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Invest in Food
......Submitted by Bullion Bulls Canada - Written by Jeff Nielson - (click for original)
(Independantly written)
At first glance, the title to this commentary seems facile, especially to those readers in higher income brackets. The reality, however, is that “investing in food” is a risk-free means of generating an annual return on one’s investment that would likely exceed the return one could earn on almost any other investment – despite the fact that nearly all other asset classes carry significant risks.
Indeed, with many asset classes currently at extreme “bubble” levels in their valuations (notably stocks,bonds, and real estate), the term “risk” is gross understatement. Putting any new money into any such assets (or simply keeping one’s wealth exposed to these sectors) is nothing less than financial suicide. In comparison to financial suicide; the opportunity for a risk-free return on one’s investing today obviously merits further scrutiny.
It is in this environment of extreme financial risk and perpetually spiraling food prices where we consider the proposition of food as an investment asset class. We begin by looking at the “fundamentals” of this market/investment class. And what we see (from this perspective) is extremely encouraging: food prices consistently soaring by roughly 20% per year, and significantly more for some categories of food (notably meat products).
With soaring food costs being a serious drain on the budgets of most families, our challenge is to find some way of turning this financial drain into a means of preserving/protecting our wealth: by investing in food. Regardless of one’s economic bracket; this is an investment opportunity which can be pursued by all of us.
Even those living in small apartments almost certainly have at least one closet whose space can be ‘sacrificed’ in order to capitalize on this risk-free opportunity. For those with more expansive residences; perhaps they have an entire room (rooms?) which can be devoted to “food investment”.
The proposition behind investing in food is simple. With all of us being food-consumers; we would greatly benefit by being able to pay “today’s prices” for particular food products, rather than the inflated prices of next month, six months from now, a year from now, etc. The longer we were/are able to continue paying today’s price, the greater the future savings.
It is this “future savings” which represents the risk-free return on our investment. At that point; the total, potential return on our investment is the product of four factors:
1) The total amount of space available for food storage (along with the types/categories of food one is capable of storing).
2) The total “shelf life” of particular categories of food products.
3) The annual “food inflation” rate.
4) Our own monthly/annual food consumption.
With the majority of people now living in multi-unit housing of some sort, where the total living space is relatively modest; the first factor may be the greatest limitation on the potential return from this investment. For those (more fortunate) individuals able to devote entire rooms (or perhaps a garage) to such investing; the earning/savings potential will be significantly greater.
There is also the issue of what specific types of food products one is capable of storing. Obviously “non-perishable goods” is the general category of food product which immediately comes to mind. However, for those individuals ready/willing/able to devote freezer-space to their food investing, suddenly the opportunity for savings and earnings is considerably expanded.
With meat/fish/poultry being near the top of the list when it comes to the food-inflation spiral; having a large freezer available for investing expands this investment opportunity. Indeed, for the average family; the annual savings on their food bill from a freezer full of meat would likely pay for the freezer itself, with the “investor” then able to earn an additional, annual return from this category of investing.
This brings us to our second factor, as we consider the practical parameters/limitations of investing in food. Many non-perishable goods can be stored almost indefinitely. Some can only be (safely) stored for a year or two. And in the case of food we store in a freezer; the shelf-life is likely no more than a year, and considerably less for many freezer goods.
The first two factors define our “capacity” for investing in food: total storage space available, and the length of time those goods can be stored (and still consumed). Once the food investor has calculated (and utilized) his/her capacity for this form of investing, our savings/profit becomes a simple function of the food-inflation rate.
The higher the inflation rate on the particular categories of goods we have stored, the greater our savings/profit. Thus this makes it incumbent on the food investor to carefully consider how best to allocate available storage space, and (for some) the available dollars to fund their food-investing. The better the job that the investor does on choosing his/her categories of products for storage, the greater the return.
Of course even with infinite space/dollars available for food investment, there is a final, practical reality which will act as a constraint for most of us when it comes to food investment: our own consumption-rate. Obviously, if we “invest” in a five-year supply of a particular food product which can only be stored safely for two years, we have misallocated funds, as some of our “investment” would spoil before we could consume it – and lock-in our profit.
