There’s a lot of talk about self-sufficiency, but it’s harder to achieve than you may realize. We have a lot to say on this topic, but we want to start by introducing you to a way of thinking about your dependency loops and how you can close them.

SwiftOnSecurity @SwiftOnSecurity

Nuclear war isn't about being incinerated, it's about mass starvation after the total collapse of market-optimized global supply logistics.

7:34 PM ∙ Mar 31, 2016

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I’m assuming you’re a fairly normal person who buys your food from the store, gets your water from a municipality, and lives very much on the grid. You’re dependent on a lot of things to live:

• Fertilizer manufacturers to enable farmers to grow food

• Farmers to grow the food

• Factories that process the food

• Trucks to deliver your goods to the store

• Oil to fuel those trucks

• Truck drivers to drive the trucks

• Stock clerks to unload the trucks and put the goods on the shelf

• Water treatment facilities to provide your water

• Electricity to pump the water

• Coal, natural gas, nuclear, or renewable energy to provide the electricity

• Materials to manufacture solar panels

OK, you get the idea. And even this absurdly long list is wildly oversimplified.

Let’s say you decide that you’re moving to the country to become “self-sufficient.” You buy a property with a well, you plant some gardens, and you raise some chickens. It takes time and work, but after a couple of years, you’re awash in vegetables, chicken meat, and eggs. But are you self-sufficient? You still need:

• Feed for the chickens

• Water for the chickens and gardens

• Electricity to pump water from the well

• Coal, natural gas, nuclear, or renewable energy to provide the electricity

• Fertilizer for the gardens

• Fuel for your tractor or tiller

• Seeds for the gardens

• Plus, everything listed above for the things you’re not growing yourself, like beef, band-aids, bullets, etc

You’re more resilient than before, but you’re still dependent on the system. Maybe you always will be to some degree. But we want to get you thinking about these things and plan ahead to mitigate those dependencies.