This article was written by Brandon Smith and originally published at Prepper Beef
If there is one reality that Americans need to accept, it’s that every system has a breaking point and there are no exceptions. Human beings are built to adapt and this has given us incredible resilience, but it also means we have a tendency to wait too long to fix the parts of our society that are broken. Instead, we let the problems build and fester until, sadly, the final straw falls and everything comes crashing down.
Sometimes this collapse is by chance and sometimes it’s by design. In either case the catalyst is the same – The public does not prepare and they don’t take action to correct the people creating the crisis until it’s too late.
In our modern era of invasive technology, economic weakness, nuclear weapons and biowarfare, this is an unsustainable model. We can no longer ignore threats on instability in the hopes that they will go away or that governments will defuse the danger, nor can we simply pick up the pieces over and over again after each calamity. There may come a time when the mess is so big we won’t be able to clean it up. People must plan ahead, and they must stop tolerating the notion of passive involvement in the mechanisms that influence their lives and future.
I write often about hypothetical trigger events and breakdown scenarios because a large number of people still need to be educated on how fragile the western world truly is right now. For example, any significant disruption to supply chains and logistics at this time would be devastating for a large number of Americans (or Europeans).
In the past couple weeks alone there has been a rising tide of political discontent among US truckers; the very people that handle over 70% of all freight in our country. They have threatened to boycott a number of Democrat controlled cities (primarily New York City) over a host of issues and complaints including the legal treatment of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. This boycott may not play out in the near term (watch for talk of boycotts to escalate in November around election time), but the potential is on the table and it’s an important learning moment. What would happen if the US freight system actually stopped?
US supply chains operate on a “just in time” freight schedule – Meaning, all the grocery stores in your area will carry just enough backstock to serve normal business operations for about a week, when the next fleet of trucks arrive.
The just-in-time structure is the lifeblood of the supply chain, and most American cities would fall into chaos after one week without it. Trains and railway networks handle around 28% of total freight and have struggled through a long state of decline. There is no realistic alternative to trucks.
FEMA and the National Guard could try to field drivers to fill the void, but consider this: There are currently 3.5 million freight drivers in the US today, and that number is at least 80,000 drivers short of what is needed. Do you think the government or the military is going to be able to come up with enough scabs to undermine a trucker strike against blue cities? There’s no chance.
I have to say, I’m not opposed the concept of a trucker boycott; its a peaceful redress of grievances and all peaceful measures should be exhausted first. All they have to do is refuse to take on shipments to places like NYC or Washington DC – Many of them are subcontractors that can pick and choose whatever jobs they want.
However, we need to keep in mind how terrified the Canadian government was during their trucker protests; so terrified that they labeled the truckers as terrorists and started freezing the bank accounts of anyone supporting them. This action was against their own constitutional laws; that’s how effectively frightening a freight shutdown is to politicians.
Even so, if the US government responded in the same way as Canada, it still wouldn’t do much to stop a boycott. Tensions are extremely high and it’s only a matter of time before conflict erupts in one form or another. The political left (and their globalist handlers) have offered no indication whatsoever that they intend to back away from their current destructive path. Something has to give. Why not a trucker protest or red state protest cutting off blue regions from vital resources?
Unfortunately, there are still a number of conservatives and independents living in these cities that could be negatively affected by a freight shutdown along with their progressive neighbors. Maybe this strike never comes to fruition and everything will continue on as “normal.” Maybe not. The point is, anything can happen and the way our economy and supply chains currently function is not going to pass muster for much longer.
The average American has around one week’s worth of food in their pantry at any given time. With FEMA response in place a rationing system would be instituted over the course of several weeks, probably using a digital tracking method much like an EBT card. And make no mistake, there will be strings attached to any government rationing program:
“Do you have the latest covid booster? No ration card until your shots are up to date. We see that you have registered firearms…you need to turn those in before you can get rations. We see that you’ve made problematic comments in your social media history, you may not be eligible.”
It takes around 7-10 days of zero food supply for panic to set into a population (when people finally realize things are not going back to normal). It takes two weeks for starvation to take a physical toll and three weeks for people to start dying. Riots and looting are inevitable, but that won’t solve the problem if there’s no food to loot.
