Economic collapse can lead to a breakdown of society and mass food shortages. Severe drought or weather, natural disaster, or a man-made catastrophe like an EMP can also bring on food shortages, and famine, followed by starvation. Millions go hungry. Countless people die.
Also … Emergency Supplies to Survive Famines.
Most Americans have only experienced the consequences of massive famine on their television screens. In 1981, in the movie The Road Warrior (played by Mel Gibson), this survivor in the apocalyptic wasteland of Australia experienced the results of widespread famine first hand. His way to survive: Dog food. Canned dog food.
I can’t remember the brand name. Alpo maybe. But does it even matter? The point is this: In a time of mass famine following nuclear war or some catastrophic disaster that takes place, people who survive may find themselves eating things they would never imagine themselves ever capable of eating. Or you simply starve to death.
Famine – A social and economic crisis that is often accompanied by widespread malnutrition and starvation which leads to epidemic and significantly increased mortality.
A “perfect storm” of factors has created a global food crisis that just continues to intensify. While you are enjoying a warm dinner tonight, millions of parents on the other side of the globe will have nothing to give to their children. The world simply is not producing enough food to feed everyone, but I am entirely convinced that things are going to get dramatically worse by the end of this decade. Yesterday, I discussed the red horse of war. I believe that we are in the early stages of World War III, and during the years ahead we will see death and destruction on an unprecedented scale. Needless to say, conflict of that magnitude would greatly disrupt global food production and global supply chains, and as a result we would experience horrifying famines all over the planet.
The scenario that I just described is exactly what we see in the Book of Revelation.
In Revelation chapter 6, the black horse of famine immediately follows the red horse of war…
4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
Right now, we are literally teetering on the brink of such a disaster.
According to the UN’s World Food Program, we are dealing with “a hunger crisis of unprecedented proportions” right now…
Conflict, economic shocks, climate change and soaring prices for food and fertilizer are all combining in a perfect storm to create a hunger crisis of unprecedented proportions. Right now, in some of the hungriest places around the world, there just isn’t enough food to feed the population.
They are not talking about a “perfect storm” that is coming someday.
They are talking about a “perfect storm” that is already here.
Last year, more than 3 billion people could not afford to eat a healthy diet…
Worldwide, more than 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet, according to the report. That’s 42% of the world’s population, and a significant increase over pre-COVID levels.
Why aren’t we hearing more about this?
Just because our families aren’t facing severe hunger yet does not mean that we shouldn’t be paying attention.
According to an article that was posted by the New York Times, the number of countries that are “at risk of famine” just continues to grow…
The list of countries at risk of famine now includes Afghanistan, Syria and Mali. Humanitarian observers also worry that North Korea may be nearing a famine.
That same New York Times article pointed out that things are particularly dire in eastern Africa…
About 90 million people are facing severe hunger in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen. These countries, unfortunately, have their own histories of severe food shortages, but the world has never witnessed all of these countries descending toward mass starvation at the same time.
I am not the one that used the term “mass starvation” to describe what is happening in eastern Africa.
This is the New York Times that we are talking about.
Even they are admitting that this crisis has started to spiral out of control.
Here in the United States, there is still enough food to go around, but supplies of food have been getting tighter.
According to the Farm Bureau, the U.S. actually lost more than 140,000 farms during one recent five year period…
Between 2017 and 2022, the number of farms in the U.S. declined by 141,733 or 7%, according to USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture, released on Feb. 13. Acres operated by farm operations during the same timeframe declined by 20.1 million (2.2%), a loss equivalent to an area about the size of Maine.
And the size of the U.S. cattle herd is now the smallest that it has been in 73 years…
Not many ranchers active today will remember the last time the U.S. cattle industry was this small. On January 1, 2024, the All Cattle and Calves inventory was 87.15 million head, the smallest total inventory since 1951. The All Cattle and Calves inventory is 1.9 percent smaller year over year and is the fifth consecutive year of declining cattle inventories, a total decrease of 7.65 million head or 8.1 percent since the most recent peak in 2019. The 2023 calf crop was 33.6 million head, down 2.5 percent year over year and the smallest calf crop since 2014.
