Food security collapses in Haiti as machete-wielding gangs fight in the streetsFood security collapses in Haiti as machete-wielding gangs fight in the

(NaturalNews) Overnight, Haiti has gone from an organized, civil nation to a scenario of total chaos with gangs running wild through the streets, ransacking shops and fighting over food with machetes.

Learning this, many an ignorant westerner might naively say, "That could only happen in Haiti. It's because those people are so poor, so uncivilized. It could never happen here..."

Oh but it could.

Haiti isn't so different from wherever you live -- a city in America, Canada, Australia, the UK or anywhere else. Everywhere in the world, people will fight for survival when the situation becomes desperate. The only reason the streets in your town aren't overrun with firearms and machetes right now is because food is plentiful. The electricity works. The water supply is functioning and police keep the relatively few criminals under control.

But wherever you live, your city is just one natural disaster away from total chaos. Hurricane Katrina proved it: Even in America, a civil, law-abiding city of people can be turned into looting, stealing and dangerously armed bands of gang-bangers.

And you know why? Because people aren't prepared for disasters. Come to think of it, most people aren't even prepared for a disruption in food and electricity lasting more than 48 hours. Almost nobody has spare food, water, emergency first aid supplies or the ability to physically defend themselves against aggressors. They are betting their lives on the bizarre idea that their government will save them if something goes wrong.

The people of Haiti are now learning what the people of New Orleans already know: Your government won't save you. In a real crisis, you are on your own.

Law and order is a fragile thing

When disruptions occur -- whether through natural disasters, radical weather events, war or civil unrest -- governments and city police organizations can break down within hours. In Haiti right now, there is no government running anything. No police force. No authority. It's every man (and woman) for himself. If you want to eat, you pick up a machete and fight for it.

It is a desperate situation.

This article isn't really about Haiti, by the way. It's about YOU and where YOU live. If a natural disaster struck your town tonight, would you be prepared?

Do you have the means to procure clean water if the water system breaks down? Do you have a way to provide shelter for yourself and your family if there's no electricity or heating fuel available? Can you physical defend yourself and your family against aggressive marauders desperately searching for food? (Or do you have enough to share with them? If so, how will you share with the hundreds or thousands that follow in their footsteps?)

Most people aren't prepared for the unknown. They live lives that are entirely dependent on the continued successful operation of public infrastructure, law and order. And if that infrastructure is ever interrupted, they are completely unable to fend for themselves.

Most people live out most of their lives in precisely this situation. Every American city is a future Haiti just waiting to happen under the right (or wrong) circumstances. Civility is a fragile thing. Law and order is a thin veneer on society. And it can disappear in mere minutes.

Be prepared

This article, though, isn't a doom-and-gloom assessment of our modern society. Rather, it is a reminder to all of us to get real about personal preparedness.

If you don't have a portable water filter, some storable food, a warm sleeping bag and all sorts of other preparedness items all ready to go in a "go bag," then you may find yourself in the same situation millions of Haitians find themselves in right now.

Most Haitians have a reasonable excuse for a lack of preparedness: In terms of per-capita income, Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the world. It's difficult to stockpile water filters, storable food and outdoor gear when you're living on a couple of dollars a day. But for people like you, living in "wealthy" nations like the USA, you CAN afford to be prepared.

You can afford water storage containers. You can afford sprouting seeds and some simple sprouting trays. You can afford an emergency LED flashlight, a high-quality multifunction knife tool and an emergency tent. Most likely, you have the financial means to get prepared starting right now. So if you haven't already done it, get to it!

You can find all sorts of preparedness products at www.BePrepared.com and even retailers like www.Vitacost.com sell water filters and other preparedness items. Camping outlets like www.REI.com are also great sources for preparedness gear.

Protect your health

Right now, Haiti is in a health crisis. The hellish conditions, lack of clean water and lack of medical assistance is leading to rapidly deteriorating health conditions there.

So what do you really need to protect your health in a crisis?

Clean water is a priority. You'll need five gallons per day per person to cover hydration, cooking and rudimentary bathing needs. You'll need a portable water filter (like a Katadyn ceramic filter) to remove parasites and other "germs" in water that you might find through other sources (rivers, streams, etc.).

You'll need a powerful anti-viral, anti-bacterial herbal tincture. Herbs can save your life against infectious disease. You'll also need a serious first-aid kit that includes bandages and some western medical supplies such as antibacterial creams, emergency sutures (with needles), gauze and medical iodine.

Don't forget a supply of high-potency nutrition. Some spirulina or chlorella tablets can provide crucial nutrition. Chia seeds, nuts or even peanut butter can give you essential calories. If you have time and space, sprouting seeds can give you the all-important living foods that will enhance your immune function and help you deal with the tremendous stresses of a crisis.

This isn't a complete preparedness list, of course. If you want one, get this amazing preparedness course that was recorded during the financial bailout crisis. It offers a wealth of information about personal and family preparedness: http://www.truthpublishing.com/Heal...

Or figure out what you need in this way: Shut off ALL your infrastructure for a weekend and see how you do. Live without water, electricity, heat, grocery store food, fuel and phone service and see how prepared you really are!

