Michael was telling me about a talk he attended at Supernova by Tara Lemmey about what would happen in the event of a bioterrorist attack in the U.S., based on a study of the food distribution services that are currently in place. It's pretty frightening. The vulnerabilities of our food supply system are largely attributable by its very efficiency. There is, for example, no more than two days' supply of food in Manhattan. Should Manhattan be cut off from the rest of the country -- it is, after all, only accessible by bridge and tunnel -- the food situation would rapidly become dire. Michael said that the other place you would not want to live during a bioterrorist attack is the Midwest. This surprised me, because it is, after all, the center of American agriculture. But the variety of food that is produced there is not enough to sustain the region. Corn, soy beans, wheat is not enough. Everyone would get scurvy.

The Bay Area is actually a pretty good place to live in the event of a bioterrorist attack. The variety is good, San Francisco isn't an island, California's agriculture is more varied, and it isn't as hard to get to as the middle of the country. Because of Earthquake preparedness, a lot of people have several days supply of food and water in their basements. Probably even some left over from the Y2K paranoia.

All those earnest folks that have been encouraging you to buy locally? You should heed their warnings. Make sure your apples come from as near to you as possible, and aren't flown in, then trucked overland, from Chile.

LINK | 4:42 AM | TB

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