Meanwhile, the bird flu continues to spread all over the country, and this has pushed up egg prices dramatically in recent months…
Data from the United States Department of Agriculture shows that Grade A egg prices per dozen jumped 40% from $2.13 to $3 between November and February.
Of course just about everything has been getting a lot more expensive since Joe Biden entered the White House.
Here are some more examples…
Boneless chicken breast has increased in price 26%, from $3.26 per pound in January 2021 to $4.11 per pound in February 2024.
White bread per pound is 30% more expensive, up to $2.01 per pound in February vs. $1.55 per pound in January 2021.
And white sugar has increased cost per pound from $0.68 to $0.98 in the last three years, a 44% increase.
I always warned my readers that the way that the global food crisis would initially manifest itself in the United States would be through much higher food prices.
And now I believe we are reaching a tipping point for certain commodities.
Just look at what is happening to cocoa prices. They just continue to shoot up at an exponential rate…
May ICE NY cocoa (CCK24) today is up +381 (+5.42%), and May ICE London cocoa #7 (CAK24) is up +377 (+6.55%).
The May NY and London cocoa futures contracts today both rallied sharply to new contract highs on continued concern about tight cocoa supplies from West Africa.
Lower cocoa production in the Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer, is a major bullish factor for cocoa prices. Monday’s government data showed Ivory Coast farmers shipped 1.22 MMT of cocoa to ports from October 1 to March 10, down -29% from the same time last year. The Ivory Coast cocoa regulator said last Thursday it expects the Ivory Coast mid-crop, which officially starts in April and is the smaller of two annual harvests, to fall -33% to 400,000 MT from 600,000 MT last year. Trader Ecom Agroindustrial projects Ivory Coast 2023/24 cocoa production, which ends in September, will fall -21.5% y/y to an 8-year low of 1.75 MMT.
I know that I have said it before, but I will say it again.
If you love chocolate, stock up now while you still can.
The same thing could be said for many other food items as well.
During a recent interview with Fox News, prepping expert James Nelson explained that most Americans are woefully unprepared for any sort of a major supply chain disruption…
Nelson calculated that if a freezer goes out, people will only have that food for three days. If the power goes out, Americans are now reduced to five days of food in their homes. A local suburban or urban area will also have about two weeks of food and has generators if the power goes out, but when people are dependent on storefronts, they will quickly be emptied out.
“In the event of even a temporary supply chain collapse, most homes are within two weeks of being entirely dependent on handouts from a government entity or non-government organization,” Nelson said.
He is right.
Our world is rapidly approaching a time of unparalleled chaos, and most of the population is completely and utterly unprepared for it.
If you plan to get prepared, now is the time.
Because it appears that the black horse of famine is getting ready to ride, and it won’t be too long before it finally gets released.
Here are a few good tips for preparing for a famine of Biblical proportions, a famine that experts believe could be a direct consequence of a widespread disaster, economic collapse, or even a nuclear terrorist attack, which is a growing risk today to the U.S.
Hungry People Group Up
What happens if you have a few neighbors that are unprepared? Those without may band together, and go after those who have. Guess what? If your neighbors don’t see you out looking for food, begging for food, and instead simply locking yourself inside your home, in their minds they’re going to suspect you’re sitting on a bunch of food.
If enough hungry people band together, they may decide to take it from you by force.
Finally, after about three days of your neighbors going hungry it’s possible that someone will mention “pets”; when day five rolls around, and still no food, there’s a good chance that it’s going to be open season on pets, I’m talking cats and dogs.
Have Stocks of Food, Water to Combat Famine
Do you understand now why it’s important to have at least a few weeks of extra food and water on hand? A famine resulting from any number of disasters has the potential to wreck havoc fast on Western nations. Having not experienced true hunger before, it is likely to affect Westerners more than it does say people in third world countries.
It may not happen right away, in the first few days of food shortages. But after several weeks food may start becoming sparse around the neighborhood; local church pantries may start running dry (outside of a miraculous provision from God, which is always a possibility, looking at the Bible). And then the day is going to come when there is simply no more food around the neighborhood.
