OK they're joking, but for how long? While I'm not a doom and gloom prepper myself the number of credible voices starting to talk seriously about coming food shortages are certainly rising. Suburban Detroit is already to be turned over to Cuban style city farms and several other cities are not far behind.
My own [early days] experiments with baiting suburban gardens suggest that while you wouldn't get fat, you'd be able to get a reasonable amount of protein from passing pests. If you supplemented pest control by keeping Rabbits and Hens even a very small space would feed a family.
Of course in Europe there are several precedents; during the Siege of Paris (19 July 1870 – 10 May 1871 Franco-Prussian War) market stalls did a thriving business in cat, dog and rat meat.
Le Monde Illustre, April 1871.
The food shortages of WWII were felt even by the winners, with the rationing of most foods continuing into the 1950's. In Berlin pets weren't seen for quite a while after the conflict ended.More about this to come
SBW