By Kellene Bishop

A perfect storm is brewing folks and it’s a mixture of Mother Nature, misinformation, and apathy.

Today Russia, the worlds 3^rd largest exporter of wheat, announced that they were banning wheat and wheat derivative exports for at least the next four months. (Click here for article)  They are asking that other nations, including Kazakhstan—another major grain exporter, to do the same.  Keep in mind that China, one of the largest importers of wheat, is presently experiencing the worst drought of the century. Additionally, the news article quotes a Russian official claiming that the United States had a good harvest this year, and thus the news of today is no cause for concern.  There’s only one problem with that…the U.S. is already in the hole in their wheat harvest, as well as other grains, and is desperately attempting to build up ANY reserves, let alone the reserve level of 300% of our annual grain consumption.  U.S. farmers have already sold 75% of their crop—a benchmark that typically would not be accomplished until Spring 2011.  Considering the wheat commodities continue to increase dramatically. Depending on your source and the timing of your research, June, wheat prices were at about $3.50-$4.72 per bushel. Today they are at $6.70 to $8.08 per bushel! That’s a top end price increase of 71%! Thus the early buying trend coupled with such stark price increases clearly indicates that folks all over the world, as well as here in the U.S., are anxious and in desperate need for wheat.  They can’t afford to wait until the prices come down again to purchase because they all know that Mother Nature has not been too kind this year. Expect wheat commodities to give you a better return on your investment, folks, than your 401K, mutual funds, and real estate investments right now.

The Weather Man is not expected to be kind to Russia any time soon either.  This is actually their driest season of the year.  This particular drought has delivered them the lowest rainfall and highest temperatures they have seen in 30 years, particularly in Southwest Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

In the news article, the Russian official also mistakenly claimed that Europe has had a nice wheat harvest this year as well.  Um. Did he miss the news about Europe’s record dry season this year? (search Wall Street Journal online for many articles about this topic.) As a result, their own grain, fruits, and vegetables are taking a marked hit this year.  The ripple effect simply cannot be ignored. The German market had to increase their produce and grain costs by 15% just last month; they are not expecting any relief until the next growing season. The domino effect of this is that the European economy has relied heavily through the years on selling their grains to the rest of the world. The fact that they won’t be able to supply enough this year could really compromise their financial security.  France, Europe’s largest wheat producer, is expected to take a hit this year due to weather problems as well. Germany’s wheat and barley production is expected to reduce by at least 20% and their corn by 15% this year.    Parts of England are reporting severe difficulties to the point that some crops didn’t even have the chance to germinate. With weather forecasts predicting more high temperatures across most of Europe and Russia, things aren’t likely to improve anytime soon. It’s not about just losing a week of production and growing time.  Crops are already strained and one more week could kill a significant percentage of them.

Did I mention also that Canada had a miserably low harvest this year as well?  Oh, and Argentina, previously the largest exporter of wheat, is now having to IMPORT wheat.

To put this all into a perspective that may impact you more clearly, do you remember during the summer of 2008 when Costco and Sam’s Club customers were challenged in finding wheat and rice?  Well this particular decrease in wheat production was only at half of what it is this year worldwide.

The thousand foot view takes a look at this stark increase in the cost of our most important food crops, our significant decrease in the access to this crops, AND consideration of our oil prices and availability.  All of these factors together, affecting our two most important inflation/pre-hyperinflation factors to consider, and we should indeed snap out of any feelings of apathy that we have in being better prepared.  Once again though, I reiterate that the information I distribute is not for the purpose of inducing panic. Instead, it’s an effort to give you concrete, real life information that will ideally put your preparedness efforts in motion.  If you have a sufficient supply of grains and the skills which you need to prepare them, then not only will you be able to ride through this cacophony of events, but hey, you could even assist your family financially by investing—either tangibly or via the stock market—in these vital commodities. Personally, I’m grateful for whatever warped programming I have in my somewhat OCD mind that causes me to never feel like I have enough grains.  As a result, for the last 10 years I have been compelled to find room in my budget any time I see any significant reduction in the price of grains. (My husband thinks we can never have enough water. I guess if he’s good with that, and I’m good with chocolate and grains, then we’ll make it ok. *grin*)  In terms of stocking up on wheat and other grain products, I encourage every other prepper to do the same. (Chocolate never hurt anyone either. Hee hee) Perhaps this article will assist the non-believers in your life to take a little action for their well being also.  One can only hope.

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by Kellene Bishop

Bribes Let Tomato Vendor Sell Tainted Food photo c/o nytimes.com

When I read articles like these, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/business/25tomatoes.html?em I am reminded exactly why it is that I believe in having a well-stocked pantry that has long shelf-life.  I am also reminded as to why I do not invest heavily in canned goods if I can get away with it. That doesn’t mean that I don’t indulge in canned goods. They certainly have their place, but I definitely have reliable, clean, and safe substitutes on hand specifically to guard myself from the corruption, greed, deviant ethics, and just plain incompetence that plagues our food industry.   It doesn’t take a famine or heavy rains to give us cause to be more independent in our own food supplies.  There is plenty of cause every single day.

