The state asks people to have emergency stocks of food – Can provide food for 30,000 people for three days – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio

The dorm he has is small. He shares the kitchen with several others. The only space he has for food is two shelves in the fridge. One with beer and one with food. – Yes, and I have a frozen pizza in the freezer. Tor Håkon Gisholt started his studies in Horten this autumn, and he lives cramped. For many years, the authorities have asked people to have an emergency stockpile at home. news has mapped out how the state will help the population if the trade in food collapses, since around half of what we eat today comes from abroad. In a crisis, we want more food because we can eat far more fish. In a secret location, the state has an emergency warehouse with food for 30,000 people for three days. Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre confirms this. The figure is based on an estimate of what might be good to have in the event of a serious crisis as a result of floods, extreme weather or other events. Landbruktopp has its own warehouse of food – It’s a joke. Long-term agricultural stoppage Lars Fredrik Stuve is not impressed by the emergency stockpile of food. All his life he has worked with agriculture. Among other things, as director of Felleskjøpet, which monitors how much grain we have in Norway. He therefore knows Norwegian food preparedness better than most. Lars Fredrik Stove at home on the farm in Ringerike. Photo: Anne-Sophie Drouet / news Stuve and his wife still have two freezers and a pantry full of food at home. In addition, he has grain in the barn if the going gets tough. In recent years, the crises have been in a row. Now it is more important than ever to have a proper food store, believes Stuve. The food giants secretly meet The food giants’ stockpiles and ability to obtain food are an important part of preparedness. The collaboration is enshrined in law. In addition, the authorities assume that we can largely buy what we need from abroad. This is Norway’s plan if trade with foreign countries should nevertheless collapse: Take out emergency provisions for 30,000 people for three days that are in storage. The food chains must fill a warehouse with 100 food products within 30 days. The warehouse will cover the needs of 350,000 people for 20 days. In the event of a crisis, an information scheme should help us to use the food we have as best as possible. The Ministry of Trade and Fisheries has the ultimate responsibility for food preparedness in this country. The ministry will not disclose which 100 foodstuffs the food chains must stock. Nor do they say how this is adapted to allergy sufferers or other needs. news has asked to see the information system they will provide the population in a food crisis. The ministry then replies that in this “case it concerns assessments of an information scheme” which they will not present. This brings us to the Food Security Council, which works in complete secrecy. It will give advice to the authorities in crisis situations and deliver food to the Armed Forces and the population. news has asked to see what they talk about at their meetings, but so to speak everything is kept secret. Among others, the large food chains and Tine sit on the council. The council is appointed by the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries. The ministry says the reason for the secrecy is the consideration of the kingdom’s security, and that the members of the council should be able to express their opinion more easily. There will be more in stock in one year Norway used to have a large emergency stock of grain. This was discontinued 20 years ago. Lars Fredrik Stuve shows a barrel in which his grandfather had a spare stock of grain. This was to be used for food, or seed, if something were to happen. Photo: Rune Christoffer Holm / news From next autumn, the stock of food will be increased significantly, according to the Government’s proposal for the state budget. Then we will again have food grains in stock corresponding to 2–3 months’ consumption for the entire population. – It’s a step in the right direction, says agriculture chief Lars Fredrik Stuve, but he thinks it’s not enough at all. He will keep his own stock of food. The minister believes we have enough food. Minister of Business, Jan Christian Vestre (Ap) confirms that we are dependent on being able to buy the food we need from abroad. At the same time, he believes that we will have enough food in Norway in the event of a crisis. Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre says that preparedness is based on a functioning trade system, and cooperation with the grocery chains in the Council for Food Preparedness. Photo: Tale Hauso / news – People in Norway can be confident that we have enough food, says Vestre. news has spoken to central politicians who have been responsible for food preparedness in Norway in recent years. They say that it has been seen as unlikely that there will be a crisis that causes international food trade to collapse. They believe it would have cost too much to have large quantities of food in stock. I think we need to think again. But several experts we have spoken to believe we can no longer take for granted that all trade in food into Norway will work smoothly. One of them is expert Ola Hedstein in Rethink food. He believes we know too little about how wrong it can go. Ola Hedstein believes the time is ripe for a new thorough analysis. Not least one must look at what the consequences could be if trade with foreign countries stops. Photo: Rune Christoffer Holm / news – Climate change and the war in Europe show that the unthinkable can happen. The pandemic showed that national authorities think first of their own population, says Hedstein. He believes that this also applies to food, and that countries such as Norway can end up far behind in the food queue. Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre says they will make new assessments during the spring. – The aim is to look at whether any minor changes should be made to food preparation, he says. He will not be more specific. I think it’s going well Tor Håkon Gisholt is on his way to the shop from the dormitory, he doesn’t have much space to store food anyway and has no plans to get a bigger emergency stockpile. He trusts that the politicians will take responsibility for the food situation. – I think this is going well, I’ll be honest. Hello! Thank you for reading this matter! Do you have any tips in this matter or tips for other matters we should look at? Feel free to send an email!



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