Some people will argue that they only need to not be where the shortages are, but there’s no way to predict this. In the case of conservative trucker boycotts, the targeted areas are obvious, but that is only one scenario. There are a host of events that could cause a crippled supply chain in both rural and urban areas, including a mass immigration crisis or a nationwide grid down scenario.
The only viable solutions is to secure a long term food storage plan, and don’t forget the protein because western governments have become increasingly hostile against animal agriculture these days. (Get your affordable freeze dried beef supply HERE with promo code “market15”)
Food storage for each family for at least a year is essential. It doesn’t have to start there; even one month of food will give you an edge over most of the population and will ensure you don’t have to go begging to FEMA. But eventually a year’s supply or more is necessary (along with community organization for mutual security). This will give you time to establish a more permanent and sustainable food plan after the worst has happened.
You can see the storm that a logistical breakdown would cause. In 30 days or less a city like New York could be brought to its knees even with government intervention. On a national scale, regardless of the cause, the result would be about the same. Ultimately there are two kinds of people in the wake of these kinds of events – The people that planned ahead, and everyone else. It’s my hope that through education and encouragement we can convince enough of the populace to prepare so that this large percentage of Americans acts as a redundancy against catastrophe (leftists won’t listen, but maybe the rest of the public will).
In other words, the goal is to give the public a natural immunity against supply chain collapse, so that when the crisis does strike the effects will be greatly diminished.
Food security is one of the most important preparations Americans can make as threats continue to rise. Stock up on Texas-raised long-term storage Ribeye, NY Strip, Tenderloin, and more with Prepper All-Naturals.
“If there is one reality that Americans need to accept, it’s that every system has a breaking point and there are no exceptions.”
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Most people do not think at larger scales. That is, we are mostly by-default centered upon and within our own (little) lives and we seldom seem to think about (larger) things beyond the normal reach of our limited daily journeys.
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But that is the point here. When these larger systems of life do break down… and they will… that’s when serious consequences quickly register down at the level of our personal lives. And we can’t allow ourselves to be caught short like that for no one is coming to our rescue or to save us. We have to save ourselves, and each other.
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Dark Players in today’s Dark State will SAY that they are here to help. But only the most gullible among us are going to believe that nonsense. We live among a host of Predators that seek only to feast off us and who have no interest at all in helping us or making our lives better.
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And how can some people continue to be so clueless as to keep on trusting these Vipers?
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The Dark Siders love that we don’t think ahead. They love that we are so vulnerable. They love that much of the World’s population still trusts and goes along with these powerful deviants. This keeps Them in full control and We the People vulnerable to threats ranging from lack of food to the shut-off of cash to the agony of the death injections to choking on air fouled with geoengineering-spraying to toxins in our drinking water to poisoning our kids minds at ‘school’… and many more. Not to mention that continuos brainwashing and mind-warping from State media in all of its corporate forms that goes on endllessly.
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We are sitting ducks. And They hold the duck calls and the rifles pointed at us. And the smiles at our worry or apethy.
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There are certain things we can’t do. Like make the Dark State go away. But then there are plenty of things we can do. And must.
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Each of us in our own life circumstance must find ways to stay free of influence of the Dark Side as much as possible. There is no one-size-fits-all other than to say that to be prepared is wise and the mark of intelligence while being vulnerable is folly and inviting nothing but trouble for your future… and that of those whom you care about.
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This is the Long War that They put us in the middle of that no one talks about. And no one wins any war by being unprepared.
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Body, Mind, and Spirit. Get right with these and there is nothing you can’t face.
Chicago Ray changed his tune very quickly after going public. Some believe he either was paid a visit or threatened to back down.
I have enough rice, pasta and other essentials to last me anywhere from 12-18 months. One thing to add is that it may not be a bad idea to invest in a portable camping stove and stock up on butane canisters.
That’s a possibility, but one guy doesn’t determine whether or not a trucker boycott happens. I expect to see a lot more escalation of this idea as we close in on elections.
I also expect things to continue to escalate. People are starting to wakeup to the fact that government is the enemy.
As far as stoves, I can recommend the Soto Windmaster (cannister) to boil water, and MSR Dragonfly (multifuel/white gas) or Optimus Polaris (multifuel or cannister) for boil water or simmer.
