What Will We Eat As The Oil Runs Out?-Food Security Conference

[chlamor]

There is an upcoming a three day conference in Ireland concerning food security in a time of energy scarcity. Here are a few snippets about these issues and the link for more info:

"The systems that produce the world's food supply are heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Vast amounts of oil and gas are used as raw materials and energy in the manufacture of fertilisers and pesticides, and as cheap and readily available energy at all stages of food production; from planting, irrigation, feeding and harvesting, through to processing, distribution and packaging. In addition, fossil fuels are essential in the construction and the repair of equipment and infrastructure needed to facilitate this industry, including farm machinery, processing facilities, storage, ships, trucks and roads. The industrial food supply system is one of the biggest consumers of fossil fuels and one of the greatest producers of greenhouse gasses."
<snip>
"Industrial agriculture and the systems of food supply are also responsible for the erosion of communities throughout the world. This social degradation is compounded by trade rules and policies, by the profit driven mindset of the industry, and by the lack of knowledge of the faults of the current systems and the possibilities of alternatives. But the globalisation and corporate control that seriously threaten society and the stability of our environment are only possible because cheap energy is used to replace labour and allows the distance between producer and consumer to be extended."
<snip>
"However, this is set to change. Oil output is expected to peak in the next few years and thereafter steadily decline. We have a very poor understanding of how the extreme fluctuations in the availability and cost of both oil and natural gas will affect the global food supply systems, and how they will be able to adapt to the decreasing availability of energy."
<snip>
Topics of this three day conference will include:

Day One - Food Under Threat
- the threats to the security of the global food supply
- the relationship between food and fossil fuels
- the structures and origins of the agriculture and food industries
- how should food systems be evaluated?

Day Two - Solutions To Reduce Fossil Fuel Use
- Does the conventional agriculture industry offer any solutions?
- Is organic farming enough?
- Is the location of production more important than the methods used?
- Who should control our food supply systems?

Day Three - Precedents and Possibilities
- holistic approaches to food production
- from fossil fuel dependence to low carbon food systems
- sustainable, productive and culturally supportive farm systems
- allotments, urban agriculture and community supported agriculture
- fisheries and aquaculture
- control, policy and education
- the Irish and EU context
http://www.feasta.org/events/foodconf/food_conference.htm

[htuttle]

1. When the oil runs out, we will eat...

...much, much less than we do today.

[Tactical Progressive]

2. The Peak-Oil Diet

Is it really better than Atkins? South-Beach?

Stone Phillips examines all of the talk about the latest diet craze sweeping the world.

[rkc3]

3. At least we can still eat cake.

[CityZen-X]

4. The Repugs Will Continue To Thrive......

on Bu$h*t! Their main source of protein.

[rkc3]

5. And buhsit is best served cold - so no fossil fuels are required.

[Extend a Hand]

6. There is not nearly enought focus on this topic

You know, I really can't understand why most people choose to ignore this topic. It seems like, even among those people who have head of peak oil, most are waiting for disaster to strike before taking any action.

I really don't understand this attitude.

I would be interested to hear if any other DUers are currently making personal plans to deal with the results of an oil shortage.

[htuttle]

8. Making plans? Yes and no

I'm not approaching the future with a bomb-shelter mentality, so I'm not planning in that sense (like stocking up on ammo and MREs).

However, as it's become apparent that we aren't going to turn the bus before we go off the cliff, I've been doing a lot of thinking about how to live (and build) in a world without petroleum, or if it's very scarce.

I've been trying to keep a reasonably well-stocked larder of canned goods, just as a general principle. There are a LOT of reasons that food might not show up in the foodstore at some point, oil scarcity issues being only one of them.

I've been trying to get to know my immediate neighbors, and build up a network of social acquaintances that doesn't need the internet to function. During any resource crisis, even after hurricane or tornado, neighbors need to help each other. That shouldn't even need to be said, but seems like it needs to be nowdays.

I recently discovered that my city passed an ordinance allowing residents to raise organic chickens in their backyards. How cool is that? I don't think I'll have time to raise any chickens for the time being, but it's nice to know I could if I wanted to.

We already have a huge garden in the backyard we share with our downstairs neighbors. Though it's only a city lot, I've seen Hmong families live off much less land, and even have plenty left over to sell at the market. I just have to find out how they do it.

That's the other thing I'm doing, which people ought to know how to do anyway, and that's, well, everything. Imagine yourself in your current environment, but with no electricity or gas. What could you build? Can you forge and temper iron tools from scrap? Do you know how gunpowder is made? How about making bio-diesel and ethanol from basic ingredients? Welding? Cobbling together an electic generator from a motor? How about that most basic of human skills -- starting a fire without a match?

You never know when you're going to need something, google.com might not always be there anymore, and your money might not always be worth much. So, I've been spending a lot of time lately reading about and learning how to make the things I might want or need. Even if we somehow avoid economic disaster, I think it's still time well-spent. It's knowledge itself that is the true wealth of human civilization. Knowledge transmitted through the generations. We better not drop the ball.

[libnnc]

9. Have you read any of the

Foxfire books? It's a series that details Appalachian mountain folk-ways and people who still keep many of the old mountaineering traditions alive. It's published through a school in Clay county GA. I think the first one was published in the early '70s. They have some really interesting info for "back to the landers".

[htuttle]

10. I read several of them years ago

Mother Earth News is good too. Lots of really practical stuff, like how to build a simple distiller, etc...

[Extend a Hand]

11. yes! in grade school 30+ years ago

thank you for reminding me of them!

[BigBearJohn]

7. I think we are all oversaturated with too much info on everything

I need a digest! Like the old "Reader's Digest" -- only for computer!!