Change and do it right!

All food companies, from slaughterhouses to the big chains, depend on electricity, transport and communication to function. In just a few hours, we will be basically completely out of control in terms of how we get food out to everyone who wants to eat. Think about something as simple as the fact that all modern food production facilities are built without windows for daylight today.

Is it possible to get around this stop?

Yes. If we imagine that in a crisis we ease the food laws a little, for example, small food producers in rural areas would change in a couple of hours and easily arrange protein for 1000s of people. I say protein because it is the absolute most rudimentary for survival under scarce resources. But we often have a large stock of seasonal crops in stock, quite naturally.

If I look at my company, which is a farm shop in one of these rural areas, at our know-how and the methods we use, we could salt and cold-smoke meat in under ONE HOUR so that it lasts for several years at room temperature. Completely without electricity, without transport or other factors that do not currently exist. We need salt, matches, forests and access to animals. This together with our knowledge of refining protein, in the same way we have done since we started storing food in the traditional way.

Today, we look at large companies and units in the food industry, when the strength clearly lies in the small companies that work with old methods of preservation. The strength in Sweden when the going gets tough will always be small companies that do things because it is sustainable, fun, and appreciated. That the protein in a crisis would also be the tastiest thing you have ever eaten, that is just a plus and it costs nothing extra.

But – because there is always a but, how will this work in the long run?

In today's society, much is going towards the idea that you have to be big to survive, small companies with invaluable knowledge are being closed down. People live in the cities and think they are saving values by eating imported avocados and meat substitutes from farms on the other side of the world. The countryside is something that exists, but people have forgotten their own connection to it. And yet the countryside is still the backbone of Sweden's livelihood, mainly through our mines and forestry, but also through our agricultural companies.

Our rural businesses are also incredibly important. But if no one wants to live, work or operate in rural areas, then who will run these businesses? Then the relatively few who do it will still have to struggle, and be governed by decisions made by people who seem to have barely left the asphalt.

The EU and politics have an enormous responsibility to take on here.

I say: Favor rural areas and their businesses, so people choose to live and work in these places. In today's regions and municipalities - which are also under severe economic pressure, schools are being closed, buses are disappearing and social activities and meeting places are being affected. This applies to all of Sweden - change and do the right thing! Educate and involve people, and simple local initiatives that end up in the right place at the right time will make a big difference. Just look at Leader and the Leader method!

A food company gets help to expand, a primary producer gets simpler and more understandable rules to deal with. A small village gets to keep its school, and gets a new playground. Everything is connected. We simply have to prepare in the right way.