This is the best test of all. And if you really want to see if you're ready for a Haiti-style crisis, assume that your house has collapsed from an earthquake and you have to survive outside, in your yard, without anything from your house. Where is your stuff now? How will you survive the next 48 hours in your yard, with no help from anyone else and your house in a pile of rubble?

Proper planning avoids future emergencies. And no neighbor or city is entirely insulated from natural disasters or other unexpected events.

Global deep freeze threatens 2010 food supply

(NaturalNews) The global deep freeze now striking North America, Europe, China and other regions may lead to severe food shortages and price hikes throughout 2010. Right now, rare freezing temperatures are destroying root crops in their ground, wiping out citrus orchards and devastating food producers around the world. The upshot of it all? Expect food shortages and rising food prices throughout 2010.

This global deep freeze is all part of the extreme weather now being unleashed on the planet due to human beings polluting the world and altering the atmosphere. Scientists can't agree on whether the trend is global warming or global cooling, but no one can argue that something's wrong with the weather.

Rainfall and temperature patterns that used to be reliable are now going haywire. Where there were once reliable seasonal rains, there are alternating periods of drought followed by floods. Where temperatures were once mild and predictable, they're now fluctuating out of control, becoming too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

All this adds up to escalating crop failures that are now poised to have a real, noticeable impact on the global food supply.

"Sub-zero temperatures have made it impossible to extract some vegetables from the ground. Producers of brussels sprouts and cabbages are all reporting problems with harvesting. Cauliflowers are said to have turned to mush in the sustained frost," says a story published in The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/j...)

It goes on to report:

"In Ireland, 6,000 acres of potatoes remains unharvested and there are claims that up to three-quarters of the crop may be ruined. Potato growers in Northern Ireland say they are facing some of the biggest losses in recent history because of frost damage."

The UK Press Association also reports, "Food shortages are feared as it emerged that farmers are struggling to harvest vegetables in the big freeze, which will lead to higher food prices and damage small businesses." (http://www.google.com/hostednews/uk...)

New is also surfacing that the world's orange juice supply may now be destroyed:

"Growers in the sunshine state fear an even worse arctic blast Sunday night will decimate their crop, which accounts for 40-percent of the world's orange juice supply." (http://www.necn.com/Boston/Nation/2...)

All this destruction of food is already causing prices to rise. "Greengrocers in some of the worst-hit areas are reporting shortages, with the price of carrots and parsnips reportedly rising by 30% in some small shops," reports The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/j...)

Similar reports are also coming out of China, which has been hit hard by freezing weather.

Global food supply is now threatened

The global deep freeze now devastating crops around the world leads to one inescapable conclusion: Food prices will rise throughout 2010. They were already on the rise in 2009, but thanks to the big winter freeze, they're headed much, much higher this year.

This may be much more than a one-time crisis, too. As reported in The Telegraph:

"For years, academics such as Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University, gave warning that we were 'sleepwalking' into a future where our food security was likely to be seriously undermined, whether by natural disasters, rising fuel costs, climate change or the massive pressures placed on the global food system by a rising population." (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodandd...)

The fact is that plentiful food depends on cheap oil, fossil water aquifers and predictable weather. And all three are coming to an end! Unpredictable weather, in particular, is upon us right now.

In the years ahead, radical weather patterns will continue to compromise food production around the world. Floods, freezes, hurricanes and droughts will all take their toll. The result will be increased food prices and decreased food supply.

During this crisis, more people will be forced to turn to low-cost processed foods that will further promote diseases like obesity, cancer and heart disease. Fewer and fewer citizens of the world will be able to afford fresh, organic produce because it is precisely the fresh produce that's more easily destroyed by radical weather events.

This means, of course, that food-producing land will greatly increase in value, especially if it can produce food year round. And that means people who own such parcels of land in Hawaii, California, Southern France, Mexico or even places like Peru or Ecuador will find their properties steadily increasing in value. Wherever fresh food can be reliably produced in the years ahead, properties will tend to increase in value.

Land in areas hit by drought, floods or fossil water shortages, on the other hand, will collapse in value. Some areas that used to be fertile farmland will turn to desert. Others will suffer severe soil erosion from rains and storms. The ability of the world to produce fresh food is going to be compromised by unpredictable weather events.

The era of easy food is over

Since the 1940's, we've lived in an age of easy food. But that food bubble is now collapsing, and as it does, it's going to catch most people off guard. Some will be able to compensate by simply paying much higher prices for the fresh food they need, but most people will not be able to afford to pay much more for food, so they'll turn to processed, long-shelf-life food instead. And before long, they will join the ranks of the diseased as a result.

Remember: Living food keeps you alive. Dead food makes you dead. The more fresh, living food you consume, the healthier you'll be. Sadly, our interference with the global climate is resulting in radical weather patterns that are destroying huge quantities of fresh produce, greatly reducing the supply of "living" food.

The alternative for individuals or families is to grow your own food. Grow as much as you can in your own gardens. Food security is the issue of the decade, I believe, and those who don't have the ability to grow at least some portion of their own diet may find themselves in an increasingly difficult position in 2010 and beyond.