What if you were forced to “register” in order to buy groceries? And what if, through that registration, the food you bought could be tracked and quantities could be limited?
That’s exactly the plan in Venezuela right now. The AP reports that in an effort to crack down on “hoarding” that ID cards will be issued to families. These will have to be presented before foodstuffs can be purchased.
President Nicolas Maduro’s administration says the cards to track families’ purchases will foil people who stock up on groceries at subsidized prices and then illegally resell them for several times the amount…
Registration began Tuesday at more than 100 government-run supermarkets across the country. Working-class shoppers who sometimes endure hours-long lines at government-run stores to buy groceries at steeply reduced prices are welcoming the plan.
“The rich people have things all hoarded away, and they pull the strings,” said Juan Rodriguez, who waited two hours to enter the government-run Abastos Bicentenario supermarket near downtown Caracas on Monday, and then waited another three hours to check out.
Checkout workers at Abastos Bicentenario were taking down customers’ cellphone numbers Monday, to ensure they couldn’t return for eight days. Shoppers said employees also banned purchases by minors, to stop parents from using their children to engage in hoarding, which the government calls “nervous buying.”
Rodriguez supports both measures.
“People who go shopping every day hurt us all,” he said, drawing approving nods from the friends he made over the course of his afternoon slowly snaking through the aisles with his oversized cart.
Reflecting Maduro’s increasingly militarized discourse against opponents he accuses of waging “economic war,” the government is calling the new program the “system of secure supply.”
Patrons will register with their fingerprints, and the new ID card will be linked to a computer system that monitors purchases. On Tuesday, Food Minister Felix Osorio said the process was off to a smooth start. He says the system will sound an alarm when it detects suspicious purchasing patterns, barring people from buying the same goods every day. But he also says the cards will be voluntary, with incentives like discounts and entry into raffles for homes and cars.
Expressionless men with rifles patrolled the warehouse-size supermarket Monday as shoppers hurried by, focusing on grabbing meat and pantry items before they were gone. (source)
Last year in Venezuela, it became a crime to “hoard” food, and the country’s Attorney General called upon prosecutors to crack down on “hoarders” by imprisoning them for the “crime”.
Some people may read this and think to themselves, “Why on earth do I care about what happens in Venezuela?”
You’d better care, because this is our future.
Already the Obama administration has moved the pieces into place on the board to be able to appropriate supplies from anyone, at any time. Mac Slavo of SHTFplan warns:
It should be clear from the laws that are already in effect that the government has given itself a legal pretext for confiscating anything they so choose in the midst of an emergency.
Should an emergency befall the United States, the military, national guard, and local police operating under orders from the Department of Homeland Security will have carte blanche to do as they please.
In a widespread emergency where supply lines have been threatened and millions of Americans are without essential resources because they failed to prepare, the government will swoop in and attempt to take complete control.
They will enter our homes and search them without a warrant. They will confiscate contraband. And they will take any ‘excessive resources’ that you may have accumulated. This includes food, toiletries, precious metals and anything else emergency planners and officials deem to be a scarce material. (source)
Just think how much easier it would be to do so if every purchase you make is tracked and documented for future reference.
How Much of a Footprint Are You Leaving?
Now, think about those “loyalty cards” that every grocery store in North America promotes when you go through the checkout. Have you noticed how much more those are being pushed lately? Could there be a nefarious purpose to that? I doubt the person at the cash register thinks twice about it – if these actually are data collection tools, it is something put in place by people far higher up the food chain (pun intended) than the staff of your local supermarket.
I strongly recommend you think twice about collecting “points” – the discounts may not be worth it if it means that your stock-up purchases are in some database, easily accessible to the NSA. If you feel it is imperative to have one of those cards, consider using a pseudonym and false address. You really don’t want to provide an inventory of your stockpile to the government. Some cards, like the one from Target, for example, even take it a step further and link to your credit card or debit account. I can’t even wrap my brain around giving out that type of information to the person who rings up my paper towels and garbage bags.
To take this even further, if you haven’t been convinced yet that you need to begin producing your own food by gardening and raising micro-livestock, this should solidify the importance of not being totally dependent on “the system” for what you eat. Looking at the drought conditions across America’s farmland, is it a stretch of the imagination to think we could soon be facing rationing like that which is currently happening in Venezuela? As the middle class gasps its last breath here in America, we may soon be faced with a situation where only the wealthy can afford to avoid rationing. By becoming independent from the purveyors of food, you can assure that your family will not go hungry at the whims of a government who really doesn’t care.
Plan of Action
Here are a few things that you can do to pre-empt feeling the effects of a system like the one in Venezuela before such a change occurs on our own soil. Start now to leave less of a footprint for the government to follow.
- Plant a garden.
- Grow food indoors in sunny windows.
- Consider an aquaponics set-up in a spare room.
- Raise chickens and meat rabbits.
- Stock up NOW on long-term staples like grains and beans, before limits are instituted.
- Buy heirloom seeds – lots and lots of seeds.
- Practice careful OPSEC (OPerational SECurity) when making large purchases.
- Store longterm food supplies in more than one location. That way if you lose some of your supplies to thugs (government or other varieties), you still have supplies to fall back on.
