Is the United States 9 meals away from anarchy?

From Their Newsletter

FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, urges all Americans to have at least a 3-day supply of non-perishable food and water in case of emergency. We agree ... especially when you consider their track record at providing disaster relief.

We’re not talking, though, about cans of soup and peanut butter and crackers. Because while those items are indeed non-perishable, they aren’t really portable. In an emergency situation where you need to leave in a hurry, canned soups and jars of peanut butter are going to be heavy. And those crackers will get smashed.

That’s why we like 72-Hour Kits. Each 72-Hour Kit is designed for one person and includes four servings per day for 3 days. They are airtight, compact, and best of all, lightweight ... and they’re shelf stable for years (far longer than those cans of soup and boxes of crackers in your pantry). I’ll tell you more about our 72-Hour Kit in a moment.

But first, consider this:

You might think you can make it 3 days without food, and you probably can, but do you really want to? When food supplies are cut off, irritabilitysets in within half a day. (Imagine being cooped up for days with family or even strangers who are just as hungry and irritable as you are.)

Within one day ... or less if you have blood sugar or other health issues ... your ability to make good decisions is affected. Your cognitive processes are not firing on all cylinders, and in an emergency, you need to be able to think clearly. Within two days, you’ll probably be experiencinggnawing stomach pains. You may be able to stand it, but do you want to watch your loved ones suffer like that?

And if the emergency - and lack of access to food - goes on past three days, forget about it. Within a week, you’re probably too weak to stand. Your vision becomes blurry. You won’t be able to think straight, much less do what you need to do to weather the emergency.

It’s worth planning for “just in case,” wouldn’t you agree?

9 Meals From Anarchy

In 2000, the British coined a saying that should inspire everyone to get prepared. In that year, fuel protests broke out across England. British oil refineries were blockaded by the protestors and the resupply of fuel came to a standstill. Trucking and distribution was crippled. Supermarket owners warned government officials that there were just three days of food left. The nation was, it was said, nine meals away from anarchy. That’s 72 hours ... and it can seem like a lifetime if you’re hungry.

We face the same 72-hour logistics barrier here in the U.S. One major civil disturbance, one earthquake, one blizzard, one hurricane ... and we, too, are looking at the “9 meals from anarchy” phenomenon. (And that’s a major reason why FEMA encourages every citizen to have a 72-hour supply of emergency food on hand.)

In a perfect world, every home would have 72-Hour Emergency Meal Kits for every person. You can’t control the world around you, but you can control your own preparedness.