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  • From: "Scott Hitchins" <ScottH@wcig.org.au>
  • To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] This must be a hoax - Can any Aussies verify this report? Stockpile food for flu crisis | The Courier-Mail
  • Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:36:18 +1100

Yep: a hoax!

Scott Hitchins
Community Programs Co-ordinator
Westgate Community Initiatives Group

This communication contains information which is confidential and the
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communication, please telephone WCIG on 9689 3437 immediately then
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-----Original Message-----
From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Lawrence F.
London, Jr.
Sent: Friday, 21 December 2007 2:54 PM
To: permaculture
Subject: [permaculture] This must be a hoax - Can any Aussies verify
this report? Stockpile food for flu crisis | The Courier-Mail


(I found this in another ag list and cannot verify its accuracy;
7.4 million fatalities globally from an upcoming flu pandemic?)

From the couriermail.com
Brisbane, QUeensland, Australia
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/

<http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22929648-953,00.html#s
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Stockpile food for flu crisis
Article from: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
Clair Weaver
December 16, 2007 12:00am

EVERY Australian household should stockpile at least 10 weeks' worth of
food rations to prepare for a deadly flu
pandemic, a panel of leading nutritionists has warned.

World health experts now agree a pandemic is inevitable and will spread
rapidly, wiping out up to 7.4 million people
globally and triggering rapid food shortages.

Australia is expected to be among the first countries hit because of its
proximity to Asia and high levels of
international traffic.

But Woolworths and Coles, the nation's two major supermarket chains,
will run out of stock within two to four weeks
without a supply chain - or even faster if shoppers panic.

This has prompted a team of leading nutritionists and dietitians from
the University of Sydney to compile "food
lifeboat" guidelines to cover people's nutritional needs for at least 10
weeks.

Their advice - published in the Medical Journal of Australia - would
allow citizens to stay inside their homes and avoid
contact with infected people until a vaccine becomes available.

The lifeboat includes affordable long-life staples such as rice,
biscuits, milk powder, Vegemite, canned tuna,
chocolate, lentils, Milo and Weet-Bix.

Jennie Brand-Miller, professor of human nutrition at the University of
Sydney and co-leader of the study, believes it is
common sense to stockpile food before a pandemic strikes.

"It's really not a question of if: it's a question of when," she said.

"We are going to have an epidemic. Chances are it will be avian flu
(bird flu) but it might be something else.

"It will spread very rapidly just like flu does normally because it's a
highly contagious organism, except this will be
a really lethal one. What we suffer from is a false sense of security
that someone else is looking after all this."

While there are emergency plans within governments, hospitals and the
food industry, individuals will still need to take
personal precautions in a disaster, she said.

The most important message for the Australian public is to avoid going
out in public when the pandemic hits, the
research found.

"We know that once it becomes a highly transmissable virus it will
probably fly around the world within three weeks,"
Prof Brand-Miller said.

"We know it's got all the right conditions to start in Indonesia or Asia
and there have already been human transmissions.

* The full food lifeboat guidelines are available at
www.foodlifeboat.com.au

http://www.foodlifeboat.com.au/

The Food "Lifeboat": food and nutrition considerations in the event of a
pandemic or other catastrophe

Large catastrophes have caused the collapse of empires and civilizations
. Science and knowledge may help prevent some
catastrophes, but urbanisation and narrowly concentrated food supplies,
climate change and terrorism contribute to
considerable risk. Viruses such as SARS (severe acute respiratory
syndrome) and influenza A/(H5N1) or "bird flu" are
among the most immediately identifiable risks. In the event of a highly
lethal pandemic, emergency measures such as
closing schools, staying home with family and friends, avoiding contact
with other people (until all have been
immunized) will be instrumental in avoiding infection. Individuals in
essential services or occupations may be required
to reside at their workplace for the whole period of the crisis. To
achieve this type of isolation, sufficient food must
be available, and ways to distribute the food must be planned.

But which foods and in what quantities? It is logical that they should
be staples and well accepted, easy to store,
packed where possible in an inert gas for a longer shelf life and not
dependent on refrigeration. Importantly, they will
be nutrient dense providing the recommended macro- and micronutrients
for all members of the family. Ideally, they can
be eaten without cooking in case gas and electricity fail. Cost, volume
and storage space are further considerations.


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