do you think this would or will happen?

Yes it could get very scary. I hope it dont come to that but for warned Don't worry about the hounds in the yard just the Man with the gun

In England way back when, when many people had left or been forced from the land, a system was set up where blocks of unused land were divided in "allottments", so that landless people could grow vegetables, and keep a few chickens. The system there is still in operation.
Maybe it's time to push for something like that on the outskirts of towns and cities in North America. There are the 'regular' thieves who seem to have no conscience, but I don't see that starving people who steal food should be lumped into the same category.
People who are not making a move to become more self sufficient and could be in the position of trying to find enough to eat, could be divided into two categories: Those that have the resources and could buy land and grow their own, but see no urgency (or think the idea is ridiculous), and those that don't have that choice as they are just scraping by now. Would those of you prepared to shoot to kill to secure the vegetable garden feel the same way if it was a hungry mom with kids to feed?
In biblical times the poorest of the poor were at least allowed to glean the fields. Perhaps the churches should get on board with the "allottment" idea. I believe in England it was originally church land that was used, and later on became public land with the program administered by the local government.

careful - there was a guy who shot at a group of kids who his son said were threatening him. that guy is in jail now
http://www.wnbc.com/news/15641857/detail.html

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There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.

I do believe it will get worse considering I am still waiting to hear the out come of the people stealing one of my piglets last Tuesday morning at 1am. Comment came to me today about how we might be charged with something to do with their accident and we werent even following them when they had their accident,, Not happy about this

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We do agree that even in hard times Americans have it much better than many people around the world. The comments about the dirt mix and food riots were indeed about other countries. I was trying to use them as a point... could things get that bad here or are we really immune to that (in the interest of brevity I didn't make my point very well... sorry).

Without going into too much detail about my personal situation, I'd say that six months ago I was living very frugally but doing o.k. Right now I'm having a very bad time but definately not desperate yet. I too would sell most everything I own and exhaust every conceivable option before I'd ever begin to think about stealing... even then I doubt I could and I pray that I never get in the situation to be tested like that. I'm certainly not defending anybody that steals but I also never thought I'd be in a situation to be checking on food stamps, food pantrys and energy assistance either. Given that recent change in my life I guess I can see how some people may feel like it's their only choice. I still have some options but maybe some people don't (or at least can't figure any out).

The food pantries around here are giving out about three days worth of food and you can go to them once a month. I'm not so bad that I need them right now... but I'm not sure about next month, so I was checking. Even with my small disability income I only qualify for $10 in food stamps per month... again just checking my options.

The gas and electric company around here was just deregulated recently and electric bills went up 100-150%... they just announced this week that they are going to increase rates by another 10% (I think next month).

Emergency energy assistance is available after you get a turn off notice... they'll pay roughly 75% and the individual has to come up with the other 25% If someone gets a turnoff notice they likely have at least $400 due so they need to come up with $100 cash. That's not easy to do on a fixed income. I've never heard of HEAP or PIP or the circumstances you mention where the electric can't be turned off... maybe it's different here but I'll check.

Finally, I agree that right now many thieves are just thieves, but given the serious sudden downturn in my circumstances it's not much of a stretch for me to see that if things get much worse, otherwise good people may be driven to desperate measures.

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"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid".

Most townie types really do not know how to prepare raw foods and most of them have no idea what they look like. Give most folks a cucumber and a zucchini and ask them which is which and 99 percent couldn't tell you. If it isn't in a box with a picture on it - they aren't going to recognize it as food. IMHO

I expect they might steal eggs, since they look the same as they do in their packaging, but otherwise, I think we will see stores being robbed for food and an overall increase in violent crimes before we will see people stealing produce.

I seem to recall a thread like this from a long, long time ago.

donsgal

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Life is what happens while you are making other plans. (John Lennon)

Even Solomon said:
Proverbs 30:7-9
7 Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: 8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, 9 lest I be full and deny you and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

A woman our family knew always put in a big garden. A very nice one and she tended it meticulously. She put an awful lot of work into it and even to other gardeners like ourselves it was quite a sight to behold. The problem came when things began to ripen.

She lived in a more notorious section of the small town we were living in at the time. That part was always known as being quite undesirable for various reasons and even those that grew up there got out as quickly as they were able. This woman wouldn't hear of that. She was constantly correcting people about those that lived in that section of town. She was always bragging what wonderful folks they were and how they accepted her and they were just the salt of the earth and didn't deserve the rep they got.

Well, when things started to get ripe she'd arrive home from work to find anything at the stage of edibility simply missing. Onions, tomatoes, lettuce radishes, sweet corn, beans anything. Things they didn't steal were thrown against her garage or through her windows. No one saw a thing of course. Oh she'd be mad and she'd be cussing those thieves that took her vegetables and vandalized her house. The idiot couldn't seem to noodle through the fact that the neighbors she praised as being so wonderful were in fact the ones stealing her blind. If you'd even insinuate that those wonderful people she worshiped were possibly stealing her blind she's fly off the handle at you.

She finally moved to a better section of town but never missed an opportunity to tell some how great the folks she moved away from were.

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Respect The Cactus!

Don't anyone read the news papers, metals of all kinds are being stolden as we speak.
shop lifting for food is up. drive offs at gas stations without paying are up. robberies at stores and fast foods are up in small towns, catalytic converters are being stolden right off cars that are parked as they're worth money for the platinum. houses are being robbed for the copper pipes in the plumbing as they're being built .
the main stream media should spend more time consolidating what is going on around the country,world instead of trying to build up those bird brains running for president.
they spend 2 seconds on something the public should know and 2 hrs on something that know one cares about, so know one listens to anything.
we just had some radiators took out of some school busses last week end, the watchman walks around inside the school halls and protects the locked class room doors and never goes out side.

