Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 10021 food supply. Given Japan’s dependency on both foreign food and energy, its economic success is quite unique, particularly in light of the fact that its citizens have the highest life-expectancy of any of the major developed nations. Worldwide, only Monaco surpasses Japan in this respect. Clearly, globalization has created greater in- ter-dependency among nations. However, by centralizing food systems, it has also created less resiliency. For example, in the United States, most communities and families are highly food insecure with little gardening, orchards, hunting and fishing, or farming capacity should incomes and distributions break down in a natural disas- ter or economic crisis. In these circumstances, the developing world’s more diversified produc- tion capacity may be an advantage. If reviewing the four Get Ready scenarios inspires you to think about the place in which you live, you will want to avoid places with underfunded liabilities, high overhead and poor infrastructure. Instead, consider locations with a surplus of food and water and reliable infrastructure. Taking economic action to build personal and local seed and food systems and resiliency is often a step in the right direction. Historically, the Victory Gardens planted in World War I & II in the US, Canada and Australia provide an exam- ple of what is possible. In the US, approximately 16 million victory gardens in homes, parks and community plots produced an estimated 9 mil- lion tons of fruits and vegetables. A more recent example is Pam Warhurst’s inspir- ing leadership in creating edible landscapes in her UK village. See: How We Can Eat Our Landscapes. If you are going to plant a tree or a bush in your yard, why not make it one that produces some- thing edible? IV. The Agricultural Industrial Complex There are aspects to the centralization of global agriculture since 1995 worth reviewing. You will find an outstanding selection of documentaries to help you understand these issues in our list of recommended Food Documentaries. Trade Agreements and Unions: With the fu- ture of the European Union in doubt and Pres- ident Trump’s withdrawal of the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the trade agreement juggernaut now seems to be faltering. Disaster Capitalism: One way to build export markets is to destroy the food self-sufficiency of another country. For examples of the phenome- non of food warfare, watch the documentary Life and Debt in Jamaica or read Dr. Dady Chery’s book on the US invasion of Haiti or listen to her interview on the Solari Report. GMOs: This is one of the most controver- sial areas of the corporate food model, as the adoption of GMOs has been dependent on documented instances of junk science and dirty politics. Opinions on the efficiency and safety of GMO food are highly divergent. There are also serious questions regarding the destruction of the integrity of our non-GMO seed supply and resistance to labeling that would allow consumers to make economic choices for themselves. I have lost faith in existing companies and governments to act with integrity on this subject: I now as- sume that all GMOs are not safe. The pushback against GMOs is growing. Intellectual Property: Giving corporations the right to patent life combined with other favor- able laws and regulatory treatments is changing the fundamental economics and resiliency of the food supply. Laws & Regulations: Well-capitalized compa- nies and investors can (and do) bring enormous political firepower to the legislative and regula- tory process. The results have included: