Let’s start with a few questions.
Who likes to eat food, each and every day?
Did you notice bare produce shelves a few weeks ago? Have you heard about the killing frosts which devastated this season’s fruit and vegetable production in Mexico and the Southern U.S.?
How does the food we buy get here? How reliable is the production of our food?
How much is here, now in your town?
Unless you just happened to walk into Fred Meyer or Costco and saw the empty shelves a few weeks ago with signs stating various causes, ranging from “local weather” to “conditions in our producers region”, you might not have even noticed.
As someone who did notice and does like to eat every day, I decided to pursue these questions because I want to be sure that I, my family and friends and everyone, in all of our communities (you!) always have enough to eat. What I want for all of us is to be “food secure.”
When studying our food system, I like to trace backwards how food gets into my mouth, truly a journey with many steps simplified as; heat to cook it, a car to get it home, the retailer to store it and sell it (and money to buy it!), many shippers and distributors along the route to the store (by land and either air or sea), processors (think Håagen-Dazs) and finally, all the way back to the producers (growers). There are many ways to increase our own food supply through gardening, gathering, fishing and hunting, but even our local harvest greatly relies on fuel energy (petroleum) which goes through just as elaborate a supply chain as our food.
Good news: Our food system works. That is why each of us ate today. The problem is that our food system is vulnerable, every step of the way. Since Alaska imports more than 95 percent of our food, our supply can be severely threatened by extreme weather or man-caused events both far and near. We are completely dependent on others to bring us our food or the fuel we’ll use to get it. And we know the system isn’t always reliable — planes don’t always fly and boats don’t always come in.
There is no formula for determining what type, size and combination of events will cause disruptions, but if anyone thinks we are poised for a bailout whenever we are in need, I ask you to think back to Hurricane Katrina and see that — even in the best of weather and physically accessible conditions — emergency relief was very slow and too late for many.
I personally work with every group I have been able to contact on the subject of emergency food preparedness in Alaska and find few are even looking at the topic.
The real good news is that we can do many things to improve our food security and strengthen our food system. For an immediate emergency (evacuation), prepare ”to go” bags (at home and in vehicle). For short- to mid-term shortages (days to weeks), prepare and store personal food supplies including special dietary needs for infants and elders. This requires planning, money for the food/supplies, space, management/rotation and means to prepare the stored foods. Longer-term preparation means more extensive storage amounts and methods. Community level planning is important too. We need to plan and employ food storage and distribution systems for those in need during catastrophic emergencies. We can also reduce our vulnerability to food chain emergencies with increased local food cultivation and regular consumption and (electricity-free) storage of local, sustainably harvested natural resources such as fish, deer, seaweed, etc.
Each of these solutions helps to strengthen our food system and simultaneously support a more robust local economy with more dollars and resources circulating within our communities. We each need to identify food security as a real priority and take action.
Call the Cooperative Extension Service, 796-6221, if you want help or if you want to help others with Food Security issues on behalf of yourself, your families or your community.
• Snyder is an assistant professor and agent with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. He serves the Southeast Alaska region in the areas of agriculture and horticulture, 4-H youth development, food security and community resiliency.
Comments (21)
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after nurmerous trips to McDonalds with my kids for dinner.. we stopped going there. I have seen waaaaaaaay too many times the ppl at the drive up window, touching their face, nose hair and one lucky time a girl scratched her head, rubbed her nose and then GRABBED my food bags with the same hand.. I didnt accept them and asked for the manager.. I told her about what I saw.. she slapped the girl upside the head and made her go wash.. MANY of them dont have hair nets on.. I dont have black hair and have found it in my food. so my suggestion.. make your won mc donalds at home, safer and much cheaper..
McDonalds?!?!?
The mere fact that there are traces of feces in ALL fast food hamburgers is enough to keep me away permanently. Why would ANYONE eat at McDonalds? Gross....
No fan
Not that I'm any fan of McDonalds, but where does this "fact" come from?
Big Problems
Juneau is hardly food secured; a major earthquake in Seattle would cut us off. Our problem is not only the source of the food but getting it here. Maybe the city should stock some basic supplies for it's residents.
I was walking through Sitka Sound Seafoods with Tommy Thompson years ago when I saw a room filled with bags of salt; I asked what it was for. He said he had freezers full of fish and if there was an emergency and power ended he could salt all the fish and feed Sitka for a year. Not many people think that way anymore!
