Alaska Ag......Current Events

Current world events have overshadowed other blog entries in progress.

If ever there was a reason to improve Alaska's food security, the clear and present danger that a nuclear North Korea presents, is it.  The bluster about Guam could easily be replaced with any city on the west coast of the US.

And that, friends, is where the primary risk exists.  Take out anything along the coast line, and our supply line is either severed, or severely curtailed immediately. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that any disruption in those containers arriving at Alaska ports, is going to create chaos in very short order.

It's widely reported that Alaska has about three days worth of food supplies on hand. Or, as a knowledgeable acquaintance once told me: We are 9 meals away from anarchy.  Yes, the state has emergency plans, but does not intend to feed you and your family in the event of emergency. Even so, the state advises at least a weeks' worth of food, water, and medicines should be kept on hand. (There is a list of suggestions on the state's emergency management page, for those interested) Designed with the idea of earthquake, volcano, or pandemic in mind, the suggestions and recommendations apply to any break in our very long supply chain as well.

It's a safe bet that many Alaskans are better prepared to face any coming challenge, than the average urban dweller in the L48. Pantries and freezers are relatively common, and most folks have cupboards with adequate supplies on hand to weather a few weeks-even if the selection thins and wears on the taste buds. 

But there are over 700,000 people here...our tiny agriculture "industry" (laughable on its face, simply due to scale) is incapable of feeding them all. Period, end.  We do not have the herds, the flocks, the dairies, the fields, the facilities to process our production. We do not have the hay and grain acreage necessary to significantly increase those animal numbers either. We do not have the infrastructure in place to move it, nor the capacity to preserve it.

Could we ever feed all these people?  Oh yes, we could, with enough time and resources. Would it be the modern diet Americans are accustomed to? Not even close!  And why can't we do that today?  Well, that would be a very long blog post on its own, and it's been covered here repeatedly.  In short, it does not matter in the current moment of time. Because it does not exist, and will not exist, until such time as the residents of Alaska demand it is done.

Alaska's food security will remain the elusive dream of worriers, planners, and concerned citizens for the foreseeable future. Alaska Ag is flatly not up to the task, and there are no means to rapidly expand capacity in response to calamity.

Got preps?