I hope all of my readers have now started some kind of food storage program. As I’ve stated before, for most people, money will be the limiting factor in your preparedness plans. Do the best you can with what money you have NOW. Even if you can only store a small amount of food, storing some food is better than storing no food.
Here is an example of what WILL NOT work if the situation is bad enough:
One preparedness/survival fantasy I’ve heard many people tell goes like this: “Kevin, if there is a food shortage I’ll just get out my rifle, go out to the woods, and kill a deer to feed my family.” Depending on what part of the country the person is from, they may replace deer with whatever animal is plentiful in their area.
What is my reply to this fantasy? Bullshit. Conditionally.
This strategy might work in the event of a severe economic downturn or other events that are relatively minor. However, if a “big” event occurs, this strategy will fail and will likely get you killed.
First let me define what I mean when I say a “big” event.
1. An exchange of as little as 20 ICBM’s (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) carrying nuclear warheads between the United States and a foreign power. Its worth noting that most ICBM’s can carry at least 6 nuclear warheads and each of those warheads can be independently targeted. In practical terms that means a single ICBM carrying 6 warheads can take out 6 cities. So in this hypothetical scenario of a 20 missile exchange, lets say that Russia launches 10 ICBM’s against the United States and the United States launches 10 ICBM’s against Russia. If each missile carries 6 independently targeted nuclear warheads (some ICBM’s can carry a lot more than 6) that means that 60 cities in the United States and 60 cities in Russia are either destroyed or non-functional. For our purposes, forget about the cities in Russia (I have no readers in Russia, yet.) However, do consider that 60 cities in the United States are either destroyed or non-functional. Do the math: 10 missiles with 6 independently targeted nuclear warheads = 60 cities destroyed.
(On a side note, if you are under the belief that the proposed U.S. anti-ballistic missile program could stop this, you are mistaken. Russia has developed a new missile called the Topol-M, referred to by the U.S. military as the SS-27. It is essentially the most advanced ICBM ever created, the fastest ICBM ever created, and it is invulnerable to EMP (electro-magnetic pulse). On 30 May 2007, the Russian news agency Pravda announced it tested the R-500 missile, a version of the Topol-M that can carry multiple independently targeted warheads. This missile traveled 3,400 miles in 24 minutes. Both of these missiles are carried on mobile launchers, so they are very difficult to target).
2. An asteroid as small as 1/10th of a mile wide hitting any spot on the North American continent, an asteroid as small as ½ mile wide hitting anywhere in the western hemisphere, or an asteroid 1 mile wide or larger hitting anywhere on the planet. If the 1 mile wide asteroid hit anywhere on the planet, it would kick up enough dust into the atmosphere to block out the sun for 3 months to 2 years or more, even if it hits in the ocean. Also, even if it hit on the other side of the planet, it would kick up debris so high they would go into space and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and fall back down on the other side of the globe. This would occur even if the asteroid came down in the ocean. We’re not talking about small rocks either. We’re talking boulder size or larger chunks of rock, chunks of rocks big enough to destroy anything from large buildings to small towns.
3. A civil war in the United States. This is not as far fetched as some of you might think. A massive economic downturn might be all that is necessary.
4. The U.S.A. is invaded by a foreign power. My nomination for the most probable invaders would be a Russian-Chinese alliance. Such an alliance would most likely have help from North Korea, Syria, and Iran. I think their strategy would be to first seize everything west of the Rocky Mountains, including Alaska and Hawaii. This would be done with a combination of airborne operations, amphibious landings and with containers on container ships modified to carry troops. Such an alliance could do this without using nuclear weapons. However, given the number of troops China has, the U.S. would probably have use tactical nuclear weapons (as opposed to strategic nuclear weapons) to stop this invasion.
Now that you know what I mean by a “big” event, let me explain why the survivalist’s deer hunting fantasy will not work if a big event occurs.
You may recall that in a past issue, I CONSERVATIVELY estimated that for every 1 person or family that prepares, there will be 200 who do not. In practical terms, that means when a big event occurs, there are going to be a lot of hungry people. When their small supply of food runs out, many of those people who own guns will head for the woods to try to kill deer or whatever animal is plentiful in their region.
