Where do I Buy a Teflon Fan?
March 9th, 2009SHTF Food
I decided to check into survival food. I am not planning to maintain a one-year supply; I think if things get so bad I have to eat out of a closet for a year, it means the world is coming to an end and death is the preferable option. But having a month’s worth of food is not a bad idea. I learned a few things.
1. White rice keeps for eternity. Just keep it dry.
2. Dried beans will stay at top quality for one year. After that, they slowly get harder and take longer to cook. If they get so hard you can’t cook them normally, you can make flour out of them and bake them. How you’re supposed to do that, I do not know. But dried beans are cheap, so there’s no excuse for not having relatively fresh ones.
3. Canned tuna and salmon last nearly forever. Ten years, at least.
4. Acidic canned goods should be used within two years.
5. Oatmeal is a great idea. It lasts a long time, it’s light, it’s cheap, and it makes you poop, which is important when you’re eating survival-type food.
That’s about all I’ve come up with, but it will do.
I got curious and tried to find out whether the local lizards are edible. They probably are, if you discard the guts. Cats eat them and develop temporary hind-leg paralysis, which confuses them greatly. But cats eat the whole lizard. Here’s why I think the rest of the lizard is safe. Most lizards here are anoles, which are related to iguanas, and Latin Americans chow down on iguana meat all the time. In fact, some of them do it right here in Miami.
It’s a guess. I know.
One bright spot in the survival picture: I would have a great excuse to kill squirrels. Hateful little beasts. Hateful, but tasty. And I could drive around shooting Muscovy ducks and peacocks, which spend their lives generously fertilizing our sidewalks and porches. And forget the fishing regulations.
I could get a cheap country ham and hang it in a closet. It wouldn’t rot. A ham site says they last forever, but the new ones don’t have enough fat on them to prevent excessive water loss. Guess you could paint it with melted paraffin.
I think these items, plus multivitamins, would keep me going until the food pipeline got working again.
I don’t really think we’re headed for starvation. I think we’re going to end up on the same level of prosperity as other socialist nations.
March 9th, 2009 at 8:44 PM
Kim duToit had a SHTF post that had everything from food to weaponry to clothes included. Very well thought out, but that’s Kim.
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Anyone that can grow veggies and hunt can survive. Why yes, I like Hank Jr. Why do you ask?
March 9th, 2009 at 9:26 PM
Grasshoppers are a good source of protein and are really very tasty. They are best fried. Remove the yellowish guts since they are bitter tasting.
March 9th, 2009 at 9:31 PM
My thoughts on food and the level of prosperity are here:
http://elisson1.blogspot.com/2008/12/gone-to-dogs.html
Bottom line, we have a long way to go before we hit bottom. We’re still feeding our pets rather than eating them.
March 9th, 2009 at 9:32 PM
Don’t forget alligators and crocodiles. Fasten a heavy chain or cable with a tri-hook made from 5/8 rebar baited with some kind of meat. (the neighboors poodle comes to mind here)
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Fasten the other end of the chain to something unmoveable and leave it over night next to a likely body of water.
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Be sure and clean the meat good. Get all of that black membrane off or you get a sort of nasty muddy taste, but the meat itself is pretty good.
March 9th, 2009 at 10:56 PM
I’ve been thinking that it might be good to supplement the food supply available at the grocery in case the availability of food goes down or the price sky rockets. To that end I’ve been planting bananas and coconuts in my yard. Both require little attention and provide lot’s of tasty food. I have mangos and avocados also. Have you seen all the iguanas living on the banks of the Coral Gables Waterway? I’ve also given survival fishing some thought. Fish traps are the way to go. It would be handy to have a small boat that you could row,paddle or sail no fuel needed.
March 9th, 2009 at 11:48 PM
History repeats itself. So were are we on this cycle. Nixon (GWB) second term is over and the war in Viet Nam (Iraq) is won and we are passing power to the local governement. Next North VietNam (Iran) will invade and the US congress will forbid any assistance to the south (Iraq).
On the domestic front, a nobody governor from the south (senator from illinois) is elected president on the promise of change from the last administration. Congres is controlled by the same party (democrats) with the new president, than with the last president. The new President is a peacenick with little experience, no intestinal fortitude and a socialist streak. He takes office at the dawining of negative economic conditions and takes a series of steps similar to his predecesor, price controls (bail outs), overregulation of industry and lack of leadership that deepens the financial crisis. The OPEC cartel decides to take this oportunity to flex its muscle and wreck the American economy. The Sha of Iran, terminally ill, leaves office and due to the inaction of the meek President, radicals take over Iran, marking the begining of modern jihad against the west. Finally, after four years of the misery index, the American people rise up and elect a conservative governor from California, giving birth to the longest economic expansion in the history of our nation.
So, since history repeats itself, and barring any apocalyptic catastrophes:
1. This nasty ride will last 6 years
2. Get ready for double digit unemployment, interest rates and inflation.
3. There will be shortages of basic goods
but,
4. At the tail end, those that kept their wits will be able to invest in the market and in the new technologies and become very wealthy.
Keep your head down and your powder dry Steve.
March 10th, 2009 at 2:40 AM
In all seriousness, another thing to think about is barter value. If things get that bad, your paper money ain’t gonna be worth nuttin.
I’m thinking of getting one of those vacuum sealers. My plan is to buy several cartons of cigarettes, and seal them up. I’m willing to be a few cigs will become gold when they cost $45 a pack.
I thought about MREs, but they only have a shelf-life of about 3 years max. Freeze dried is probably the way to go.
March 10th, 2009 at 9:11 AM
Why is it that planning survival situations is such fun? Its like a game.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:03 PM
Funny you should get onto this topic, Steve. Just a couple of weeks ago I decided to invest in more serious hurricane supplies, to include at least a month’s worth of food.
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For serious long-term emergency food solutions, the people to ask, I think, are the Mormons. I think the church requires them to keep a full year’s worth of food on hand for emergencies. And indeed, if you go to a place like Emergency Essentials (surprise, they’re based in Utah) you can find many options, including ready-to-go sets of dehydrated and freeze-dried canned foodstuffs of all sorts, as well as bulk grains and legumes.
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Oh, and they have MREs, too, which will keep a good long time – lower storage temperatures increase the shelf life.
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In addition, they have non-food supplies for things like water purification and storage, first aid, etc.
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No, I am not on their payroll, nor am I LDS. But I have given them some of my business, and I’m satisfied with them.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:30 PM
I think there is a name for dried ham, tesso, perhaps. At least I believe that is what they call it in Cajun country. I think strips could dry and keep very well. Except maybe like in the humid climate where I live and one like where you live.
March 10th, 2009 at 11:20 PM
http://longlifefood.com/mre.html
MRE shelf life is above 10 years at storage temps of 60F.
Cheers
March 11th, 2009 at 3:16 AM
Problem with MRE’s is that a lot of times you don’t get them until they are surplus, which means that they’ve been pulled off of MPF ships and the like because they’ve already passed their “ready use” date.
So, it’s hard to gauge shelf life. I guess as long as you rotate stock occasionally, and take the older ones hunting or something, you can probably keep a pretty reliable supply on hand.