A statistic recently caught my eye on a health food site claiming that in the last 2 years there have been more food recalls than in the last 15 years put together? After watching movies such as “King Corn”, “Super-Size Me” and “Food Inc.”, I feel sufficiently informed to the point that I know that there are ample reasons for me to take my food and nutrition matters into my own hands.  As I shared in a previous article, the USDA, FDA, and grocery store names (i.e. “Whole Foods”) simply can’t be trusted to sustain a healthy life for my family.

Don’t get me wrong. I have my Dr. Pepper/Krispy Kreme kind of days.  As indicated by my physique. I’m not the epitome of a health food junkie. (Oh how I wish it were true, though—working on it.) But I do definitely rely more heavily on alternatives to so-called fresh produce, “Grade A” meat, and questionable processed foods. What are they?  

Top of my list is WHEAT.  I use it in my breads, rolls, cookies, and I use it as a meat alternative. (See articles with “wheat meat” information by searching “wheat meat” in our search bar) Does anyone remember the scandal of when Home Pride Bread had used saw dust to sprinkle the top of their bread with to make it look more “whole grain?” Or how about the recall of pet food that was poisoned?  How about the shortage of rice? Remember when spinach, lettuce, tomatoes and beef were recalled as the result of e-coli poisoning?  Well, fortunately, wheat isn’t yet processed that questionably. I can replace a lot of vegetables with wheat by sprouting it. I can make a delicious meat substitute. And I can have safe and wholesome bread as well.  Even better, I get to store the wheat with diatomaceous earth that takes care of any weevil problem but is actually GOOD for me.  What a miraculous bargain there, eh?

Freeze-Dried produce ends up being cheaper than fresh!

Next, I’m a big fan of freeze-dried produce.  Notice I said PRODUCE, not entrees.  The produce HAS to be clean in order for it to vaporize properly. If it still has the pesticides, herbicides, etc. in it, then it won’t take the correct form during the freeze-drying process.  (This is yet another reason why I like to double check the color, shape, and integrity of my freeze-dried produce before I invest heavily in it.) The good news is though, when I find a good freeze-dried product, I’m in heaven. No slicing, dicing, cleaning, picking, wasting, or bruising. I just pick up the handful and throw it in my soup. Or sometimes I cover it with water to reconstitute it and then use the now flavored water in some kind of delicious dish in addition to the fruit or vegetable. In fact, the other night I reconstituted some pineapple for a Polynesian Chicken dish. Instead of reconstituting it in water, I did so in chicken broth because the regular recipe I was adapting called for chicken broth in addition to the pineapple. So hey, why not multipurpose that broth? I do the same when I’m reconstituting fruit for a fruit mousse or Jell-O salad. Instead of just using plain old water, I use the water from the reconstituted fruit.  It adds an additional depth of flavor that way. While you can’t label freeze-dried foods as “organic” per se, they certainly are clean and safe and MUCH less expensive than mysteriously labeled “organic” foods are today.

Heirloom seeds are critical to my well-being in my opinion as well.  I’m not a master gardener yet by any stretch of the imagination. But I am working on it simply so that I can have more independence from the mistakes of others.  I don’t want DNA manipulated, chemical treated seeds. I want the good old fashioned kind that yield great foods that I can grow again and again and again.

Shirley J products add variety to your preparedness pantry

If I can find a dry equivalent to a food product and have it taste great too, then I’m all over it. For example, it’s no secret that I’m in love with the Shirley J Universal Sauce? Why? Because I don’t have to use butter or milk to make a perfect roux or béchamel sauce. I also don’t have to expose myself to added MSG or hydrogenated oils that are so abundant in cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soups that I used to use regularly, and it’s absolutely idiot-proof to make. I even buck the instructions and use hot broths to mix it up and it thickens in seconds. None of this babysitting and stirring stuff for me.  Thanks to the lack of the oils, it won’t go rancid on me. It’s got a shelf-life of 20-30 years so long as I store it in a cool, dry place. I can make a large batch ahead of time, store it in the refrigerator and it still won’t separate or turn into anything other than perfect and creamy when I cook it.  Dry products usually cost MUCH less than the canned food and they store longer and take up less space. I love the tomato powder I get. I can make ketchup, tomato paste, and tomato sauce out of it, or use it to add just a hint of tomato flavor to a soup or sauce.  There are quite a few perfect dry products on the market that are great for everyday use AND have a long shelf-life. (Shirley J products in general, powdered lemon and lime juice, powdered milk, etc.)

Essential oils and other homeopathic remedies are a must photo c/o herbmentor.com

Next, I take wellness and sick care into my own hands as much as possible as well.  Even if it isn’t tainted, a great deal of acetaminophen or aspirin can kill a person or at least tax their liver substantially. So, in the spirit of independence from the manufacturing dead beats, I have pursued the learning of essential oils, herbs, vitamins, and other “good for you” concoctions. Rather than just have them for “emergencies” I use them now so that I can peacefully rely on them in a pinch. (This is yet another reason why I vehemently do not believe in “emergency” preparedness.)

Remember, to me preparedness is all about being independent of vulnerabilities. When stories like I’ve shared with you above make it into the mainstream media, I know that they are just the tip of the iceberg. So I stay vigilant in protecting myself and my loved ones and I sure hope you do too.

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If you would like to host a preparedness party for your business, community, or church group, please contact Vicky at vicky@preparednesspro.com 

For any questions or comments on this article, please leave a comment on the blog site so that everyone can benefit!

Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.