Many of us (myself included) place self-sufficiency in food at the top of our priority list. Despite our best efforts, we inevitably fall short. Why do fail to accomplish this seemingly simple objective? Our forefathers grew most of their own food, so why can’t we? That is the question this article proposes to answer.
The Problem
If we are to find an answer, we must first define our problem. Is total self-sufficiency what we really want? It may be, but unfortunately, we can never achieve such a goal. Even our forefathers could never achieve such a thing. They may have performed what appears to be impossible feats today, such as clearing forests with their own backs, but nevertheless they still depended on a wide-spread system of production for many of their needs. They bought their tools, and many of their basic foodstuffs like coffee, sugar and flour. The first colonies in America half-starved the first year, and were dependent on supplies shipped from England. While we have the aid of vastly improved technology since our ancestors, that makes us even more dependent on established industry for our tools and many of our supplies.
While the first problem with complete self-sufficiency … Read the rest