The next time you get really hungry, I mean the kind of hungry that results from having gone way too long since you should have eaten some food, think about what it would be like if thousands or millions of people around you were just as hungry (or more) all at the same time. A sad reality is that there are millions who are starving in the worlds poorest regions, but imagine what would happen if part of the modern world population suddenly didn’t have enough to eat. It would not be a pretty picture… because it would rapidly devolve into social chaos.
It has happened to most of us from time to time… We get too busy or involved in a project and lose track of time, or we have spent a lot of time physically exerting ourselves, and then suddenly we realize that we are VERY HUNGRY as our body signals us that we need to replenish our energy and consume some calories. You feel like you’re starving and you need to eat right now!
When this happens, many of us will tend to get irritable or ‘cranky’ until our bodies are satisfied with enough calories to shut off the signals.
Here’s the thing… whenever this happens to you, think of this one thing… That is, try and imagine what it would be like if nearly EVERYONE was hungry around you. Imagine ALL of them becoming irritable with a primary mission to find some food to eat. Imagine what it would be like during a MAJOR post-disaster or collapse where so many people might be without enough food due to breakdown of systems of distribution or other reasons? Things would turn brown real fast…
Whenever you feel hungry, let it remind you of the extreme danger that we would be in if a large percentage of the population around you ran out of food to eat. Civilized society would deteriorate rapidly into social chaos.
How much food does the ‘typical’ family have in their home? How long would it take for the majority of folks to run out of food? For most… not long.
Hunger can be a VERY powerful feeling, and one that WILL lead to desperation if it is not eventually satisfied. Your body wants to survive and survival instincts WILL kick in. People WILL do what is necessary to survive and obtain food if it gets that desperate. Think about that. How dangerous will it be if you live in suburbia with thousands of people around you slowly starving? And if you’re in the city, lets face it… you’re in deep doo-doo. Desperate people do desperate things.
Yes, this is a worst case scenario, but the fact is that it would not take much in today’s uncertain world to disrupt our just-in-time systems of supply and distribution. We are living in risky times. Most people are fat (and happy?) and have NO CLUE of the risks that surround their ability to remain fat. IF that ability is removed, we will have social breakdown in a very short time.
So, the next time you’re ‘starving’ for some food, think about that. Let it be a motivator to keep you prepping.
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Yet another, thoughtful, timely post… Bravo!… Adieux… o…
Your very near to being right on the money. I agree whole heartily, scares the hell out of me. I read a preppers blog quite often to see if I can leran anything, pick up tidbits on what I am lacking. Mostly everybody is wanting a friend, a group, or community to take them in. They have already turned to asking for assistance rather than helping themselves. They acknowledge right up front that they just started reading about prepping. The rest are arm chair survivalist, oh they have guns & ammo! I’m not sure if they know what they can do with that, probably be part of the problem rather than be an anchor in a community. Just keep writing, read your site daily. love your blog
Excellent post as usual. One thing comes to mind however, specifically in relation to those in suburbs. Having a plentiful food store prepped also unfortunately makes you a target. As soon as one desperate hungry person finds out you have it, then you can expect it won’t be long before your overrun by desperate hungry people willing to do whatever it takes.
Those who are prepared will quickly become targets for those that aren’t so whilst I am all for encouraging others to be prepared… be careful who you trust with knowledge of your food, water and other resources.
I agree entirely. Preppers should be very careful who they tell regarding their food stores. It’s best just to keep your mouth shut. Some people have a hard time doing that though…
Your article is spot-on. I just re-read “One Second After” this past weekend, and it had about the same impact on me as it did the first time I read it…which is to say, it was like getting punched in the belly without warning. One can EASILY see how things would deteriorate quickly – most people probably have less than a week worth of food at home, and a bunch of that will spoil within 2 days (at most) of the electricity going out. They don’t have reserve water, either (and likely wouldn’t consider their hot water heaters as a source, and would likely have flushed the toilets until there’s nothing left). Little food, no water – and (at least where I am) well-armed: that’s a recipe for LOTS of trouble.
I saw one fictional story a while back in which in which the protagonist had purposely bought some old clothes (in her style) that were too big. That way, when she met with hungry people in her neighborhood, she would look like she lost a lot of weight – even though with her preps she hadn’t. That’s a damned fine idea – it’ll keep the 2-legged animals from becoming too curious. One could also, I suppose, have make-up on hand that would make you and your family look more pale, sick, etc. Remember, the best way to survive a violent confrontation is not to have one in the first place.
