Geologist & Soil Scientist here 👋 Not that us non-profit Earth Scientists are listened to ( sadly this has a lot to do with corporate scientists and politicians on both sides silencing us) ….But in addition to the up coming price hikes bc of what’s happening here and around the world; This yrs crops are gonna have major struggles.

I won’t go too much into the structural reasons of why this bad situation is now made worse bc of geopolitical factors. But there’s a reason why countries like Australia, Uruguay, and Germany in the last decade have switched to Regenerative farming. They’re at around 70% regenerative.

This means they no longer need to be addicted and beholden to Agrochemical and Synthetic Fertilizer companies. Regenerative farms use safe & non-harmful to organic matter methods to remove weeds & pests. They utilize companion plants and make their own crop-specific fertilizer-compost.

These countries won’t be hit nearly as bad as the U.S., which is only 5% regenerative where most of our farms have put short-term yield increases ahead of long term yield growth and being self-sufficient.

Regenerative foods have been more expensive here bc of how few of those farms exist but now that prices are increasing for agrochemical farms, regenerative farm prices are looking pretty reasonable.

Lundberg Farms ( who primarily grow regenerative rice ) are great example of a mid-sized farm that’s taken the advice of scientists who have no profit motives. Their rice not only tastes better, it’s more filling.

Part of the problem with agrochemical farming is that the seeds they use degrade which means the nutrients in their crops degrade.

The “zombie top soil” they bring to life via petroleum based fertilizers, doesn’t give our soil a healthy amount of minerals. As these crops are already degraded, they’re also like sponges soaking in all those petrochemicals and agrochemicals.

You might have noticed in recent yrs how veggies and fruits are more tasteless and don’t even have the same smells. That’s bc you’re eating produce that’s grown lacking the fuel it needs to be flavorful.

It’s like wine. The wine snobs wax poetic about wine having such and such “notes” like Blackberry, Chocolate, Apple, etc… that’s bc those grapes are grown in soil that’s been carefully maintained to help boost flavors, textures, smells, and minerals.

All this culminates to where we are today and how we can stock up on food supplies while not having us suffer the consequences of our food choices.

Do what you can to get regenerative based foods. Join up with local co-op/CSA farms near you. Most of these farms are either fully regenerative or on their way to becoming regenerative. They’ll help supplement your food supply while all they ask is some occasional volunteer effort. You’ll learn more about gardening that can then be used in your own home.

Currently I have hundreds of potatoes growing in my basement. In the coming weeks I’ll be donating most of those to my local CSA’s for them to plant and share w/ our community.

Use this as an opportunity to learn and get to know your neighbors. Don’t just prepare by hoarding supplies. Prepare by learning how to fish, hunt, can, garden, and resource share with your community.