are relatively easy to grow, such as potatoes, winter squash, grapes, berries, etc.

A stocked pantry is the first step, so look here for inspiration.