There are so many facts like
There are so many facts like that that is is repulsive to even think about eating fast food. It is just as bad though with the majority of the prepackaged foods that are being shipped up here. They have a nationally approved allowable amount of insect parts, rat feces, etc etc. Then they are using genetically modified produce, antibiotic laced meats which hve been handled in manners that any of us would retch if we witnessed, then a molitov cocktail of chemicals and fillers none of which would be viewed as edible by any rational human.
I relish the day when the convenience foods are completely cut off from us.
Go fishing, hunting, berry picking. Learn to bake your own bread. Its not that hard. Make homemade soups. Its rediculously simple and so much tastier! Have a garden. Its therapeutic. You dont even need much space. You can grow tons of lettuce in a few pots. Some like peppers are a little harder, but it can be done. Have a few chichens as pets. The eggs are so much better than the factory eggs they dont even seem like the same food. The city allows six chickens. Or raise rabbbits for food.
None of this is hard, and it is relaxing and therapeutic and so much more healthy for you. It just takes a little time and a little more energy. I feel so much better though when I know that my actions are keeping my family healthy and sustainable. I could do better, but I do most of the food prep myself. It is even cheaper a lot of the time.
Bulk foods are cheaper, have
Bulk foods are cheaper, have less packaging and can give you food security. You can buy them and have them shipped from down south for a fraction of the cost. If shopping wisely it can be better for you. Many places will deliver for free to Barge companies like Northland
snagger gets the point....
of the article. I wonder if the city does have a basic food stock - of course they would have to rotate it as well, which would mean an expense every year.
Mr. Snyder definitely has a point. If we ever did face a major catastrophy (like Japan, or Katrina-style Louisiana) How many days food/water do any of us have put away? What if the water faucet stopped working tomorrow? Do you have any fuel for that camp stove in the closet? It's definitely something to think about and prepare for. I'm doing more summer canning of vegetables, tomato sauce, etc. and we did jar venison one year (you need a pressure cooker) and it was delicious.
Fuel / Freight
"Numerous trips to McDonalds with my kids for dinner." Now that sounds very nutritious. Snagger, I agree with you. Even if our food supply is in good abundance.
We won’t be able to afford it due to fuel pushing $5.00 a gallon. The cost of freight alone will go through the roof.
Millions of salmon come right
Millions of salmon come right to our door every summer...
Even a little extra effort.
Even a little extra effort. I have asian friends that when they catch a fish, eat the meat just like us, but take the carcass and make soup. Very tasty and nutritious and plays into the waste not want not philosophy. Having a roast chicken, tomorrow is chicken soup. Try to make many meals out of one. Fish broth is truly versatile and yummy.
kpawsuh - true, but....
What if we had a major catastrophy, cutting off all air transport (including chicken and rabbit food) in December or January? No berries, very few fish, bad weather if you have a small boat. Just playing devil's advocate - rarely do catastrophies happen when we are MOST able to deal with them, right?
Seriously. A 20 lb. bag of
Seriously. A 20 lb. bag of barley is dirt cheap and will last a long time (and is healthier and better tasting, IMHO, than brown rice).
Kpawsuh is spot on. What you eat has a larger effect on your health than anything, and if you constantly eat crap, you will feel like crap and you will function like crap.
Swimmer, freeze stuff, can it
Swimmer, freeze stuff, can it etc. I know what you are saying but unless all air and ground transport gets cut off and the power gets cut, you can do pretty well. I make soup all the time and any thats left over goes in the freezer. it last really well. When I want something for lunch at work I grab a little packet of soup.
Even bread. Someone asked me one time what if you cant get flour? Order up bulk wheat berries and grind your own flour. I havent tried that yet but I know people in Juneau who do and it makes the most wonderful bread. And wheat berries will last forever as long as you keep then dry. They unearthed casks full of wheat berries in egyptian tombs that when planted, grew just like they had been put in there yesterday. its actually better for you too, as all the oils in flour go rancid very quickly when it sits, but they remain intact in the wheat berry. If you grind it right before you use it, its fresh and saves you from rancid oils. I havent gotten that far yet though.
It is really satisfying though to make your own stuff. Mayo, most salad dressings, even ketchup (although I have yet to get it to taste like Heinz) all this can easily be made from scratch. Then you know exactly what is in it.
I admit though I am a little crazy when it comes to this.
Part of it is I have found that there isnt a restaurant in Juneau that I cant at least do as good as if not better than making my own food. And it costs way less.
Maybe the Mormons are on to
Maybe the Mormons are on to something with their year's supply of food.
I'm thinking canned goods are the way to go. And a few canisters of propane for the camp stove.