We also need to consider the bulk of particular goods. A particular non-perishable item may be able to be safely stored for several years, but if it’s extremely bulky, it still might represent a “poor investment”. Conversely, items such as spices represent relatively high value/savings, while requiring minimal space, and have an extremely long shelf-life. It is partly for this reason that spices were quasi-currencies in previous, historical eras.
For homeowners, who have considerable living space, but (for whatever reason) have little storage space available for food investing; building a structure for food storage, such as a shed or (expanded) garage is a cost outlay which would likely pay for itself over a relatively short-term period – at which point the storage space would then generate a permanent, risk-free return.
One qualification must be added here, in order to account for the limited down-side to investing in food. With food prices soaring at an uneven rate; should we happen to purchase a particular category of food product at the peak of some spike in price, it is certainly within the realm of possibility that prices for that category of food could potentially decline – temporarily – thus reducing our overall return.
However, opposite to that very limited quasi-risk, we face the very real prospect of an imminent explosion in food prices, which would dwarf even the horrific spiral of (in particular) the past 10 years. Regular readers have seen the chart below many times in the past:
This insane, suicidal explosion in the U.S. monetary base does not suggest that the U.S. will face hyperinflation (of the U.S. dollar) in some relatively near-term horizon; it guarantees it. As we see the Euro-zone just (proudly) announce the conjuration of more than a trillion, new units of its own funny-money, and as we see the corrupt/incompetent Harper regime relentlessly destroy the Canadian dollar; obviously other Western populations will meet a similar fate with their own, paper funny-money.
While we can sacrifice consumption of many categories of goods in the face of a hyperinflationary spiral, we cannot avoid food consumption. At some point (likely between the end of this year and the middle of 2016); we will face an economic crisis characterized by the deflationary crashes of all the bubble-assets, with ‘sympathetic’ crashes for most other asset classes.
However, what readers need to understand is that a purely “deflationary” crash is no longer possible for thebankrupt regimes of the Western world. In order for any national economy to deflate; it must have savings it can cannibalize, in order to survive that deflationary shock (as was the case in “the Great Depression”).
The debtor-regimes of the West not only have no savings, most are already hopelessly insolvent, and teetering on bankruptcy, despite the lies to the contrary by the Corporate media, and our own, corrupt governments. In the revenue crisis which accompanies any deflationary crash; our insolvent governments will have two – and only two – choices: declare outright bankruptcy, or conjure-up their funny-money in quantities that dwarf even the sickening spike represented by the previous chart.
Such insanity would guarantee a full, hyperinflationary death-spiral in a matter of weeks, or several months at most, despite the near omnipotence of the One Bank when it comes to its currency manipulation. Indeed, this is why the less-corrupt East is not only busily crafting its own parallel financial system, next to the doomed financial/monetary Ponzi-scheme currently operated by the West, it’s about to assume control of the new, reserve currency: China’s renminbi.
For Western inhabitants, about to be devastated by a financial/economic cataclysm which is literally beyond the comprehension of any of us; we have two choices when it comes to protecting ourselves (apart fromsignificant holdings of gold and silver). Invest in food, or move to China.
......Submitted by Bullion Bulls Canada - Written by Jeff Nielson - (click for original)
(Independantly written)
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Time to prep:
http://www.prepperwebsite.com/
speculating parasites
invest in yourself to grow your own food,
then you can trade the over supply for other goods/services.
The '72 hour' rule. Especially if you live within a 10 mile radius of a major metropolitan center.
I'll take the otherside of that trade. Now that oil has been knocked down and the "savings" used for Obamacare, the next big item on the average consumers list, food, will take a hit to pay for "healthcare". Its all about the flow.
Given Sprott's recent track record on PMs, I think my bet is fairly safe.
The only way to lower your hunger is to reduce your inflammation by detoxifying your body of infections.
The three parts of infections are toxic metals and chemicals like fluoride and mercury, calcium plaque and pathogens or bugs.
Everyone would be smart to make detox an important goal if they want to live a healthy and independent life.
