Time to prep again
Food and medicine
I have been reading an increasing number of articles in the last couple of weeks regarding the macroeconomic implications of the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz between America and Iran. Militarily, the advantage is to America. Time is America’s ally here. A failure to continuously pump the oil and natural gas fields of Iran may destroy those fields permanently. This gives Iran a pragmatic incentive to negotiate seriously.
Then again, Iran’s leaders are not pragmatic one bit. They would be quite happy to bring on an apocalypse in order to hasten the coming of the twelfth imam (their version of the messiah). That, of course, is precisely the reason they must not be allowed to have weapons of mass destruction: because mutual assured destruction fails with them.
There is another more sinister issue which has gotten my attention, however. That is that Iran’s abundant natural gas supplies are the world’s leading raw ingredient for fertilizer, the fertilizer that enables us to eat abundant food. This happens through the Haber-Bosch process that roughly tripled wheat crop yields a century ago and helped to feed cattle. You may enjoy this video.
America and much of the developed world has outsourced its chemical supply chain, out of understandable environmental concerns. Thus, many chemicals that we need for our daily lives - not for luxuries, but enough to remain alive - are under the control of China, Russia, Iran, and their allies.
The current concern seems to be that the worldwide supply of fertilizer is going down during spring planting season here in the northern hemisphere. Wheat futures prices are increasing - not yet at record levels, but higher than the past two years.
I ask my readers to return to an unpleasant time - the 2020-21 pandemic period - and put yourself once again in prep mode. Make sure you have all the medicine you need, and plenty of shelf-stable food staples. Gasoline prices are the least of what we need to worry about. Combined with the ongoing drought in some parts of the United States, food prices can be expected to increase this year, and you should not count on availability.
It is also time to have a national discussion about repatriating our chemical supply chain. In this case, the environmental arguments are legitimate, but we cannot be held hostage to hostile nations.
Check out Michael Snyder's Substack today:
The Worst Fertilizer Crisis In The History Of The World Will Result In Widespread Famine In The Poorest Nations
I would hope, against logic, that most of the people who began survival prepping during the COVID plandemic would have continued, even expanded, their efforts. We should have learned by now that the unlimited supplies and choices we had become accustomed to are now days gone by. After a crisis, we tend to sigh and attempt to put it out of our memories. Now, more than ever, we must be attentive to events that can or do have an effect on our lifestyles and plain ability to survive. We should all be in survival mode now, paying attention to events, natural or manmade, which effect our lives.
As to the fertilizer situation, I believe that the exit of it manufacturing from Western countries was less environmental and more financial. Much of our manufacturing has fled to China and other countries where there is abundant cheap labor (and, less regulation). As always, follow the dollar.
Finally, we cannot rule out that the fertilizer and other petro products are being manipulated by the rich and powerful so that they become wealthier, and, we become poorer and more under their control. Less fertilizer, less food, more people dying. Now who would want that? Certainly, not our world leaders at the WEF, UN, Central Banks.
All the world is a stage and all the people merely players on the stage. [Who said that?]