I’m a big fan of the good old fashioned “dual fuel” (Coleman fuel or unleaded gasoline) Coleman stove. True, propane models are more convenient, and unlike gas and Coleman fuel, propane stores indefinitely. The downside of propane is that you go through more of it to get a certain thing done, and it costs more per BTU. The same goes for Coleman lanterns. One filling of a liquid-fueled lantern will run the thing all night, whereas the propane models will go through a canister in about two hours. If you can afford it and have the storage space, have BOTH types on hand.
And a few extra BBQ size propane tanks wouldn’t hurt.
You may not be thinking this through. I would rather buy the food, pressure cook it, and store it now while you have the utilities functioning – i.e., electricity or natural gas, so that way, your food is already cooked and you aren’t having to lug propane tanks around, chop wood, collect twigs and leaves etc. to make fires which are also potential beacons to others that you are cooking. Nor will you have to rely on refrigeration. Yes I have Kelly Kettles, Solar ovens. The old two door rocket stoves with the cermaic liners I bought 12 years ago were pure junk. The cermic insulators cracked and fragmented leaving a red clay dust trail after just a few uses. Worthless, and threw them out. Kelly Kettles are not as efficient but do work on a rocket stove principle and are far better than nothing. I have been rotating my three year old pressure cooked chicken now, and so far, no problems as a beginner. All 50+ jars so far are keepers. But I figure most of the canned food like my “favorite” Campbell’s Chunky Pot Pie or Chicken and Dumplings, as well as all the Mountain House are mostly starch, so I don’t waste time, space or money buying rice and beans or other long storage food, I buy and pressure cook only pure chicken. May experiment with beef and some vegetables -if I can ever vegetable garden going, but where I live, the crops would be stolen.
Think consumable/sustainable.
Everybody’s mileage will vary, depending on where they live.
liquified gases are very convenient fuel sources but difficult to replace in the situations we are discussing here.
Several companies make a multi-fuel stove, white gas unleaded, possibly diesel I don’t recall exactly. These fuels will be easier to obtain also a lot cheaper.
You can make your own stove that will burn paper and twigs with a church key can opener and various sizes of tin cans.
Bricks can be stacked in such a way to make a very effective stove.
Used motor oil and other fluids should be saved if your situation allows.
Candles are very inexpensive at the used stores, and provide light heat and means to cook.
I won’t continue as this article is more about knowing you should be preparing rather than how to prepare, and a lot of information is out there.
We are Not returning to “NORMAL” anytime soon…Good News Jesus is returning soon! Glory!
It’s been “soon” for more than 2000 years….
Trudeau et al did not freeze truckers and their supporters bank accounts and bust up the nationwide protests until the protestors shut down the Ambassador bridge. All he did up to then was run scared and hide in his cottage, send out RCMP officers dressed in hunting camo and face coverings carrying nazi and confederate flags into the protests which were quickly thrown out by the protestors and called anyone not on his side nazi’s, bigots and people with unacceptable values through the paid off media. Trudeau was pressured/forced by Biden who was pressured by Matty Moroun who was losing millions of dollars per day in tolls to end the protests and open his bridge to traffic. Trudeau and his cabinet even contemplated rolling tanks through Ottawa in conjunction with freezing bank accounts as was later found out through leaked memos. This was after he used the RCMP to try to force towing companies from all over Ontario and Quebec under threat of fines and imprisonment to go in and remove the trucks if they did not comply, all but one company told them to pound salt. If you guys did that down there I don’t think a protest like that would last a few days before your federal government sicced the cops and military on them once the billionaires started losing money, since they control your government.
It would still be worth it though to show everyone across your country what your government thinks of the average citizen.
I drove 8 hrs to participate in the Ottawa protest and it was amazing to see all the people there from all over the country, peacefully united against tyranny.
It would not be the same kind of protest. All the truckers would have to do is REFUSE to deliver to places like New York. They can’t force them to deliver, and they will never have enough people to take the place of the truckers. It’s kind of a perfect boycott strategy.
This is very true. WE, THE PEOPLE have the “power of the purse,” ultimately. When the producers stop producing and the non-producers can’t get their “free stuff,” the game suddenly ends. I suggest a massive “sick-out.” Again, no shots fired, no laws broken, and no arms to cuff. As many of us as possible just don’t go to work. Additionally, we BUY or SELL as LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. A few weeks of this, and the taxpayer-funded pissaway of money stops, and government halts. Yes, this is going to hurts us all to some extent, but if we DO NOTHING, the pain will be WORSE!!!
