Stockpiling is not necessarily selfish, in fact it can be the opposite. It’s such a shame that some people just don’t seem to be able to grasp the difference between prepping and panic buying.
So, one more try:
Group A:
People who routinely buy a few extra non perishable items each time and rotate these so they use up the oldest items first. Eventually, having done this over a very long period of time, they will have a few weeks buffer of non perishables. They keep this up, ensuring their buffer is maintained whilst never buying more than a small number of extra items at any one time
Group B:
People who may or may not keep anything extra in the house at any time but who, when suddenly faced with a period of uncertainty (eg, bad weather, Brexit delays, pandemics) rush out to the shops and buy several weeks worth or more of whatever they can get their hands on in one go.
Group C
People who cannot afford to buy anything extra in when they shop.
Group A are preppers. They have a stockpile. Stockpiling is not a bad thing if your stockpile has been built up gradually over a sustained period of time. These people are not part of the problem, in fact, their long term stockpiling is actually helpful to Group C people as Group A people are not in the shops trying to buy even a small amount when it’s in short supply. The fact that a group A person bought extra pasta or loo roll in October 2019 has absolutely no bearing on someone finding the pasta or loo roll aisle empty in March 2020.
Group B people are panic buyers. They are entirely different to preppers. Their stockpile is not even a stockpile as such. A stockpile is something that has built up over a period of time in anticipation of shortages. Panic buyers do not anticipate. Panic buyers wait until there are shortages or the event that threatens the supply chain (bad weather, Brexit, pandemic) has actually happened to buy their extras. They absolutely are the problem and massively disadvantage Group C people by stripping the shelves.
Then there are group D people. They don’t stockpile. They could afford to build up a bit of a buffer but they loftily declare there is no need. There never would be any need if only everyone just bought what they needed when they need it. They cannot differentiate between Preppers and Panic Buyers, despite constantly having it explained to them. They blame Group As for disadvantaging Group Cs even though they themselves are the ones competing for the same bag of pasta as Group C. Meanwhile the Group As are at home eating the pasta they bought six months ago.
I know the difference between prepping and panic buying, that is the reason I don't have a stockpile of stuff right now.
We haven't always been in the financial position we're in now, there hasn't been the funds to build up a store cupboard slowly.
However because we're now fortunate enough to not have to rely on certain staples so just like the prepper upthread we didn't need to buy any canned goods or pasta for example when stocks were low. We were able to buy whatever was in plentiful supply.
I don't blame preppers for causing supply issues, but I don't think it helps in a time of uncertainty for those who have built up surplus responsibly to urge those who haven't to start, which stockpilers on MN seem to love to do.