by
Tom Rawstorne
Daily Mail

Picture the
scene: ItÂ’s the end of January 2012 and already it is clear
the year to come will make that which has just passed seem something
of a picnic. The last strains of Auld Lang Syne had barely faded
before Greece defaulted on its debts. Over the next few weeks, Italy
and Spain will follow.

Across Britain
and the Continent, bank after bank goes down, a domino effect exacerbated
by panicking customers desperately withdrawing their savings. Where
three years ago the giants of High Street banking were seen as too
big too fail, now they are too big and too many for any Government
to save.

Panic ensues.
Within hours, the cashpoints are empty of money and the supermarket
shelves stripped bare.

To make matters
worse the country is hit by freezing weather. As temperatures plummet
and snow falls, the road network stalls to a grinding halt, while
large swathes of the country are hit by electricity blackouts.

The warning
by economists that Britain is just ‘nine meals from anarchy’
is brutally borne out. Unlike last summer, the rioters on the streets
aren’t looking for trainers and flat-screen TVs – just
food.

An absurd fantasy?
Perhaps so, but in an increasingly uncertain world, such a scenario
can no longer be dismissed out of hand. And strange as it may seem,
itÂ’s one that many believe is worth preparing for.

Across the
country, steps are being taken to cope with such a situation. But
not by central or local government. Their contingency planning for
such an emergency is focused on the most important and most vulnerable
in society.

Instead it
is ordinary people who are taking action: stockpiling their larders
with non-perishable food, buying water-purifying pumps and camping
stoves.

While five
years ago such behaviour might have been dismissed as the activities
of ‘end-of-the-world’ eccentrics, those doing so today
are professionals from every walk of life.

Companies selling
freeze-dried food rations, sealed in giant air-tight multi-serving
tins and with a shelf-life of 25 years, have seen sales soar in
recent months – increasing ten-fold compared to previous years.

Most popular
are the packs of instant meals that will keep a family of four going
for three months once water is added. At around £1,500 they
are not cheap. But many of those buying these emergency rations
see them as a wise investment – and they are well-placed to
make such a judgment.

‘It is
not “crazies” buying this,’ says James Blake, whose
company Emergency Food Storage specialises in freeze-dried foods.
‘We get a lot of high-powered business people as customers.
Most people buy insurance for their health, their house or their
life – this is food insurance.

‘Of course,
we hope it never happens, but if there is a major catastrophe, then
money is not going to be worth much after a couple of days. It will
be food that becomes the most needed thing.Â’

Dave Hannah
and his company B-Prep sell similar products. He says a number of
his customers are bankers. Their average spend is £3,000.

Of course,
that might just be sales talk: stoking paranoia to boost company
profits.

But thereÂ’s
no doubt some families are stocking up in preparation for harsh
times ahead. Among them is 51-year-old Lynda Mayall from Poole in
Dorset.

The divorced
mother-of-four – she has 17-year-old twin girls and boys aged
18 and 19 – has suffered since the credit crunch took hold.

She was forced
to close her domestic cleaning company and now teaches English as
a foreign language and helps to train counsellors.

Her work is
intermittent – while she had a two-month contract in the summer
she is currently surviving on a few hoursÂ’ work a week. As
a result, she has become acutely aware of how important it is to
have sufficient food stored to feed her family.

As well as
buying several hundred pounds worth of freeze-dried ‘survival’
meals, her cupboards contain more than 100 tins of beans, fish,
soup and vegetables. She also has stocks of pasta and rice.

Read
the rest of the article

December
20, 2011

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© 2011 Daily
Mail