Knowing how a few of your neighbors may act, you might want to buy yourself a ton of cheap bulk food like rice and beans, in addition to your typical emergency food stocks. That way you can at least have something to give to your neighbors, and hopefully keep them from turning on you, should they suspect that indeed you actually have quite a bit of food. Personally, I’m a Bible-believer, and live by faith knowing God will provide for me as I provide for others. That’s a hard pill for some to swallow, especially in a time of disaster. But it has proven to be the case for me in modern times. I’ve been down to almost nothing several times and then miraculously God has provided.
Famine, in History
The End of the Old Kingdom- In the mid 22nd century B.C., Egypt was a hot bed of activity with a large population of people, which translated into a lot of mouths to feed; farming in the region provided food and the Nile River was a chief provider of water. Out of nowhere a brief change took place in the local climate that impacted Egypt’s food supply during the time of Unas (2381-2345). No one really understands what caused the weather problems; however, the results of this climate change seem clear.
Lake Moeris dried out, the Nile lowered, and bad harvests followed. Unfortunately for ancient Egypt, that spurred on a great famine throughout their lands. All of these factors also led to civil unrest and that meant crime and revolts.
The Old Kingdom never fully recovered.
Famine, Modern Day
The Causes of Famine and Mass Starvation
Famine can be caused by any number of factors. One of the most common reasons behind famine is climate change (as previously noted). When that happens drought, crop issues, and pestilence are often culprits.
Famine can also be brought on by war and political problems.
Politically, at different times in history, choices have been made by governments that have resulted in famines. Many times those in power have literally deprived the middle income and poor. In fact, many believe that the North Korean famine of the 1990s was a direct result of government actions forced on the people.
There are many who believe that almost all famine is — in essence — truly compelled more by politics than nature (in other words, problems that cause issues in the food supply can be handled by a pro-active government; one that is adequately prepared for a disaster and any food shortages that may arise).
Regardless, with the natural changes occurring all around us — some say climate change or global warming, others say the hand of God and the Bible “end times” of the modern world — the possibility of widespread famine due to climat change or widespread disaster is becoming more and more plausible, even in the United States of America.
Remember… back in those days, there was no electricity… no refrigerators… no law enforcement… and certainly no grocery store or supermarkets… Some of these exceptional skills are hundreds of years of old and they were learned the hard way by the early pioneers.
Today is your chance to be part of saving The lost super food . I wanted to make this information available to every family out there without having to spend years of their lives or thousands of dollars.
So I came up with this great idea to edit all my manuscripts and to turn all this lost knowledge into one of the greatest books of this century:
The lost super food
Saving Our Forefathers’ SkillsHere are some of my favorite canning recipes. I guess they are my favorites because I grow many of these items myself in my garden and orchard. You can also find literally hundreds of canning recipes, and more information on canning techniques in The lost super food
What Does it Take to Survive a Famine?
Historically, the United States — unlike countries such as North Korea, for example — tries to make decisions that are in the best interests of its people. That’s the hope anyway; hope coming from the American people.
However, you shouldn’t assume that the United States will be able to come through for you. After all, if it wasn’t completely clear to you after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, we are not in charge of nature.
Still, political policies will play a huge role in determining whether or not we survive a famine. However, since that is in essence outside of our control (with the exception, of course, of the voting process) let’s talk about three other things that could help during a famine. Namely, these are growing food, storing food, and hunting, trapping and fishing.
Growing Food During a Famine
This one is tough to talk about simply because the task of growing food may be why the famine you’re dealing with is even happening. That said, consider that there may still be ways to grow food, at least on a small scale.
The Green Revolution — Okay, the Green Revolution basically refers to the spread of technologies for subsistence agriculture to countries that needed them: Things like pesticides, irrigation projects, and nitrogen fertilizer. These concepts and materials first spread to Mexico in 1943.
Now you’re probably asking what this has to do with surviving a famine on your own. Well, simply follow suit. In other words, you’ll need some know how, strong seeds (when shopping for seeds, ask for seeds that have the best chances to grow in sub-prime conditions), land, and pesticides / fertilizers.
If you’re worried about a famine in your neck of the woods, call a garden center and ask them what crops, pesticides, and fertilizers would work best in your area.