Read natural healing detox articles on naturalnews.com and mercola.com for natural remedies to try. Everyone is different with different remedies that will work in your individual case.
I'm getting good results with Zeolite for metal removal and magnesium chloride for plaque reduction. Other popular detox agents are natto, cilantro and lipsomal vitamin C.
Good luck and keep an open mind. Your survival will probably depend on natural methods of health maintenance and independence.
"Invest in food"
Ya because there is so much surplus profit in producing quality food that we really need wealthy people with too much money to help syphon off some of it.
DIcks!
Get some seeds as well...
http://www.rareseeds.com/
http://www.rareseeds.com/request-our-catalog/
As far as I'm concerned, this company has the largest selection of heirloom seeds out there. Ordered from them in the past, and the veggies taste far better than the standard GMO fare.
nah.
be like muzz
invest in agribiz
the opium poppy way!
Get your seed here www.humbleseed.com and grow'em here www.myveggiestand.com. Ate heatlhy, saved alot $$$ (above what it cost to get started) and learned many invaluable things last year growing my own food. Hell-it was actually a lot of fun too.
Food and firewood...better than money in the bank. Ive been telling people this for years. It usually falls on deaf ears, though.
Seeds for sale.. payment in Silver or Bullets only
I have been pursuing this strategy since after the 2008 crash and have learned a great deal on shelf life. Lots of items i.e. grains, rice have extremely long shelf life. Buying Par Boiled rice for instance is the way to go if you use lots of rice. Why the heat treatment of par boiling not only provides a quality improvement in the rice. It also eliminated the pests you may get in regular rice because of the heat treatment. It will also take less energy to prepare (cook) since it is partially cooked already. No brainer. Sams sells 25/lb cubes of Riceland Parboiled for around $11 great deal and product.
While Jeff thinks most foods will last only about a year in the freezer I disagree its all about the packaging especially for meats and fat content. For instance an un-opened roll of Jimmy Dean sausage makes 2 years easy its lean as sausage goes and the packaging is superior. Rancidity of Fat is the primary culprit with taste alteration so leaner meats will typically have longer freezer life than fattier ones. Tight and thick overwrap and then placed in a freezer bag will buy you more time. Vacuum sealing also adds shelf life.
Frozen processed foods like pizza...shelf life sucks few things in life are as disgusting as a CA. Pizza Kitchens frozen pizza that is 6 months old. Crappy packaging and Lots of Surface area are primary contributors to flavor degradation. So don't load up on this type of product. Compress your surface area as much as you can. Most of the decline will be on the exposed surface. I have eaten 3 year old aged vacuum sealed prime filet that were +95% as good as he day they went in the freezer, taste, texture and color.
Canned foods are for the most part always good for at least a couple of years beyond code dates. Most much longer you don't have to go "Full Prepper" most foods with excellant storage qualities are better purchased at grocery/Sams/Costco
When I get on my soapbox on resiliency this is the most no brainer area to go but it does require you pay attention to what you have and devote a couple of times a year to food rotation. Making sure you are not forgetting about your inventory. As Jeff sez its the easiest money you can make and Uncle Screw doesn't get his hands on the gain. Oh course having food security is piece of mind.
Full disclosure I have worked in the Food production and Food Service Industry for 38 years and an undergrad in Agri-Bus. We also grow significant amounts of our own veg and fruit needs.
Good Luck
Great post. The author is for the most part, preaching to the chior with this article, but there is always something new to learn.
The only suggestion of his I take issue with is the idea of storage in a garage. The seasonal temperature swings will cut down on shelf-life by a lot. A cool, dry basement that maintains a steady temperature year round is a much better bet. Extra space in your garage is much better used for storing tools and materials. And believe me in a situation where your food storage has become that important, tools and materials will be very important too.
The best investment in food is to cut your caloric intake in half and lose the fat you're bleeding money to feed.
I agree, lean and mean is the way to go, it allows your body to naturally detoxify better as well.
Though if we ever do have a panic and collapse scenario, that 450lb fat guy on disability might actually have the best prep of all.
