It is puzzling to people that in recent weeks, the grocery stores where they normally shop, are experiencing shortages. We have all become far too reliant on grocers and convenience stores to supply two of our basic necessities – food and water. Now, with a great sense of panic, some will create more shortages for others while hoarding and stockpiling items for themselves. In our human quest for power, we have forgotten that the quest for food, water, and shelter should be our main priority. For every other species, finding food is the first skill that each must master. Unless they are a domesticated animal, they have not come to expect as many as three square meals a day. It is their own mastery of hunting skills if they are a predator, or the ability to forage if they are a grazer, that provides their necessary nutrition. Our human dependency on others to provide for us could be our demise.
In trying to understand this unsettling phenomena of empty store shelves, I discovered that a few different factors come into play. One is the shortage of labor. COVID restrictions have forced some suppliers to partially close, creating labor shortages. This is in part due to employees coming down with the virus, or the Delta variant, so they are not allowed to work. The far too low minimum wage, that has been too low for far too long, is a contributing factor to the shortage of workers. Many of those who were receiving unemployment compensation stopped working because they made more money staying home. Many of the businesses that are now trying to hire workers, require that applicants be vaccinated if they are to be considered.
Everything from the production of food, down to the transporting of it, is being affected by COVID and the subsequent loss of workers. This does not have to be a reason to panic. Since I have been studying permaculture, I know that it is possible for people to grow their own food, even if they are confined to an apartment. I know that for those who are willing to forage, there are numerous plants (mistakenly deemed as weeds) that can be found growing in the wild. People have survived for centuries without the ever present Walmart that so many have come to depend on. One can grow potatoes in a bag on a porch. One can actually live on potatoes, or even Jerusalem artichokes, which are both very easy to grow.
The biggest problem is that the past couple of generations of children have grown up eating “empty” foods that are devoid of nutrition and drenched in refined white sugar. Many of these things have artificial colors, artificial flavors, and preservatives added as well. They drink sugary drinks, rather than water. They refuse to eat foods that are actually healthy. This is the real problem. It is not the sparsely filled shelves at the grocery store that are the problem. It is too many peoples’ refusal to grow and cook the foods that can sustain them. Those people who will survive these uncertain times are those who are willing to take responsibility for their own sustenance.