As you say, the book ‘One Second After
‘ is VERY telling. It should be required reading for all preppers.
To: Tim and Ken.
Agreed in that one must be careful as to informing of your preparation plans. Sadly enough, I have to worry about members of my extended family. I am the youngest of six children who grew up in an intact middle-class home in suburbia. I never knew hunger growing up.
When we left home to work and/or go to college, some were deemed successful and others were deemed less than successful. some were savers and others were spenders. The pressure to stick around and help out my relatives in need became a never-ending task. For that and several other reasons, I relocated to another state at least 2 days drive away from them.
It boils down to what I call the $1000.00 question: What would you do with $1000.00 if you had it right now. Most readers of this blog would do something wise like put it into food or water preps or obtaining some type of tool to promote self-sufficiency. (canners, pressure cookers, instruction books, shelving for your storage area etc.)
I know many people who would buy enough cocaine to have a single night of fun. Some of these people are related to me. All the more reason to distance myself from them. The only reason they know I am prepared is by my previous actions when they ended up in trouble in the past. I have had enough of their lack of responsible actions. It is now time to grow up without me being around.
As far as repelling hostile parties from my home, the only thing more important than having a gun is having the training and willingness to pull the trigger when that time comes.
To Sixpence:
Yes, guns and ammo are part of many people’s survival supplies. as are many other items like fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, LED flashlights and headlamps, water filters, bottles of bleach, backpacks, sleeping bags, thumb drives that contain our personal info, the list for the prepared individual is almost endless and varied depending on the individual.
Most of your gun freaks are on other blogs. This site is relatively well balanced and has many people with good ideas. (making this one of the most diverse and fun sites to visit for survival info) Some of us who contribute or comment on this site have actually hunted for our dinner or used other items when living off-grid for a number of years. It is a fun forum to view and share. It is good to read your input.
I have almost one of everything,any more than that, you can list me as a “Hoarder”. Just to have items, naw, I need a use for it and then it becomes a”must have item”. I will have to agree, this is one of the best informative prepper sites I have found on the web. I read a lot & see people talking about electronic libraries,backing up their computor drives & so forth, when the power fails, guys, that stuff is history if you don’t know how to write or the mind quits working. There is no other way to say it, rather than, its gone! Batteries & fuel will become like hens teeth.
I still work, public utility, and to keep equipment running when there is a blackout, power surges, or even tree limbs, is a nightmare!
The cell phone towers, telephone switch boards, natural gas lines, water & sewer utilities, these are all run on back up diesel generators, until the fuel runs out, 4-5 days. If they are natural gas, this gas is also pumped, is all going down, believe me or not. I have a 1000kw generator, less than 2 yrs old, the hail storm almost took it out of service. Poked holes in the radiator, not leaking fluid ,but the integrity is lost. Who would have thought? Maybe I should have two of everything?
Speaking of pulling the trigger, I have often thought about that, I pray that I will never have to and the strength to do what is necessary when the time comes.
To sixpence:
Thank you for your work in public utility, I currently work within a large hospital. I used to drive ambulance and having two of everything is a great idea. (redundancy is a good quality when you are far from home or the grid goes down. It takes into account Murphy’s law.)
Case in point, I have two revolvers in my home because: I use one and my wife uses one as well. When I take one in for annual cleaning and servicing, I still have one at home available for use. The odds of two weapons breaking down at the same time are very low.
Another example is hiking at night in the woods or desert, I feel much more secure going into the dark with a flashlight in addition to my headlamp. I lost count the number of times I have had to finish the outing on my secondary light source.
The only other way to increase safety factor is to buddy-up with a like-minded individual and work as a team.