Think about that for a minute. Tens of thousands of people in each state heading for the woods with guns. Most of these people will have no hunting experience, AND they will be starving. In practical terms, that means they will shoot at anything that moves, and they will not take the time to identify their target before shooting. Do you want to be in those woods with those people? Better bring your bulletproof vest and body armor.
Even if you are in those woods, it really does not matter. With that many people in the woods, the supply of game will be killed down to nothing in a very short time. It does not matter what state you are in and how plentiful your supply of game is. My state, Alabama, has one of the highest deer populations in the nation (some experts say that Texas is the only state with a larger deer population than Alabama). After a few weeks, the deer population in Alabama would be decimated down to essentially nothing.
However, it gets worse. In addition to having to dodge bullets from non-experienced, starving hunters who will shoot anything that moves, there are other dangers. If the big event # 1 that I listed previously occurs, and exchange of ICBM’s between the U.S.A. and a foreign power, any game you kill is likely to be radioactive. If 60 U.S. cities were hit, there is going to be a tremendous amount of radioactive fallout. It will be in the water the deer drink and in the plants the deer eat. So if you eat the meat from one of these deer, the radioactive fallout will be in you. Depending on how much fallout you ingest, you could live for years with almost a 100 percent probability that you will develop cancer sometime in the future, or you could die a gruesome death in a period of a few days. Still want to head for the woods to get them deer?
If big event # 2, an asteroid 1 mile wide or larger landing anywhere on the planet, land or ocean, occurred, it would kick enough dust up into the air to block out the sun for 2 months to 2 years or more. So if you are going to feed yourself and your family by killing deer, your going to need night vision goggles and a night vision rifle scope. But that ain’t all. An asteroid this large will kick large boulders up into space, and most of them will come down and re-enter the earth’s atmosphere. Because of something called friction, when these boulders re-enter the earth’s atmosphere, they will get very hot, red hot. If one of these red hot boulders comes down in a forest, your going to have a forest fire. So in addition to your night vision goggles and your night vision scope, you may want to bring some fireproof clothing and a portable supply of breathable air, or a device to filter the smoke from the air you breath. Still want to be Davy Crockett?
If big event # 3 or # 4 occurs, you still face the problems of non-experienced, starving hunters who will shoot anything that moves being out there, and the problem of all the game being killed off in a very short time. Also, in events # 3 and # 4, you may run into enemy soldiers who have guns. When they hear you fire at them deer, they will direct a lot of firepower in your direction.
It still gets worse. One word: cannibalism. Yes, it is sickening, but it has happened in the past under extreme situations and there is no reason to think it will not happen again when extreme situations occur in the future.
Picture this: A man who did not prepare for his family is out in the woods with a gun. He had enough food to last a week under normal conditions, but in the crisis of the big event, he stretched it out and made it last 3 weeks. After three weeks, he heads for the woods. All of the game has been killed. Suddenly he sees you, but you do not see him. Keep in mind he has a starving wife and 3 starving children. Do you think it is far fetched to think he might shoot you? After all, if he brings home fresh meat, do you think his starving wife and kids will ask where it came from? Remember, he butchered you in the woods, so there is no evidence that the meat is that of another human. If you think this is far fetched, go to the internet and do a search using the word “cannibalism”. You will see the many times it has happened in history.
So, if you have the survival feed your family by deer hunting fantasy, I suggest you give it up. If the previous material does not convince you to give up this fantasy, I doubt anything will.
So what kind of food should you store? Freeze-dried is by far the best. The company Mountain House is one I highly recommend. I have some of their individual meal packs I purchased in 1999, just in case the Y2K scenario came true. They are past the expiration date by at least 2 years and they are still fine to eat. Mountain House also manufactures freeze-dried food in large steel cans. They cover the outside of the steel cans with a chemical similar to clear nail polish to protect the food from oxygen in case there are any microscopic defects in the steel. Mountain House claims, and I believe their claim, that they have tested freeze-dried food in these steel cans that is over 20 years old, and that it was still fresh and good tasting.
