same old

SAME OLD
Before we begin today's article on eating the same old crap, a word on the Gulf Of Mexico oil issue that stirred up the hornets nest in Friday's comment section. I've already responded at one time to the oil capping issue. Because of the cost involved in pumping oil ( plus the cost associated with finding it ) even if a well has a lot of oil, it may not have enough to be profitable. Right now, a lot of the oil pumped in the lower 48 are marginal wells anyway. So if they are capped they are below even those marginal wells in yield. And not all wells are created equal. Wells in the Gulf are much more expensive than those on land. In case the doubling of canned goods prices haven't convinced you, we are running short on affordable steel. That is creating a shortage in wells, which use a lot of the stuff ( not to mention the labor shortages, credit contraction, etc. ). And Saudi Arabia is using a lot more rigs to keep its production numbers up. Don't forget the increasing population of most oil producing countries is creating a lot more internal demand for the fuel.
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Now, as far as boots on the ground reporting that the wells will shut down. I don't doubt that this could very well be true. Although you have to keep in mind that a lot of what gets circulated is rumor. Despite the "I know a guy that is connected and has all the facts" reports, a very real gulf of information exists between workers and management. Keep in mind that a lot of management jobs rely on the monopoly and manipulation of information to exist. You can't assume that a manager that hoards and parcels out information will freely share it with others. I remember a Wonder Bread vendor that claimed to have the inside scoop on wheat futures ( back when I managed a C-store ). I don't doubt that he thought he had the goods, information wise, but needless to say his warnings came to naught. It sounded good. Who better to know about the future price of a commodity than a huge buyer of the stuff? I just think that somewhere down the line of water cooler reporting, the facts got lost or distorted or embellished. Think about the combat troops on the ground and the Pentagon brass. The troops know who the real enemy is, which is different than the media reports. The brass knows it is protecting the oil fields, and could care less who it kills, friend or foe. Two totally different points of view. Both are right, but one is strategic and the other tactical. The two might be worlds apart.
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Store what you eat and eat what you store. You must follow this advice. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up for failure. For instance, I might eat fresh ingredient beef strogenoff. I would never again eat the freeze dried equivalent. Nasty stuff. So I don't stock it ( I'm leaving the price factor out of it for now ). On a related note, our cook at the homeless kitchen has been here for seven years. In that time she has tried a lot of different survival foods that were donated ( a lot after Y2K, the short sighted fools ). A lot of it, the majority it seems, cooks up very poorly. The texture and the taste is not close to real food, by a large margin. I'll have to ask her again for specifics, make an article out of it. Just be aware before you spend big bucks on the slop. Anyway, I stock whole grains. Lots of it. Not enough, only a few years. Storage space is an issue. But I eat the crap everyday. I'll have no problem eating my storage food. I used to grind my own flour, and will again as necessary. For convenience right now I just buy the store bought. It is $2 a five pound sack for white flour, but whole wheat is only eighty cents more a sack. I know I could save even more by grinding, but the amount is not enough to create another chore I need to worry about ( a buck every other week ).
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I think that where we encounter problems is that most people expect variety. They were raised on it, they expect it. Why, during a collapse, I don't understand. But I think this is almost everyone. Americans are very spoiled, food wise. But food variety is just another benefit of excess oil. It will end. Very soon, we will thank all the gods that we even have enough calories, let alone a variety of foods to provide them. I started reading the old book on Chinese rural farmers, Broken Earth, this weekend. Not bad, I haven't gotten much past the authors arrival and his encounter with red tape. But it promises to be a great anthropology read. One thing that stuck with me was the Chinese preoccupation with food ( this book was from 1981 or so, before the economic improvements and right after The Great Leap Forward ). Feasts celebrating weddings or births or what not were given extra meaning by the fact that this was usually the only time the very monotonous diet varied. It was not unusual for most meals to be little more than just rice, and meat and fat could be as little as once a week.
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I don't expect my future diet to be much more than wheat, with corn and rice thrown in occasionally for variety. Meat will be a luxury after the first six months or so. And while I am not looking forward to this, at least I will be mentally prepared. To physically prepare, I am eating wheat twice a day, five days a week. This is how I've eaten for years, even since I became poor. Wheat is filling and cheap. And healthy. I don't have to worry about digestive health problems either. I eat it for breakfast six days a week ( I usually have an early lunch the seventh ) and for lunch five days a week. By making dinner different every night, I satisfy my cravings for variety. And by making dinner the protein and fat servings, I think I can stand this regimen week after week. My body knows a treat is coming up. It also helps that I do something else while eating. It tricks my mind into ignoring the fact I'm eating the same crap.
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Anyway, this might be a coping strategy for you in the future, when you become poor also. And it will save you from spending a lot of money on prep food. Just buy a majority wheat, a bit of beans. Corn is half the price and can fill in if needed, but you need to spout wheat for your veggies. Plus, don't forget lard. You will need fat after your body burns off all your excess.
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