fundamentals-how much food storage?

FRIDAY FUNDAMENTALS-HOW MUCH FOOD STORAGE?


The standard advice in prep circles has always been to stockpile one years worth of food. The assumption being, I suppose, that in one year the fallout would decrease enough so you could emerge from your shelter, scrape off a foot of topsoil to remove contamination, somehow plant a crop in that new infertile soil and harvest a crop before the year was up. Of course this was foolish, but keep in mind we are dealing with Yuppie Survivalists here. The ones that assume money equals wealth, the oil will never run out, the US is so magical and mystical that it could resume operating business as usual no matter what disaster befell us and that maintaining luxuries after the collapse is more important than survival itself. Hey, just look at a middlin size city like New Orleans receiving a mild disaster and how bang up a job the feds did on that one. And if you are blaming the idiot Bush Junior ( dumber than a box of rocks by anyone’s definition ), just look at how much progress the new prez has made putting that Humpty Dumpty back together. Oh? What’s that? I didn’t quite hear you. Did you say, NO FRIGGIN PROGRESS????? That’s right Sherlock. Because it isn’t about a bunch of hot air or money hot off the presses. It is about lack of energy. And as far as dumber than even Bush, trying to maintain your luxuries after western civilization crashes takes the cake. People unable to live without refrigerators and air conditioning, pre-packaged meals or modern plastic carbines deserve to die. They posses no fortitude. Their only claim on the oxygen supply is that they are better wage slaves than the rest of us. Go down with your ship.

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Now, I’m not saying a years supply of food is silly. Most of us should pop a Champaign cork ( I was a wonderful fellow and splurged on the bubbly for the unworthy spouse on our anniversary last week [ I celebrated survival and I’m sure she celebrated my impending mental break down ] and the cheapest was $6!!! I took one sip and got an unpleasant buzz, which kind of sums up this romp through a little slice of heaven ), pat ourselves on the back and do a dance of self congratulatory gloating over the soon to die masses for our discipline and foresight. One year is great. But it simply isn’t enough. You are cutting too close to the bone. You have no margin for error. Several things are working against you. First, you must factor in the prospect of a prolonged collapse ( sorry, Druid Dude, not as long as three hundred years- doomer and proud of it. Goooooo, doomers! ). Second, our population and soil are far different than when this advice first started circulating. As you will readily admit, we are surely in a prolonged economic collapse. Things might actually get to the point where you must dip into your storage food. Of course it is silly, but as all social safety nets start to fail you might have no choice despite the most intelligent thought out plans and preps. Food aid might fail before the collapse. As might almost all employment. You can’t argue that we could be dying from transportation failures even as the government stays in control. Sort of like what started the middle east collapse.

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And what about a doubling of population? You don’t think twice as many mouths closer to you don’t pose a threat? You must have a lot of hidden food to account for official or criminal confiscation. And soil fertility is a lot worse widespread than it used to be. You very well might not be able to feed yourself after just one year. It isn’t that one year isn’t a good idea, but that it simply doesn’t assume enough paranoia. Yes, it is three times as expensive ( almost four times in some places ) as just ten years ago ( but whether from inflation, Peak Oil, global shortages or a combination thereof is hard to say ), but still a screaming bargain compared to historical food prices. Buy grains like they will disappear soon, because they will ( or, best case scenario, your job disappears and you have zero purchasing power ). And buy a lot of it. Three years of grain, 1200 pounds per family member, should be your minimum. Don’t panic, you can do it one hundred pounds in three five gallon poly buckets at a time. Just don’t keep putting it off. Look at Japan and Libya for just the latest example of Black Swans becoming normal and daily.

END FUNDAMENTALS-see below for more drivel

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I received my last two ordered books and gave them a quick glance. The Ultimate Guide To Homesteading was, how do I say this without offending anyone?, not up to expectations. It wasn’t bad, being five hundred pages on glossy paper with plenty of photos, and only $11, but every subject I turned to was very broadly covered. In covering everything, it covered nothing. For the money, it was hard to go wrong but keep in mind that it is more an introduction into homesteading. It gave you a great overview but if you want anything expanded you need to look elsewhere. I’d call it a coffee table book more than anything else. The other book, Surviving Off-Off Grid, was so good I picked it up and read a third of it. Having said that, there are some caveats. As admitted by the author, this is not instructional as much as it is inspirational. And boy howdie is this guy an extreme Jesus freak. I imagine he stuck that cross up his ass himself, he is walking around stiffly and proudly. Most authors started preaching at me, I’d vomit blood and hurl the book across the room. But he writes so well, and holds your interest, that you forgive him his religious lens. This is high praise indeed from me because my limited free time is precious and I do not suffer fools lightly when it comes to my second love, books ( my first love is myself of course ). You won’t learn much here, but I’ve rarely encountered such a compelling argument for freeing yourself from wage slavery and high tech dependence. If you or your family needs spiritual motivation to divorce yourself from the narcotic of luxury, this just might do the trick. Otherwise, I’d advise against spending $20 on this book. If you have the money to spare, it is great preaching. Otherwise, buy survival goods.

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