Regardless, during a famine growing food will almost certainly be a tough prospect. After all, if it were easy, then the famine wouldn’t be occurring, right?
Which leads us to the next section of this article.
Becoming a Survivor: Hunting, Trapping, and Fishing
In the CBS television show, Jericho, the story unfolds around a small Kansas town and its challenges trying to survive following a nuclear attack that has decimated the United States of America. As a result, the town of Jericho, Kansas begins to starve as a result of food shortages; at the same time, there isn’t an abundance of wildlife in the area, to provide food.
In other words, there’s not much to hunt. Even if there was, several towns and cities have too many people; there would just be too much competition between hunters in the early days and weeks of a disaster and famine; hunting in an area would be short lived and for most people unsuccessful. Those who went after big game (deer, elk, etc.) first would likely face the most challenges as a sudden increase in hunting would drive many of these animals out of the area.
Small Mammals, Birds, Snakes, and Insects on the Menu
Those willing to forgo big game instead for small animals like rabbit, duck, turkey, squirrels, cats and dogs (in a worst case scenario), stand to have the best chances of bringing home a meal in a time like this. In most communities, there are a number of small mammals and even reptiles like snakes that make a tasty meal in a time of need. You just have to be willing to look outside the traditional Western diet and you’ll find a number of foods, even things like insects and earthworms, to get you by on days when there’s simply nothing to eat.
If you learn to think like a survivor, you’ll find that these things are actually a lot easier to eat than you might believe today.
With small mammals, birds, snakes and insects on the menu, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any big game out there; as covered in a previous article on hunting big game like elk, you’re going to need to go to remote areas for big game — the more remote the better.
That’s because experienced hunters will target prime areas (which will be remote) first; because they know how to hunt, and they understand the dynamic of “hunting pressure” and how it drives big game quickly out of an area. As a rule of thumb, if you want to hunt in a time like this, seek out wilderness areas that are deep in the wilderness. Now you’ll have the best chances of finding big game that hasn’t been spooked by a drastic increase in “hunting pressure”.
Finally, when it comes to hunting, those with experience and knowledge of the land stand to do best. Those without experience or basic knowledge, stand to fail miserably.
For all of you non-hunters, there’s one thing you need to know right now.
You’re going to need hunting gear and weapons.
Tools of the Trade
If you believe there is a chance in the coming months and years that a famine might occur in your neck of the woods, then seriously consider purchasing a gun. As back-up, get yourself a crossbow with a good scope. After all, both a rifle and crossbow are proven tools when it comes to hunting. A crossbow is relatively easy to shoot and you can do quite a bit of urban hunting without alarming local town folk with sounds of gun fire.
Of course, you may need a gun to defend yourself. Count on a firearm first, before a crossbow, in purposes of self defense.
Squeamish about guns? The good thing is that there are alternatives (like crossbows, long bows, and compound bows, for example). Though, to be frank, nothing works better for hunting than a firearm.
What else should you have on hand for surviving a time of mass famine? Here’s a list:
1. Fishing pole and nets, or just strong line and plenty of hooks (know the water sources you’re likely to fish and then have the proper gear on hand to give yourself the best chances of success).
2. Traps and snare wire
3. Bait for whatever small mammals are most common in your area and most palatable
4. Crabbing gear (if you live in an area where crabbing is possible)
5. Camouflaged clothing (choose colors that best blend with the wilderness areas you’re likely to hunt).
6. Hunting knife
And there are a host of other things that might come in handy depending on what you’re hunting for and the area of the world you live in. Talk to experienced hunting guides in your region or the region you plan to relocate to in a time of disaster. Discuss everything from big game and small mammals to wild birds and even predators.<p.
Then talk to some fishing guides. Discuss everything from lakes and rivers, to even streams (crawdads, crayfish), and finally the coast, if you live near the ocean.
Storing Food
Preparation is the key to everything from coaching a football team to rallying your friends and family to survive during a famine or mass starvation. Thus, if you’re worried — and if you look around, you’ll probably realize that you should be — you might want to start buying non-perishable food items with a shelf-life of several years. At the same time, keep a revolving supply of non-perishable food items with a shelf life of just a few months. You can eat that food first, and then turn to foods like freeze-dried food after you’ve gone through the good stuff.