So you store 3-6mo max of beans & rice in a closet; then what? Not worth while to do, I'd prefer to just lower my caloric intake and blend in with the looters. Just saying...
You do know that if it comes down to that, all of my ideals and morals are going to go out the window, and I'll become very trigger happy and very judgemental.
+++
Although I would hope that my humanity would remain in tact, split-second decision making, heavily biased in my favor, would become SOP quite fast.
I hate to break this to you, but that's a winning strategy only as long as the grocery store and Quickie Mart shelves continue to magically restock themselves after they've been looted by the masses.
...because so many truckers will be willing to deliver to stores in the next Ferguson.
I read a similar article in the Zimbabwe Times
Yeah, but it couldn't happen here. This is the USA, and we are invincible.
It is not widely known that 5,000,000 Americans starved to death in the Great Depression of the 1930s. Hard times are coming.
If you can, STOCK UP and hide it from looters.
Excellent point.
Most Americans can't put their hands on a mere $2000 within 24 hours. Most Americans can't feed themselves for more than a week if the stores close. This will result in many willingly entering Hillary's "Fun Camps," just to get fed.
Please don't ignore the message of this post. Get food; get it now.
Hillary "Fun Camps" are unequivocally the scariest thing I've ever heard of. That's saying alot because this world is fucked up.
with california under the dry thumb of the elites, your post is even more relevant. good to see this subject. at this point even the poorest can buy some food to store away each week. woolsley, former head of cia, is a prepper. I just read what he said, he said one emp attack will put the us down for at least a year, and 90% of americans wont survive a year. That, is from HIM. And he has planned for that personally, and his home outside of DC, has full off the grid capacities. solar. Lovely. the rest of us dont have his set up, but we can have a go to location, and save some food, and products. Just do some weekly. Even a little. emp thing may not happen. But wierd to see him doing this.
The dumbfucks here in CA WON'T impose a new housing moritorium, THAT'S SUICIDE!
Too bad it's outside DC. Kinda negates the advantages of prepping/off the grid capabilities...
Long Faraday cages...
Definitely room for a start-up here given this:
http://www.directindustry.com/industrial-manufacturer/faraday-cage-78311...
Would an EMP fry his off grid capabilities?
A question I have asked to no avail repeatedly, and the solar industry (inverters, charge controllers, etc.) need to step up with answers. For me, keeping potentially vulnerable system components in Faraday protection until the balloon goes up is the low-risk solution.
duplicate
Is there food in China? It's a global market now. America has a strong agribussiness. I sell tons of nuts and soybeans to Asia. What the fuck are you saying, in a global Weimar event I should stop farming and move to a population-dense part of the world? fuck you, you useless paper pushing fuck.
What about buying DBC here, although it's 40% energy? It's made a 5-yr dbl bottom on a chart
Invest in water. Without water there is no food.
READ THIS http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/03/25/california-water-wars/
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/state/2015/03/24/Drought-watch-issued-f...
Forgive the intrusion but, please, tell us more about your farming business.
I just assumed he was kidding about move to china. I do think some zh authors throw comedy in their writing. Wish we had a barrrons Ableson type writing here. Speaking truth as he saw it, but loaded with humor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOU1nDTPg38
Your link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOU1nDTPg38
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????
Lost me in the sub headline: "risk free".
Yeah. In the event of an emergency you will be labelled a "horder" and all your food will be taken away by G-men.
In the event that those food stores are necessary nation wide, the government will collapse or be in a state of collapsing. You will actually stand a chance if you shoot back.
Yeah, they'll try to grab the big warehouses first. Of course they'll have to kill a few thousand rioters first......
And after that point, with your average government worker being worried about where they're going to get food, government will start to break down. People will start thinking things that they never thought before with regards to fellow man, government and their role in society. Nobody will be immune.
Only if your dumb enough to brag about it. It's a lifestyle choice but not the Apple iWhatever type choice. Food riots will be high on the list of bad things to happen and just like PM's you buy it BEFORE you need it.
why dont you invest in deez? deez nutz. they are a great source of protein and can be harvested in under two minutes!