- Learn to preserve food.
- Stock up of preservation supplies like lids, jars, etc.
- Do NOT use so-called “loyalty cards” or memberships to make large purchases.
- When ordering large quantities of supplies, consider having them mailed to some place other than your home.
- Use cash or prepaid VISA cards purchased with cash to make large purchases.
- Don’t tell others about your supplies and purchases.
- Teach your children not to discuss things like food pantries and preparedness.
- Don’t store your supplies out in the open for anyone who comes into your home to see. Stash your 5 gallon pails away in closets, under beds, or in the basement.
- Disengage from the system by purchasing from small local farmers.
- Use the barter system whenever possible. When money was tight and I lived in a place where I couldn’t grow much food, I worked on a farm harvesting vegetables in exchange for produce that I could preserve for my family.
- Change the way you eat – go with a local, in-season menu that is far more difficult to track than grocery-store purchased items.
- Learn to forage. Even in the city, you might be surprised at how many things can be found growing in your own back yard or falling off of the trees in a local park. My children and I picked up one small bag of walnuts a day at a little park down the street one year, resulting in almost 15 pounds of shelled nuts by the time we were through.
Whatever your plan, don’t delay. We need only to read the many articles predicting a food shortage this year due to poor weather conditions to see the writing on the wall. You must become responsible for your family’s sustenance if you don’t want to suffer at the hands of those in power. I have no intention of standing in line for hours with my “ID card”, only to be allowed to purchase a small amount of highly inflated food.
Venezuelans are not fools They know full-well that the RADONSKYITES did that by causing runs on food. They turned it into a speculative venture at the same time. San Antonio de Tachira and San Cristobal feeds half of Cucuta.They probably got the idea from a leak at DHS. That’s coming for the rest of us.
Anyone from the UK will remember Ration Books that were issued by the Government for all citizens during WW2. The usage of these continued even after WW2 ended. The book contained coupons for all your basic items – if they were available. Needless to say, a thriving black market arose despite efforts to contain it. Maduro will be facing the same thing. By criminalizing the population with this law, he will be enabling the factions trying to overthrow him.
I am aware of the rationing during WW2 in the UK. In fact, I own a book that is a compilation of pamphlets that the government printed to help people live within the rationing. It includes clothing coupon reprints. When I first found out about it, I was aghast. No aspect of daily life was untouched. Food and clothing rations decreased as the war lingered on, and rationing continued until, I believe 1954! For example, by the beginning of the war, coupons allowed for one outfit per year. By the end of the war, the coupons did not provide for a complete outfit.
While having a victory garden was encouraged, farms were monitored and graded by the government, and those that got a poor grade were taken over by the government. I understand about 2,000 farms were taken over. If a group of people wanted to raise a pig using scraps from their own kitchens, they needed to divide it up between them, and 1/2 went to the government.
The draconian measures were put into place due to the Nazi blockade. Great Britain was dependent upon imports, and the government worked with what they had. There was enough to feed everyone, but it still is rather unsettling to read about it, no less for someone to live through something like that.
***When a country is dependent upon imports, the implications are rather unsettling…
It’s very clear what’s planned in the UK. The EU have stolen all fishing rights( under guise of quotas) the agricultural policy further diminshes our ability to feed ourselves through farming. Mp’s calling out to build more houses on farmland. More & more farmland is being used to grow biofuel ( encouraged by government through subsidies)
Finally EU deperately trying to pass laws to stop us growing our own food with seed laws ( who will benefit here I wander?) The UK a very small island which I imagine in a national emergency we would not be allowed off! What could possibly go wrong?
Well some are awake enough to see the long term plan
Yes, this was true. But the reason this rationing for the UK was that the U.S.A. held the U.K’s feet to the fire on repayment of the cost of goods to aid them to defeat Hilter and his allies. But our USA did not make Germany or Japan repay for our rebuild of there nations because America stood to gain financially from the rebuild. So Great Britain citizens knew they had to buckle down and tighten their belts and accept rationing to help survive the toll America forced them to bear. Is it any wonder why the UK has not forgotten and wonders why the EURO does not mean financial security and job stability to their nation? It is difficult to look at our America portraying itself as the savior . . . when financial debauchery to line political and business wallets in the form of war profiteering at the expense of allies . . . rather sickening to the palate here.
It really is scary that stuff like this is happening. The customer’s comments about those who shop everyday are particularly frightening. It shows the beginnings of a mob mentality and “us versus them”!
“consider using a pseudonym and false address”
Dang! [Smacks forehead] I didn’t think of doing that when they pushed the rewards program at me while checking out.
Instead, truthfully I tried to enlighten her by saying, “It’s legal today, but tomorrow it might not be, and, it could be illegal retroactively. No thanks”
I probably just seemed bizarre to her? Oh well, I tried.
Who knows though? It might have caused her to do a double-take when she inadvertently stumbled across the definition of ‘Regulatory Capture’ or something similar while surfing The Internet?
Hey. A guy can dream, can’t he?
Those loyalty cards work and you never have to fill out a thing nor send any information into them. Just NEVER use it with a credit card or they will be linked. Also you can if you are really worried get a new application and new card every few months.
