UK advised to stockpile food as Russian Attack fears grow

I probably have a siege mentality .

Certainly since going to the supermarket during Covid and finding most of the shelves empty means that I have kept supplies of essentials even if it means a cluttered kitchen .
All pointless if we have a nuclear attack .

FriedGreenTomatoes2

This is straight out of the Soviet political guidebook. "Keep your citizens in a state of alarm to keep them in a state of compliance".

Covid masks anyone?

Yes I've still got face masks and hand gel. Does hand gel have an expiry date?

Water? Well if it ever rains the water butts will fill up. Maybe we could boil that. I really don't agree with bottled water.

Food cupboards are fairly full. We were a family of 8 so a stocked pantry and freezers is still a habit.

DH tends to get whisky for birthdays and Christmas. He does drink it but not in the volume our DC think he does. He will be ok if the worst happens.

Running a bit low on toilet rolls and wine. So need to do a supermarket dash.

I will double my wine order on my Waitrose delivery, along with extra breadsticks and snacks.

That will keep me going for a week or so…

I m of the mindset that I ll eat what’s available if nothings available I ll lose some weight
I HATE scaremongering and I also dislike people getting sucked into it. What happened in Covid ……I didn’t get phased by all the empty shelves I knew they d stock up again one day we all eat too much anyway
I ve never had a stockpile mentality, simple life style

Every government in Europe is issuing similar guidance. That is because there is a genuine threat, not because they are scaremongering. If people don’t take sensible precautions to prepare themselves for the unexpected, and keep enough food and water in their homes to last for a week with no access to gas or electricity (NB not a massive stockpile!) , some cash, and some means of communication device in case there is no internet connectivity, they are in my opinion being very foolish.

I cannot see what the fuss is about. The government has always had 'Home front' preparation plans and has in the past sent leaflets and pamphlets out to households or run advertising campaigns.

This is just more of the usual.

I think we have become complacent as we had a peace cushion, and governments have not enforced the message to be prepared in the last thirty of forty years. Now we are getting what is really a wake up call that the world is getting more dangerous, and we are not as safe as we think. We can listen, or ignore what we should have been doing all along.

You do realise that if there is no electricity, the sewage system will fail, so all that loo roll will be useless!

1907 'Be Prepared' dib dib dib
It's not a new concept.

Mamardoit

Water? Well if it ever rains the water butts will fill up. Maybe we could boil that. I really don't agree with bottled water.

Do a Google AI search - "Rainwater absorbs atmospheric pollutants, including microplastics, industrial chemicals, and forever chemicals (PFAS). Boiling actually concentrates these chemicals as the pure water evaporates. In a dire emergency, boiling rain butt water will prevent acute bacterial sickness, but it should never be used as a regular source of drinking water without advanced filtration."

So don't do it.

Bottled water is a necessary evil. Water is essential to life.

The initial flow of sewage from your home is dependent on gravity veronica678, so if you have water you can manually flush your toilet for a while.

GrannyGravy13

The only thing everyone should do is have cash in the house…

Some months ago a friend advised just this. So, along with my cans of beans & and water supplies, I have a smallish stash of cash kept in a fire and water proof wallet in a secret place known only to me and one daughter. Who know whether it’ll be required but as a short term girl guide I learnt to always ‘Be Prepared’ 😉

veronica678

You do realise that if there is no electricity, the sewage system will fail, so all that loo roll will be useless!

Then it’s having a garden to dig a latrine.

Worth*

Isn't a cyber attack an attack on computer systems? How would that affect food on our shelves? Perhaps the time has come to ensure that all services to have non digital back up plans.

Dickens

Mamardoit

Water? Well if it ever rains the water butts will fill up. Maybe we could boil that. I really don't agree with bottled water.

Do a Google AI search - "Rainwater absorbs atmospheric pollutants, including microplastics, industrial chemicals, and forever chemicals (PFAS). Boiling actually concentrates these chemicals as the pure water evaporates. In a dire emergency, boiling rain butt water will prevent acute bacterial sickness, but it should never be used as a regular source of drinking water without advanced filtration."

So don't do it.

Bottled water is a necessary evil. Water is essential to life.

That's interesting.

I think that might be a project for DH. We still have the old pressure cooker in the garage. He could distill the water. All he needs is some of that rubber tubing. I'm sure he could source that on the internet.

I will set him on making a plan for digging a latrine in the garden too. I think we will need a wide plank of wood with a hole in it. I hope he can find one that will take my weight.

I think this is all about alerting us to the possibility that Russia will use all kinds of attacks to destabilise the West in the future, but that’s only if Putin is still alive.
Nobody here should start stockpiling food right now.

Dylis

Isn't a cyber attack an attack on computer systems? How would that affect food on our shelves? Perhaps the time has come to ensure that all services to have non digital back up plans.

A cyber attack will affect everything. Food production/distribution, NHS, water and power supply. Everything.

That is why some are saying have cash too. Cards won't work even if there is food to buy.

It won't be like the 3 day week or the winter of discontent. Back then there was still manual back up for everything.

Calendargirl

nanna8

I wouldn’t have thought water would be a problem there. Maybe here where we are the driest continent on earth. During the war the uk managed just fine and I am sure they could go it alone again if necessary. Very fertile land and plenty of rainfall.

The war was 80 years ago, things have changed a bit.

Solar panels covering farmland, climate change causing heatwaves.

Many parts of the country have had no rain for ages, and none forecasted. Hosepipe bans in many areas. Reservoirs empty and none being built, or not enough to cope with the ever expanding population.

Just like the third world it's population growth is a big problem for the UK we really do have to get serious about it.

J52

veronica678

You do realise that if there is no electricity, the sewage system will fail, so all that loo roll will be useless!

Then it’s having a garden to dig a latrine.

Quite, J52.
And we will still want to wipe afterwards, veronica678.
Paper will be all the more important then, if the water supply is disrupted!

All these shelves full of baked beans. We'll have no problem fuelling the camping gas stoves.

If you seldom eat baked beans normally, there are other (less explosive) ways to get protein, and stocking up on tins of stuff you DO eat would be more sensible - if there is no emergency, they will get used in ordinary meals before they are out of dat, and replaced.

Maybe suggestions for tinned meals that are tasty, long-lasting and quick to heat up, which you would eat in non-emergency, would be useful?

I'll start with Stockwell's Stewed Steak in gravy. As a meal in normal times, it makes an excellent pie if you empty it into a pie-dish, put a pastry top on it and bake it, and without the pastry it could be heated up over a camping stove with tinned potatoes and tinned carrots if the power failed.

The government is also preparing us mentally to not mind a lot more spending on defence.

Burnham should find the money for the Defence budget.

Oreo

The government is also preparing us mentally to not mind a lot more spending on defence.

What does that mean please?

Elegran your recipe reminds me of being a hard up student. One of my favourites was tinned meat balls, sauté onion, add a tin of tomatoes, a good pinch of curry powder and served with pasta of choice. Sometimes topped off with cheese if feeling flush. Fed all four of us in the flat.
Fortunately we have an allotment, so hopefully would survive on stored veg, jam and pickles. We might be able to barter our surplus!