Rice
I spend a lot of time at work looking at worst case scenarios and putting together disaster recovery plans. These days we use cloud backup as part of a lot of our solutions The customer will often ask what happens if the internet fails, and my standard reply, delivered in a jokey voice, is that if the internet itself went down they’d probably be worrying less about business continuity and more about how to keep the zombie hordes out of their house.

After a trotting this out a few dozen times I actually spent a boring tube journey carrying out a more formal risk assessment and this led me into doing a little research. Did you know that between 1900 and 2000 rationing in some shape or form was in force in the UK for total of 18 years? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationing_in_the_United_Kingdom). Let’s face it, if you had an 18% risk in business you’d take steps to insure against it.

Now start thinking about how food production works. the UK is around 60% self-sufficient in food overall, and around 74% self-sufficient in the types of food that can be grown here, though our potential capacity for self-sufficiency is probably closer to 90% thanks to intensive farming technologies. (http://files.uniteddiversity.com/Food/rethinking_britains_food_security.pdf). However this production capacity depends almost entirely upon petrochemicals, as does the supply chain. The UK holds strategic fuel and food reserves, but these have now been run down to less than a week’s equivalent of national consumption, so we would rely almost exclusively on the existing retail capacity. Strategic fuel reserves are in better shape at 67.5 days at normal national consumption rates, and far longer if rationing were introduced.

Assuming international supply of food ceased, for a week or two food would still get delivered to shops from existing reserves, and after that things would start breaking down. Rationing would have to be draconian, and fuel would almost certainly be reserved for essential services and farming. After three months you could expect to see substantial drop off in food supply, followed by starvation, looting (not for trainers this time), civil unrest, and inevitably Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA), which is what we call martial law. Contingencies plans already exist for this and similar scenarios, and while I am not privy to the fine detail I am sure that they do not make pretty reading for the populations of large cities where civil control would be most difficult and populations would be considered expendable.

There are a number of scenarios that would interrupt food or fuel production, ranging from full on nuclear war through to use of nuclear EMPs which apparently the Chinese are researching. Or the French may just get arsey with us and stop sending cheese. Frankly given that a 25kg bag of rice costs less than £20 and will keep a person alive for a couple of months I’d say you’d be stupid not to keep a bag under the bed so that you are able to fully experience the pleasures of surviving in a post-apocalyptic world.
(strongp, Tue 19 Jun 2012, 13:08, 6 replies)

If it's rice & tvp
b3ta.com/questions/thegreatoutdoors/post1576780
I'm going to become a king by hoarding those little tomato sauce packets.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Tue 19 Jun 2012, 13:14, closed)

Yes I once had to survive on TVP for a week or so - but if I'm at home I'll be OK cos I can eat the carpets instead. Tell me where you live and come the apocalypse I can come over and murder you for your sachets. Please.
(strongp, Tue 19 Jun 2012, 16:28, closed)

I like it!
Apart from the spurious reasoning about 18% malarkey.
(The Kwyjibo A big, dumb, balding North American ape., Tue 19 Jun 2012, 17:04, closed)

Spurious indeed
We've been in a Hundred Years War for 15% of the past 645 years. I trust the OP has full contingency plans for another one.
(ubergeekian, Tue 19 Jun 2012, 21:44, closed)

My Dad was born in 1943 ...
All his early growth years were under Rationing. He survived, but he is 5'8 with hands and feet like dinner plates. My brother is 6'7.
(Que?, Wed 20 Jun 2012, 0:21, closed)

That's nature at its ironic cruellest.
Hands and feet like dinner plates in a time of rationing. Cuh. *shakes head*
(judgetheobscure used to sweep in butchers' shops., Wed 20 Jun 2012, 13:21, closed)