The events since the October 7th attack on Israel have proven how tenuous peace is in the world today. We don’t like to think another world war can happen but prophets and the scriptures have warned us wars will continue and become a constant fear.

Can you imagine how you would feel today if you were told that you couldn’t buy your favorite foods or even the basics? Or, if you could, you could only buy a small amount, and what would normally last a week must now last a month. We had a small taste of this during the pandemic but how much have we really internalized and acted upon what we learned?

During the second world war (1939 -45) rationing was introduced in Britain and later in the United States.

In Britain, rationing lasted for 14 years. As time went on, many more foods were added to the rationing list. A typical ration for one adult included 2 oz. butter, 3.5 oz. bacon, ham 4 oz., sugar 8 oz, and 1 egg. Because fats were scarce, home cooks saved fats whenever they could. Whenever fat was left after cooking, it was saved in a jar and used in other recipes. Popular uses of fat included adding it to vegetables to impart more flavor, or even spreading it on a piece of bread.

Why was rationing introduced in Britain during the Second World War?

Adolf Hitler tried to force an early end to the war by attacking ships carrying food and other resources heading for Britain. He wanted to starve the nation into defeat.

People started to panic buy in a manner similar to our experience during Covid.

“Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents” Henry Kissinger

Who may control our food supply? Who may control it in the event of a war or even another pandemic?

In 2022, the U.S.-China Economic Security and Review Commission released a report “If further consolidations and Chinese investments in U.S. agricultural assets take place, China may have undue leverage over U.S. food supply chains.” The report also discusses how China could gain as an advantage by purchasing agribusinesses and land in the United States. China’s agricultural land holdings in the United States has increased over tenfold in the last ten years. At the beginning of 2020 China held $2 billion worth of American agricultural land.

We lived near a nursery that supplied fruit and nut trees to farmers. They no longer sell apple trees because China has taken over the apple industry. It is estimated 90% of our apple juice now comes from China.

What would all of this mean for our food supply if our war was with China and Russia?

During World War ll, the Governments of Germany and the United States also introduced rationing as a fair system to allow people to have a certain amount of food each week.

How did the rationing system work?

Every person in the country, including children, received a ration book and each home had to register with a local butcher, grocer and milkman who had to ensure they had enough food for their customers. Ration books contained coupons which had to be presented when items were purchased. Even the Royal Family had ration books.

In 1939 the British government began the “Dig for Victory” campaign and it issued a series of colorful posters to encourage people to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

Surplus produce was made into jam, pickles or chutney which could be eaten in the winter. Families also kept goats, chickens, rabbits and pigs. Pigs were particularly popular as they would eat anything and could be fattened up quickly.

Soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and America’s subsequent entrance into World War II, food rationing was introduced in 1942. The Emergency Price Control Act granted the Office of Price Administration (OPA) the authority to set price limits and ration food and other commodities in order to discourage hoarding and ensure the equitable distribution of scarce resources. By the spring, Americans were unable to purchase sugar without government-issued food coupons. Vouchers for coffee were introduced in November, and by March of 1943, meat, cheese, fats, canned fish, canned milk and other processed foods were added to the list of rationed provisions.

The USDA encouraged people throughout WWII to grow their produce in family and community gardens, known as victory gardens. People were urged to plant gardens in rural and urban areas to supplement food rations, add nutrients to their diet, and support the war effort.

Extension Services home demonstrators and canning centers became vital during World War II. Women were encouraged to support their families and the nation by canning produce grown in their garden. Government officials asked individuals “plan your canning budget when you order your garden seeds.” The coordination of the two activities ensured that nothing went to waste. The USDA estimates that approximately 4 billion cans and jars of food, were preserved that year. In 1945, the USDA stated that 6,000 canning centers were in operation throughout the United States. These centers were locally sponsored and supported with instructions provided by the USDA. Individuals brought their produce to the center and paid a small fee or donated a small portion of their preserved food in return for the use of canners and other tools needed for canning.

Where do we stand? Are we prepared to cook from scratch with only basic ingredients? Could we raise our own food to supplement what was available for purchase? Do we know how to preserve food for longer term storage?

Cooking channels encourage us to cook and bake at home but how many use basic ingredients? Ingredients do not need to be exotic, and recipes do not need to included hot peppers to taste amazing. Are these programs actually discouraging us because of all these unfamiliar and often expensive add ins.

We all hope and pray war will not come to our shores or impact our lives, but we also know we have been warned they will.

Ask yourself:

Do I live in a major city or housing development that does not allow room for gardens, livestock, and other sustainable food sources?
Do I have selfless, trustworthy people surrounding me who I can look to for help in the case of an emergency?
Do I have a way to contend with those trying to find food to feed their families?
How safe and accessible is clean drinking water?
Do I live in an urban center where people will be desperate for food with no place to grow it?
Do I have sufficient food to feed my family and others I am responsible for while I grow more.

Can I grow food?

Do I know how to can and freeze foods to preserve them?

This past week we saw the 911centers in Nevada, Texas, Nebraska, and South Dakota taken down for hours. These centers, 911, are very vulnerable to attach as are the power grid and cell and internet systems. Can you imagine the chaos this will create during a war time scenario when any of these are compromised? We have had only two attacks on United States soil in our lifetimes, Pearl Harbor and the World Trade centers. We have not been involved in a war requiring a draft and sacrifices at home in more than 60 years. We have become complacent.

According to a new series of satellite images obtained by CNN. Russia has continued expanding its military bases in the Arctic region despite significant losses in its war on Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN “there is a significant Russian military build-up in the high north,” with recent tensions causing the alliance to “double its presence” in response.

Reuters: Russia has scaled up military exercises in the region (the arctic); Chinese and Russian warships have conducted joint exercises in the Bering Sea. The narrowest distance between mainland Russia and mainland Alaska is approximately 55 miles.

However, in the body of water between Alaska and Russia, known as the Bering Strait, there lies two small islands known as Big Diomede and Little Diomede. Big Diomede is owned by Russia while Little Diomede is owned by the US. The stretch of water between these two islands is only about 2.5 miles wide and actually freezes over during the winter so you could walk from the US to Russia on this seasonal sea ice. Diomedes island is just 16 miles from the Alaskan coastline making the United States very vulnerable to attack.

Preparing for a worst case scenario is not about fear, it is about the power to care for your family whatever may come your way. The government and the church do not have the resources to care for your family during a national crisis. During isolated disasters such hurricanes we must rely on individuals and charities to provide help. Imagine how impossible that would be if millions not thousands of people were in need.

Heavenly Father loves us and has warned us of things to come so we can prepare. Are we listening? Are we believing Him?

“Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine, and earthquake cannot happen here. Those who believe this are either not acquainted with the revelations of the Lord, or they do not believe them. Those who smugly think these calamities will not happen, that they will somehow be set aside because of the righteousness of the saints, are deceived and will rue the day they harbored such a delusion.” Ezra Taft Benson

For help in meeting all your self-reliance goals join Carolyn at http://facebook.com/TotallyReady or her blog. Help with weekly challenges for preparing and for storing food are available on both sites. Carolyn’s Totally Ready Emergency Binder is available to purchase and download at Totallyready.com and can be purchased complete or one section at a time.