I have updated this article which was published awhile back. The single most biggest threat to social order in a developed country would be losing its reliable food source and/or food systems of distribution (which are currently ‘just in time’ delivery). People would rapidly become desperate as their own food pantry empties, which would lead to social chaos and probable violence in a fairly short time. This of course would require a MAJOR disaster, but the point is that it could happen. Most are not prepared for this. I believe that it is a mistake to assume that things will always remain the same…
“There
will be three hard years before the Dajjal-AntiChrist (appears). During them,
people will be stricken by a great famine. In the first year, Allah
will command the sky to withhold a third of its rain, and the earth
to withhold a third a third of its produce. In the second year,
Allah will command the sky to withhold two thirds of its rain, and
the earth to withhold two thirds of its produce. In the third year,
Allah will command the sky to withhold all of its rain, and it will
not rain a single drop of rain. He will command the earth to withhold
all of its produce, and no plant will grow. All hoofed animals will
perish, except that which Allah wills.” He (sallallahu `alaihi wa
sallam) was asked, ‘What sustains people during that time?’ He said,
“Tahlil, takbir and tahmid (Saying, la ilaha ill Allah, Allahu Akbar
and alhamdulillah). This will sustain them just as food does.”
[Sahih Al-Jami` as-Saghir, no. 7875]
A while ago I took part in a “Charity Sponsored Starve” for 24 hours. We could have as much water as we wanted, but nothing else. I can honestly say that, even though I knew I was going to get fed once the time was up, those last hours were an absolute nightmare! I couldn’t concentrate and kept looking at food other people were eating and buying. Doing anything to try and keep busy, but i discovered that the mind is automatically geared for survival and knows what the body wants/needs.
This was for only 24 hours and I was in that state. Not knowing when the next meal was going to be or where it was going to come from, will definitely make the calmest of people do something drastic to feed their selves and/or family.
Here in the UK, we’re going to have nothing to defend ourselves or defend what’s ours… I just hope I can get to the kitchen knives in time! 😉
Thanks for that personal example. For those who do not know what hunger is, I encourage you to try it. Just don’t eat for a day and discover what happens with your mood and mind. You will then know the risk of what it would be like surrounded by everyone else who are just as hungry. Then imagine several days of that… It is really something to think about. Social chaos.
Ken… this article is more important today than when you wrote it. If you read about all the earth changes, valcanoes, earthquakes, and unpredictable weather patterns, you can see where food will become a #1 reason for social unrest. Economic collapse and warring factions are precurssers to fuel delays, food production, and food transport. All social disfunctions contribute to less food for somebody. Food is actually rerouted and manipulated to cause repression and discomfort to change atitude, veil of thinking, and favortism. Think of all the people fighting and rioting, if the food producers are in that lot, where is the food going to come from?
This subject to me touches a tough spot. I grew up not having food. We ate what we caught out of the lake or shot in the wood or had government surplus of cheese and beans. I didn’t know anything about a human needing 2000 calories a day or dietary guidelines or anything else. I grew up thinking everybody else was hungry also. I learned from an early age how to survive by not having a lot of food. I would ‘forge” the wood, hit the lake or the swamps to fill my stomach. Could 80% of the general population be able to eat a possum or squirrel and forge up a nice green salad? I doubt it. I agree with this article and its implications. Food of any source will be of great demand. It will be something that others want, need and will possibly kill for.
Honestly when people say they’re starving in America, it makes my blood boil. 99.9% of the time, they are not starving. Maybe they missed a meal.
You’re starving when you miss several days of meals and your body must begin catalysis and break down muscle and fat in order to maintain blood sugar. You have glycogen in your muscles and liver, and they are the first to go. Then fat comes later. All of that takes water, and so as your body begins to breakdown, you lose muscle and water weight first.
This is a survival mechanism, for by the time that fat catalysis occurs, the brain goes, “Oh! Buring the fire too high. Lower metabolism.” That’s why you plateau in dieting and what is frustrating then, saves your life under starvation.
The idea that people will become violent and the zombie horde when they miss three meals makes me hopping mad. That’s nothing like refugees starving in the camps in Kenya or nothing like the Siege of Lenningrad or nothing like the persistant starvation during the Great Depression or Civil War.
Still, a spoiled generation of folks who are trained to live on food stamp assistance, will no doubt revolt when they cut off those EBT cards for one month.
I urge all preppers to carefully fast (even prayerfully fast) for up to a week to see what it feels like. To be honest, it’s empowering. Yes, you feel very hungry for the first three days, and then your appetite diminishes. Yes, you will feel weakness, but most people can do this if others know around them that they are doing so. Diabetics should be careful with that as well as anyone with pre-existing medical conditions. However, wouldn’t you really wish to expericen genuine hunger once, and then going through that, then feel better for you’d know that it wasn’t such a big deal after all?