Any chance of food shortages ?
 

Watching all the job losses, the freezing of the credit markets, and everything looking like its still in decline world wide, do you think we will ever see food shortages either in the US, or other western countries?

They had them in the great depresion, and some are starting to throw around the D word .. I wonder how bad things would have to get to see food lines and shortages?

I dunno, it would have to be pretty damn bad for that to happen, so I'd say no.. However it never hurts to keep canned foods and non perishables around. You never know if something might happen and it doesn't have to be anything to do with the economy.

Judging by how few people were at the supermarket this morning there should be plenty of food available. Whether or not people can afford it may be another question.

Barring any massive natural disaster, I think we'd keep pumping out the foods rather than have it rot.
Never a bad time to start growing your own and maybe check into canning and preserving your harvest though.

But if people keep going out of work who cant afford to buy foods, then the lines at soup kitchens and government handout programs will swell pretty fast, no doubt about that one.

True, might just be unaffordable. Not too good with my history around the great depression times, wonder how things got that bad as to have food shortages ?

Australia has lost massive crops yields because of the record heatwave sweeping the country. That combined with the world economic decline is a worrying sign!

There will always be Kraft dinner,all anybody needs

I'm sure McDonalds has us covered in the time of a emergency.

I said "food" shortages ;)

The Great Dust Bowl is why food shortages in the US in 1930's.. natural disaster on top of economic. Massive drought and lack of modern rotation and management etc.
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb...4-14C26441.jpg

Judging by rain patterns this year in California, I doubt we will see food shortages of the likes of people starving. Though I am sure we will see drought conditions and factors relating to that which will raise the prices on many foods for people in and out of the the state a great deal. And yes California food production does matter that much for the rest of the US.

I would usually say no..

But man, after living in a "big city" for a few years.. people there simply do not stock stuff the same way I was raised on. Here, it's considered normal to have about 30 days of emergency food in the pantry easily, probably more. And this is mostly an accident of stocking up when non-perishables are on sale/etc.

In Chicago though.. It was normal for people to need to go grocery shopping for the staples multiple times per week. I always wondered what would happen if some natural disaster hit and food couldn't be trucked in for a week or two...

we are way way way away from that.

We are fine

If you count that and say someone could not find a can opener or was stuck in their house for a week due to some event - then yes mass panic and mayhem. I am actually pretty certain if there was no electricity for a week some people would actually start to starve even with food in the house.