…The American truckers truly missed the wave on that one, Robert. If they had decided “not to cross the picket line” with the Canadian truckers, the movement would have been a force of nature!
“It takes two weeks for starvation to take a physical toll and three weeks for people to start dying……”
This isn’t completely accurate. Most Americans have come up in such abundance that they have no experience with real food scarcity or lack of food EVER. I had friends in the past who did supervised fasts to detox. They reported that after a few days of no food, their hunger went away. But then also during the fast they rested and there was no physical activity. They could go a month or longer *before hunger returned* but then they did HAVE TO EAT to avoid harm. They would come off their fast with fruit first eating an orange. That was because the system can handle that best after a fast. A heavy meal can mess you up.
Some people get really sick not eating because the body stores toxins in fat and it then releases them in a fast. One woman I knew had that happen and she got sick so she was then advised to end it. She was overweight and was disappointed in stopping it but went back some months later, and completed the full regimen. Fasting is not a bad thing, and humans have had times of scarcity throughout history. Fasting as a health practice has value, but I do agree with you overall that most Americans have a serious NORMALCY BIAS and a sense of entitlement that nothing BAD can ever happen to them. This is completely foolish. People in the past KNEW that storing food for hard times was essential.
I think in the coming times many will learn the hard way how stupid it is to take everything for granted.
No, it’s accurate. I have fasted, for over a week at a time in the past. At two weeks, unless you are very fat, lethargy sets in and inability to think clearly. At three weeks your body lacks nutrients and will start to eat muscle, not just fat. Even when fasting, you have to take in intermittent calories and vitamins. Being fat is also not going to save someone because weakness and illness can set in without proper nutrition. Three weeks is when most people would start to break down, some would die. Others might last a little longer, maybe a couple weeks.
You are right. It’s the survival rule of 3’s.
3 mins air (breathe)
3 hours exposure (shelter)
3 days water
3 weeks food
The more people that are prepared to take care of themselves, the less chance there is for the consequences of an embargo to be effective.
Maybe it’s not such a good idea to try to help them.
The government has dumbed down the populace to the point where common sense isn’t only not common, but nearly non-existent.
Long story-short, you can’t fix stupid.
Leftists don’t prep, they would have to change their entire mindset and then no longer be leftist. Therefore, leftists would be most affected by an embargo. You will never win by refusing to educate people; the smart people will always be on your side. The dumb and arrogant people will always be against you and will refuse to listen. It all works out in the end.
Unless you prepare as a small neighborhood or community with sharing of responsibilities, including defense, your stash will be found out by DaHordes who always appear when society collapses.
Also, the fact that we have already been invaded by millions of our government’s invited legal and illegal parasitic hordes, who have already established their previous habits in our cities, puts an entirely different picture into play. Ask yourself – why are so many of these ‘refugees’ young military age men?
“Strategic analysis is not about what one deems to be probable on the basis of one’s feelings, but rather, what is possible on the basis of the material facts in evidence. And the fact is that a) the army of illegals is now present in the USA, b) the federal government has stockpiled weapons far beyond the needs of its agents, and c) the federal government is presently dominated by foreigners whose interests are actively opposed, if not aggressively hostile, to the interests of the heritage American nation.” – https://crushlimbraw.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-usas-army-of-illegals-vox-popoli.html?m=0 – “I wouldn’t go so far as to predict that the US government’s alternative army of armed illegals will be activated against the citizenry in 2024, but the material possibility is a clear and observable danger.” – Vox Day
Hence why I mention organization in the article. The two things go hand-in-hand. You should be starting with friends and family, church group, then neighbors if you know them well enough, then encouraging preparedness in your town by various means. That said, you need to have your own preps in order before you worry about other people’s.
Right before the Y2K date, some pastors and city officials ran ads, held meetings about preparing, buying extra food and likely power outages and what to stock. They held meetings with large groups showing up. We stayed low key not wanting neighbors knowing our affairs since we were new in the subdivision. Some friends were preparing, growing gardens. The problem back then is some I know bought lots of supplies over twenty years ago, refuse to listen now because much was later sold or donated to local food banks, saying “been there done that”. Their adult children do nothing. I drop the subject this time, since all adults are responsible for themselves and their household.