After all, growing food and hunting when the demand is high will probably not always go your way. Most people are going to be unprepared and just unable to make growing and hunting food a tool to count on in a time of disaster.
Along with this, it would be prudent to get your hands on foods like white and brown rice, wheat, and beans. When appropriately packaged and stored, these foods can sometimes last for decades. Speaking of storing dry foods appropriately, here are some things to consider:
1. Have #10 cans on hand (so you can do your own canning).
2. Have foil pouches (made multilayer laminated plastic and aluminum).
3. Buy a number of bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PETE bottles). These are used for long term dry food storage.
Further, dry foods should be stored at a temperature of 75 degrees F/ 24 degrees C or lower (recommended). If this prerequisite cannot be met, the foods should be rotated. Beyond that, moisture should be kept to a minimum (one way to help this along is to keep containers off the floor).
Also, keep things like cooking oil and long term storage items (oftentimes in PETE bottles) out of the light. And, of course, keep all foods protected in pouches or bottles (as this will serve many functions, one of which is to protect from insects / rodents).
Finally, to help reduce the threat of moisture, include oxygen absorbing packets in food storage containers.
There are several ways you can use these, so read the directions carefully. In fact, teach yourself the proper ways of using oxygen absorbing packets. Serious problems can occur when directions aren’t followed correctly (this is true for food storage in general, not just oxygen absorbing packets).
When in doubt, check with professionals in the field.
Last, but certainly not least, there’s the perishable items. Obviously, meats will need to be stored frozen. Further, it would be prudent to consume these first. The same can be said for fresh vegetables and fruit. Don’t go into your dry food stash until it’s needed.
Famine is a broad topic that can come about for a host of reasons. The way to combat famine can change depending on the situation.
Famine Caused by Natural Disaster or Nuclear Attack
If your area is hit by a devastating natural disaster, such as an earthquake or tsunami — or worse even an asteroid or massive volcano eruption in the region — or if multiple cities are destroyed in a nuclear attack, access to food can shut down across the country overnight.
In a situation like this, you can find yourself quickly without food (and without drinking water, depending on the severity of the disaster). Seriously consider a back-up supply of food and water to support you and your family for up to 90 days or longer.
Just in case things get really chaotic in the world, you may want to have a back-up supply of food and water that can last you and your family six months or more, and then plans for resupplying your food and water as it runs low.
With disaster and probable famine looming on the horizon, due to the number of threats all seemingly lining up with the times we’re living in, stocking up on non-perishable foods , large jugs of water, and cash — if your bank is closed indefinitely or there is no power for an extended period, credit and debit cards will be useless — as well as things to barter with like ammunition, water filtration devices, and bulk coffee may be a smart move.
Books can be your best pre-collapse investment.
Carnivore’s Bible (is a wellknown meat processor providing custom meat processing services locally andacross the state of Montana and more. Whether your needs are for domestic meator wild game meat processing)
The Lost Book of Remedies PDF ( contains a series of medicinal andherbal recipes to make home made remedies from medicinal plants and herbs.Chromic diseases and maladies can be overcome by taking the remediesoutlined in this book. The writer claims that his grandfather was taughtherbalism and healing whilst in active service during world war twoand that he has treated many soldiers with his home made cures. )
Easy Cellar(Info about building and managing your root cellar, plus printable plans. The book on building and using root cellars – The Complete Root Cellar Book.)
The Lost Ways (Learn the long forgotten secrets that helped our forefathers survive famines,wars,economic crisis and anything else life threw at them)
LOST WAYS 2 ( Wordof the day: Prepare! And do it the old fashion way, like our fore-fathers did it and succeed longbefore us,because what lies ahead of us will require all the help we can get. Watch this video and learn the 3 skills that ensured our ancestors survival in hard times offamine and war.)
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s extremely controversial new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written seven other books that are available on Amazon.com including “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned) When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. You can connect with Michael on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and sharing his articles on your own social media accounts is definitely a great help. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.