A Personal Stockpile: A Step Towards Preparedness

I hate to sound like a doomsday prepper, but over the last month, I’ve been stockpiling food. If you can afford to, I strongly suggest you do the same. My reserves include 25kg of rice, 15kg of dried chickpeas, 15kg of bread flour, 7kg of chapati flour, 5kg of oats, six litres of vegetable oil, tinned tomatoes, nuts, and dried fruit. Combined with homegrown vegetables, this should sustain my family for about two months.

While I hope I never need to rely on this stash, I view it as a form of insurance. If no crisis unfolds, we will simply consume it over time. Some may see hoarding as selfish, but I believe it’s a pro-social act. Stocking up when supplies are stable reduces demand in a crisis. Ideally, community stockpiling and resilience planning would be widespread. Unfortunately, we can’t afford to wait for government action.

 

A Fragile Global Food System

While researching my book Regenesis, I uncovered the alarming over-reliance of food-importing nations on the United States. Nearly 60% of the world’s farmed calories come from just four crops—wheat, rice, maize, and soybeans. A handful of super-exporters control these essential food supplies, with the U.S. among the biggest players.

Even if deliberate trade restrictions seem unlikely, the real risk lies in unexpected supply chain disruptions. Factors such as software outages, military conflicts blocking key transport routes, or the collapse of food industry giants could spark a global food crisis. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s unpredictable policies have already heightened global instability, making disruptions more likely.

Environmental factors add another layer of risk. Climate change has led to extreme weather fluctuations, shifting from droughts to floods with increasing frequency. This “whiplash effect” threatens synchronized crop failures in crucial growing regions, pushing the food system closer to collapse.

 

The Warnings Are Clear, but Governments Ignore Them

Since 2015, multiple studies have likened the global food system to the financial system before the 2008 crash—structurally unsound and vulnerable. Key signs of collapse include widening fluctuations in commodity prices, reduced crop diversity, and a loss of systemic resilience. Governments managed to prevent financial disaster by injecting money into the economy. But in a food crisis, there’s no equivalent—printing money won’t create food.

Some countries have taken precautions. China, Japan, Switzerland, and Norway maintain grain stockpiles to protect against shortages and stabilize prices. The UK, however, refuses to disclose whether it has any strategic food reserves. When I questioned government officials, they dodged my inquiries with the excuse of “national security.” Even Boris Johnson’s administration was more transparent, admitting in 2020 that no such reserves existed.

The National Preparedness Commission recently criticized this secrecy, warning that failing to engage the public in food security planning is a dangerous strategy. The UK government has consistently ignored opportunities to enhance resilience, instead placing blind trust in a commercial food sector that operates on precarious just-in-time logistics.

 

What Needs to Change?

Stockpiling is just one part of the solution. To truly safeguard against food shortages, we need systemic changes:

• Reforming Agricultural Standards: UK supermarkets and food processors impose strict cosmetic and quality requirements on produce and grains. Many perfectly edible crops are discarded because they don’t meet arbitrary standards. Relaxing these rules could increase the amount of food available for human consumption.
  
  
• Reducing Animal Agriculture: The majority of farmland in the UK—85%—is used to feed livestock. Even sheep, often assumed to live solely on grass, consume massive amounts of cereals and oilseeds. Shifting towards plant-based diets could drastically improve food security while also benefiting the environment.
  
  
• Investing in Food Technology: Precision fermentation and other alternative protein sources could reduce reliance on imports, strengthening the UK’s self-sufficiency in food production.
  
  
• Breaking Up Corporate Monopolies: The food industry is controlled by a handful of powerful corporations. Strengthening anti-trust laws and reducing intellectual property barriers could create a more resilient and decentralized food system.
  
  
• Understanding Soil Better: The UK remains heavily dependent on imported fertilizers. Investing in soil science could enable us to maintain high yields with fewer chemical inputs, making agriculture more sustainable.
  
  

Stockpiling Alone Isn’t Enough—We Need Collective Action

While my personal food reserves offer some peace of mind, I know that true security requires collective action. If a crisis hits, personal stockpiles won’t protect the most vulnerable members of society. Governments have a duty to ensure that no one goes hungry, regardless of their financial situation.

Food security should not be left to individual households. We need policies that prioritize resilience, transparency, and sustainability. Until then, I’ll keep my shelves stocked—not out of paranoia, but because I know that in a fragile system, preparation is the only safety net we have.