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No, it was when people in cities lived in terrible conditions and had nothing even approaching the basic aspects of modern medical care.
by serge2k 12y ago
No, it was when people in cities lived in terrible conditions and had nothing even approaching the basic aspects of modern medical care.
- TeMPOraL 12y agoUrban density back then was nothing comparable to what we have today. But still, the major issue is that feeding all those people heavily depends on long supply chains and energy infrastructure. In the US, only 2% of people are directly employed in agriculture, and that agriculture is working on "petroleum in, food out" basis. The virus doesn't have to kill half of the population to cripple the west. It only has to disturb food production and energy infrastructure enough for modern civilization to collapse under its own weight.
- maxerickson 12y agoThere is quite a lot of resiliency hidden in animal feed. GMO field Corn and soy beans aren't the most exciting thing to eat, but the annual US harvest (~350 million metric ton of corn alone) provides something like years of calories per US person. (I am presuming that it would be possible to bring in at least 1 seasonal harvest on an emergency basis, I don't think this is a huge assumption, especially given the way big harvests are already done, with specialist equipment starting in the south and working their way north)