Remember the fear over 2000 and all the water everyone was storing?
Food supply
Great My Turn reminder. I've been meaning to get on this, especially having a temporary water supply and some extra fuel cans.
On a related note we usually have a minimum of 6 months of pet food on hand.
Pet owners should remember pet meds/food when planning. Just a thought.
Mike
Mike's right, and Kpawsuh has good ideas...
Mike's right, this is a good reminder. I have a very small condo, no garage - but even I keep a flat of water on hand, a camp stove with a supply of fuel, and a few bags of beans/rice and canned goods. I should add a battery-operated radio, and medical kit, and will when I can find a place with a garage to move into! :)
Kpawsuh - all of your ideas are great - my mom used to make mayo for us too - it's so easy, oil, egg, and mustard/spices - and way better than store bought. I put up lots of bounty in the summer as well (and would do more if I had the afore-mentioned garage!). I think we all get the author's point that in a really, really bad catastropy, we probably all need to be more prepared than we are now. Prepare for worst case - i.e. NO electricity (all that freezer salmon would go bad, or need to be reprocessed right away) and NO flights in/out (I think we would all be surprised at how fast the shelves would clear in the local markets) and possibly NO water (We're probably better off than most around here - unless it were nuclear fallout - in which case we'd likely have bigger problems - you could always put a bucket outside......) for 2-4 weeks, and things could get desperate pretty fast.
If we lose power and
If we lose power and transport for 2-4 weeks (Highly unlikely, maybe one, or maybe the other but both would be highly highly unlikely) we have way bigger problems than if the salmon melts.
This article is thoughtful,
This article is thoughtful, provocative and was written very well. As a tangential issue, I have long thought it odd that everyone, myself included, in Southeast accepts and even welcomes managing fish for abundance (such as having salmon hatcheries) but managing the land for maximum yield of animals to be consumed is not nearly as accepted. For instance there is an ongoing debate about predator control, and forest managers can easily produce data that show how to increase deer, elk and moose populations yet forest management is largely not allowed. Transplanting elk and Sitka blacktail deer within coastal Alaska has been very successful yet many are uncomfortable with the elk management, perhaps especially the more recent management. A final observation is that some animals are not managed at all yet in some cases unregulated harvest is set aside for some Americans based upon race, and I wonder how this fits in the model of slow food in Juneau.
Kpawsuh - - I smell a movie script!
I guess that's why they call them catastrophies..... :)
A really bad earthquake in our immediate area - which broke up the runway as well as damaging/destroying powerlines/dams - and broke water mains? Could be ugly........or the script for a great 80's style movie....
Excellent food for thought! Alaska, BC & Yukon have farms too!
There is also another aspect to this issue. Our region doesn't do nearly enough trade with our neighbors. Anyone whom has purchased BC Okanogan cherries along Highway 37 understands that our friends to the north, east and south produce quite a bit of food. And they have to varying degrees sometimes been successful in doing so.
I for one enjoy a trips on highways outside Southeast which permit me to make those kinds of purchases, but I shouldn't have to do so all the time. It would be really expensive and time consuming for one. We've all experienced BC Hot-house tomatoes, which come to our market because they're less expensive than those from Mexico.
A farmer (and former Mayor) of Smithers, BC said they had commerce with Mat-Su and Deltal Alaska farmers for breeding stock and such, but that it had been precluded by USDA. And that they'd like to do so for milk and such as well. Can't think of anything better than fresh dated milk! Hmm, one wonders what the U.S. dairy industry lobby had to do with that kind of trade ending?
We do have challenges, but we are limited because we've not explored other means of securing our food. One means might be through our closest neighbors in Alaska, Yukon and BC.
Another means is by more local food production of our own. There was an article by Rich Moniak the other day about a Ketchikan couple who intend to produce food through greenhouses and hydroelectricity. This is a wonderful idea.
I understand that some of the village Native corporations are undertaking some investigation of such enterprises. Once they achieve lower costs for energy, one would think with their better solar endowment that food production would be a natural economic component.
Thanks for the thought provoking piece Darren!
Alaskan Teacher
I have been thinking of posting this several times and I finally will...
Alaskan Teacher, I have several friends who are teachers in Juneau, and each time you post, I wish you would change your ID Name so you would not "represent" all teachers.
Please consider an ID Change so you can voice your own opinions and not let your ID "represent" a group that has no control over your postings.
Although you may be an Alaskan Teacher, you shouldn't let your ID Name be representative of a large group in that way.