The down side to freeze-dried food is that it is relatively expensive compared to other survival foods. Also, you need water to prepare freeze-dried food, so in an emergency freeze-dried food will take more of your water supply than other foods.
Dehydrated food also puts a drain on your water supply. However, it does not last as long as freeze-dried food. If you have to pick between freeze-dried food or dehydrated food, I recommend you go with freeze-dried. The cost difference between the two is not that great.
However, as I have stated before, for most people, the biggest limiting factor in their preparedness plans will be money. So what do you do if you can’t afford the freeze-dried option?
MRE’s (meals ready to eat) or as at least one member of the military has called them, “meals ready to exit”, are the field ration of the United States Military. I’ve eaten them, and the taste of some of the items is very good. However, the shelf life of MRE’s is highly dependent on temperature, much more so than freeze-dried food. ( NOTE: High temperatures will shorten the shelf life of ALL types of stored food.) If you have a cool place to store them, MRE’s are not a bad option. I WOULD NOT rely on MRE’s for more than 20 percent of my stored food supply. Why? In the military there is a saying that is often repeated: “Remember, your rifle was made by the lowest bidder.” So are MRE’s. What if you get a bad batch? If you buy MRE’s for food storage I suggest you buy them from many different suppliers. This will reduce the chance of any portion of your MRE’s being from a bad batch.
If money is a real problem for you in your preparedness efforts, dried beans and grains are what you may have to consider.
I DO NOT ENDORSE VEGETARIANISM AND I DO NOT THINK IT IS A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. Raising a child on a vegetarian diet is, in my opinion, child abuse. Why? Because a vegetarian diet lacks something that children need for development, vitamin B-12. Many vegetarians claim you can get vitamin B-12 from a vegetarian diet. They are wrong. What you get from a vegetarian diet are
analogs of vitamin B-12, chemicals that have a similar but not the exact 3-dimensional structure of vitamin B-12. These analogs DO NOT function properly in the biochemical reactions in the body requiring vitamin B-12. Vegetarian diets are also low on another important nutrient, carnosine.
One can however, get all your protein requirements using dried beans and grains. Have you ever heard of a dish called red beans and rice? Do you know why red beans and rice is often associated with good health? Because this particular combination provides all of the essential amino acids in the proper ratios to produce a complete protein.
It is beyond the scope of this article to go into the details of what beans to mix with what grains. However, you can buy books that list the amino acid contents of all common foods. Using one of these books you can easily determine what combinations will provide a complete protein. You need a combination of beans and grains that provides adequate amount of ESSENTIAL amino acids to get a complete protein. Essential amino acids are the amino acids that your body cannot manufacture and must be obtained from food. If you use beans and grains as your primary method of food storage, you should also store supplemental vitamin B-12 in the form of tablets or in the sublingual supplemental form (a tablet or liquid of vitamin B-12 that dissolves and is absorbed under your tongue.). Vitamin B-12 is also available in injectable form, but you need a prescription to get it.
WARNING: I DO NOT recommend that you use soybeans as a storage food. Soybeans and soy products in general, like tofu, ARE NOT HEALTHY. Soybeans are loaded with phyto-estrogens. Phyto-estrogens are estrogens, female sex hormones, made by plants. DO NOT FEED YOUNG MALE CHILDREN SOY PRODUCTS, ESPECIALLY SOY “MILK”. In fact, don’t feed soy products to ANY children or teenagers. Soy products also contain chemicals that inhibit protein absorption.
You can buy a lot of dried beans and a lot of dried grains for very little money. You should store the dried beans and grains in plastic sealable containers in a cool, dry place. It is a good idea to put duct tape or Gorilla tape around the seals on these plastic containers as an extra precaution against insects getting to the dried beans and grain. When you put the dried beans and grains in the plastic containers, leave the beans and grains in the plastic bag in which they were purchased.
The company Emergency Essentials sells “SuperPails” of many beans and grains. These pails contain about 45 pounds of product. This company is also a good source for MRE’s and freeze-dried food, as well as other preparedness supplies. Their web site is: www.beprepared.com Their phone number is 1-800-999-1863. Call and request their monthly mail out. For the record, I have no financial ties with this company, but if they ask you how you heard about them, please mention this blogspot.