Oh, and I thought I’d mention this observation:
I was listening to the A.M. radio the other day, during the farm report they were discussing “field mapping with drones”. A company was providing this service and a representative was being interviewed about the details. They were excited that one pixel equaled one inch on the ground and that they could see individual plants.
I thought is was kind of creepy. Especially when they joked excitedly and said, “You can almost put a serial number on a seed and read it!”
In the end of the interview they framed this drone program as, “neighbors helping neighbors.” I about wanted to throw up.
As always, Great article, Daisy!
Great ‘Plan of ACTION’. It stresses the importance of OPSEC/privacy which is often overlooked. One item you might add is developing a ‘Plan B’ for water supply.
One impediment especially for young families is that they believe that they can not afford to prepare. While food prices are rising, food suitable for long-term storage is still readily available and affordable. Our church put together a list of food (beans, rice, rolled oats, non-fat milk.) and sources for families (Costco, Azure Standard etc.). For just $10 per week, in one year a family could store 3,700 servings of food for long-term storage (6 gal. pails, Mylar bags and Oxygen absorbers).
Diane, it doesn’t matter- most of ’em wouldn’t know how to cook those staple foods, anyway.
I’d rather shoot myself than go thru these 20 steps. Thanks anyway.
Not even an emergency yet, and already (for the last couple of years) the shelves at the local Walmart are always half empty. When I still shopped there, if I was lucky enough to get 50% of the items I normally buy, I’d often be getting the last one or two of them. Could you imagine if the lines of supply were interrupted or if there was a sudden panic? Yikes! -and this in the heartland of mid-America. Surrounded by farms here…but none of the farmers grow anything humans can eat. Thanks to gov’t farm and price subsidies, they’re all growing disgusting hybrid animal-feed corn; sorghum; or hay grasses.
Moleman, I know that 1990’s nic. It’s probably just a Dreamy confidence though.
Still, it was good to see the nic is still alive.
That’ll prolly be how we see things in the future, too. ?
Helot, what’s a “nic”?
Anyone thinking this is paranoia or propaganda needs to look at what the fed did during WW II. Started as rationing of simple things, like sugar, with ration books and stamps (modern correlate is an ID card) that “helped” people feel like they were doing their part.
But within months the government expanded its “needs” to include just about everything else. Americans were going hungry, some going to Mexico for meat!
They took whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, and imprisoned people who had the good sense to prepare ahead; they were labeled as hoarders and sentenced to heavy fines and jail time.
It’s a small step to see this happening today. Take a look at:
http://survivalprepper-joe.com/can-government-steal-your-supplies/
Unfortunately it’s only the 1% who magically avoid these thefts, and more insidiously, have the top level perspective to not fall to media propaganda and manipulation.
Great article!! Thank you to Daisy!! 🙂
My best friend lives in Venezuela. This is a reality for her. It breaks my heart to hear emails weekly, half-day lines for toilet paper, soap, shampoo, razors, and forget oil, flour, food staples, those are long gone. Don’t even try to imagine what the inflation rate is, it goes up monthly, and the currency is devalued annually. The govnt would love the world and their people to believe this is “good” for them, and fair. No, it is not. Shortages are occurring for many reasons and one of them is simply the govnt is able to have better control, and another is they are being cut off economically from the world by low oil prices. VZ needs oil to be $200/barrel to be profitable… its is $65. If anyone in North America thinks they are immune to this type of growing communism and govnt controls for whatever reason they state, you are being fools. This is real and I can say from experience, as was physically there 4 years ago, and saw many places that would resemble any downtown America… They lived fine. They did not ever see shortages in stores or in electricity or in fuel. Now… they live an entirely different life. Do not be fooled friends. VZ has the biggest oil reserves in the world, bigger than Saudi Arabia, no reason to be poor and in short supply… but, they are. We need to prepare. Now. Don’t ever scoff or say, “it will/could never happen here”…
Do what you can, no matter how little it may seem, it still counts. Better to have and not need, as they say…
The tracking of purchases is already happening. My Mom went to a local Walgreens a couple of months ago. She made a cash purchase but the clerk asked if she had an account. Apparently she needed an account to buy something for no reason I can determine. They looked up her name and found a purchase I made by internet over six months ago. The clerk rattled off the items I bought. I was seriously disturbed by the incident.
I’m not sure what the Mark of the Beast is, financial, vaccine related or a mindset but I am saying we are awfully close.
Take a hard look at things. Hoarding while you see your neighbors suffer from starvation is pure selfishness and evil.
Personal greed is the root cause of this mess and its fallout and effect is always starvation.
Humanity is One and Universal Law will always in the end correct the error of selfishness.
Respectfully, let me ask you a question about your comment.
Do you have a child? If you have the forethought to provide for that child, but someone else spends their life living in the moment and preparing nothing, will you let your child starve because you’ve given your food to the person who chose not to prepare?
I don’t say that it would be an easy situation to watch people suffer from starvation. But it is far from evil or selfish to take care of my own family first. In fact, I posit that the true evil would be giving away the supplies that your own child needs to survive.