I have a friend who was born and raised in Germany during the war. She rarely talks about those times, Probably because she's not proud of the things she and her siblings did. One time she did open up and told me about her and her sister going to small farms on the outskirts of town and stealing food right out of the fields. The family wasn't poor, they could afford to buy the food, there just wasn't any food in the stores to buy. I asked her why didn't she just offer to buy the food from the farmers. She said the farmers refused to sell thier crops

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Marriage is like a hot bath, after you've been in it awhile, It's not so Hot.

actually I am more worried right now about the resident ground hog.

He "steals" worse than anybody!!!

But seriously, this thread has made me re-think my obvious-from-the-road garden area.

I think some new shrubbery may be in order!

I agree with this sentiment. i can not imagine any town dweller coming to the countryside looking for food. They think food comes from a store. I don't think they have the guts to ignor our target practice noise making, to scale the electric fence for a few tomatoes. But I will say, we had our first, in 24 years, theft at our farm recently. Someone cut and stole the copper ground wire from the electric pole.. But I would bet it was a local person, not a city dweller.

I do not fear our garden being raided or the livestock disappearing. I do fear our baby patch of blue spruces we are raising for our personal future Christmas trees to begin to disappear.. But again, I would bet a local takes those.

We live quite remote, no neighbors in sight, many many miles from any large city.

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I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

I have posted this before but I'll do it again. We have drug dealers that walk up and down the street all the time around here. I have gotten to where anytime I see them coming I'll strap the pistol on and go out the front door and find something to do in the yard with the gun in plain site.
It isn't a concelded weapon if you can see it and you don't need a permit to carry it.
You can't go in a store of any kind wearing one but other than that it doesn't matter. I can walk up the road wearing it and not break the law.
I send Stacey to the store some times and she knows if there are several blacks, "sorry but that's the way it is" standing at the store to come back home and on goes the gun and I walk her to the store. I stand out side while she goes in and nearly everytime they are gone when she comes back out.
I just want them all to know this skinney little guy won't be playing if something happens and it seems to be working pretty good.
Before, they would cut through my yard right up with in 10 feet or so of my house, and then cross a large parking lot, but since I started that, they take the long way around. I haven't seen anyone in the yards in months now.
I think they know I'll pop a cap in them in a heart beat if need be. I'm not looking forward to ever doing it. I shot 3 in Nam and I figure that's more than enough in any mans lifetime. I sure hope it is anyway but life goes on whatever route it must take.

but then you was a paid killer by the government, if you shoot one of those dope dealing freaks, you get prosicuted and while you're gone, you're family and home is wide open

I thought this thread was about people needing/stealing food. Hungry people are not drug dealers or rough looking guys wanting scrap metal.

Exactly.

One big fella called the cops on me after I whopped him with a bat as he stood in my doorway and threw a punch at my sister. The cops came, looked at me (I am a small woman) Told me ANYTHING I did to anyone they would consider self defense if it was in my own home and asked if I wanted to press charges. Another time I put someone out of my yard with the threat of eminent violence, I was armed, and they threatened to call the cops. I laughed and told them I'd dial. The nerve of hopping over my fence and then trying to threaten me with the police!!!

I have friends and relatives who are law enforcement officers. They are people with homes and families and children who they want to keep safe. They understand protecting yourself from thieves. So do most judges. By all means, protect yourself, your family and your property.

If she ( in North Carolina) shoots someone to prevent them from making off with livestock, she will likely go to jail.

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"If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law." -- Winston Churchill

SO now they know where to get a gun if they need one.

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"If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law." -- Winston Churchill

I am praying that just the show of force will keep that monkey off my back. Seems to be working. Any time I see them at the street corner and cars stopping, on goes the .357 and out the door I go.
I did have one that I called the police on for riding a trail bike in the street like some idiot. Nearly got his self and maybe others killed at the same time several times. And instead of the jackasses going to the problem, or calling me on the phone to ask questions, right up in my driveway they came. The guy lived 3 houses down on the other side of the street and seen them stop and the cop left and went straight to his house.
He started sneaking back and opening the chicken coop at night. My daughter and I went to feed the chickens one night and she said she heard someone whistleing. I can't hear good and to start with told her she was hearing things.
I forget now what it was but for some reason I realized there was someone out there.
I grabbed the cross bow and went to yelling like a ----ed nut. I had a good idea where he was and there is an old building that has fell on the neighbors side of the line. I yelled I was getting ready to shoot amongst those bushes and I did. I think I loaded 3 or 4 bolts as fast as I could and bounced them off the tin roof and stuck two in a tree I like to never got out.
It came back through the grape vine that he said not to go around me because I was a nut. I wasn't trying to hit him. Let wanted him to think I was trying to.
No one has untied the wire on the chicken tractor since.
I find that the show of force usually, or nearly always gets the job done.
If it don't, may God help them because I have a couple of throw away guns like the little .22 that can't be traces to me and can be in someones hand if the need arises with out my prints on it nor the bullets.
And I have found out the last couple of months that a couple of shots around here doesn't bring the cops running like I was first afraid of. I expect if the 30.06 rang out that may be different but the 9mm nor sks has did it yet.

cowkeeper, you are right. That's what it was about but I do have a garden. Actually two now and want to put a field of sorn in. Plus other things I don't care to loose.
I think the whole question was whether people would get hungry enough to steal what ever, whether it's good people or drug dealer. I just happen to be where drug dealers are, or should I say were. I don't see them nearly as much lately as I did.
I wonder why??????

This is one reason why I will have several large mastiffs and LGDs on my property... and so will my parents on their adjoining property.

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Blogging from working city mom to homesteading housewife.
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