Like you said in your previous article -not exactly this words-, the people who think that a nation, an empire or a system cannot fall are silly, but i think are the more dangerous. The average middle class human being of whatever country you choose (obviously, mostly on the first world) go panic for the 0,1 % of what you describe Brandon. The gas price, etc.
The amount of money that our society spends on garbage, useless things its scary, when it should be an obligation for at least sleep well for everybody to have reserves for a year or more, and its not so much money to spend on it. But like all crisis in the history of mankind, they all wait until the markets are empty. As every knows well, this time will be used for whatever the globalist wants.
This 2024 we have elections in the U.S (or not), Russia, South Africa, Algeria, Mexico, India, Taiwan and over sixty countries. Also, i dont think that the conflict in Ukraine are over like most people and “analysts” thinks. First because the old bussiness of war. Second, that engineered conflict is the key to drain Europe’s money, promote the grow of far right movements who’s is gonna trigger more the muslisms and in consequence the leftish/woke agenda (a classic move). Third, the globalists are decided to follow the 1984 eternal global war, and in their menu they had everything in the new era of war 6.0 to pick.
Take care everyone.
Technology and market driven solutions are great but they have left us extremely vulnerable to catastrophes.
When I was a young boy my dad was a butcher in a very small town. His dad owned it before he did. I remember going there often and watching them slide the cattle and hog carcasses in. The beef looked just like what you see in the original Rocky movie (Rocky punches).
Out west of town there was a place we called the Slaughter House. It had been defunct before I was born and was mainly just for storage. When my old man was growing up it was used for exactly as the name suggests.
Dad sold the place in the late 80’s and it was for the best. When we got to Florida there were a lot more large retail grocery stores. Dad was always blown away that none of meat cutters could skin the entire animal down “back in my day.” Lol
Had he tried to keep up he wouldn’t have been able to compete. Hope that paints a picture of how it all happened. That’s why the local food sourcing is nearly scarce today aside from unique places like the Amish system. The Amish might be the best teachers but I fear they could be over run very fast.
A bit of optimism, the other day going to work saw a big nasty 300lb pig out by my bros house (my bugout location). Now if I can just get those rednecks to stop shooting the piggies. Truth is these invasive hogs might just save our asses. I say let them live and breed…..for now.
Just cook that meat VERY thorough. Those hogs carry a lot of parasites. That said, the fat from hogs would be invaluable to a survivalist.
Oh yes, my parents still buy lard and cook with it. Old man said trichinosis has been eradicated from the US stock for the most part. Got a good friend from Mexico. He told me his aunt got trichinosis. The way he describes it will make your stomach turnZ You do NOT want to fuck around with that. I just looked and it’s as my friend says once it sets in you are done. Not something to play around with. Back to the lard you can even clean your gun with that stuff 🤣
Brandon when you fast I recommend not to go so long. I assume you are testing yourself? I do it almost daily when trying to drop fat. Always break the fast with protein. I like Power crunch, Muscle Milk, Core shakes. All 3 taste great. Once you get to a certain point the body will go into hibernation mode. It taps muscle mass for fuel and holds fat. I assume you are testing yourself but always try and protect your muscle mass.
My food storage consists of mostly one thing only. I have a 100 large tubs of Peanut Butter. Then a stockpile of vitamins. Don’t really care if it’s rancid (I don’t think lol) Am going full astronaut. Gives me and my close fam 3 months. Calorie density is the key to survival IMHO. Am not looking to grow lettuce so I can have an organic garden and eat lush salads while everyone around me starves to death 😁
And yeah when you’re hungry you’ll eat the ass end out of a dead rhino. Peanut butter every day will be a treat.
And when I say eradicated (trichinosis) I do NOT mean in wild hogs. Meant farm raised only in the US. Yes cook them well well done. Nothing less.
I didn’t start with a week of fasting, to be sure. I worked my way up to it. At this point I don’t think I would do it again. Every couple days doing a 24 hour fast works just fine for most people.
My birth mom is one of your biggest fans and she implored me to get emergency food. I bought a six month supply from My Patriot Supply and am working on the next six. You’re helping a lot of people.