Provisions

Today I thought I would touch upon the subject of longer term and bulkier survival foods. Like what kind of stuff should one store and stock in the shelter or go-bag for self-sustenance. Remember the public safety agencies are warning that citizens should be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least 3 days (72 hours) without outside assistance. Actually for most households that is not a very tall order depending on how much non-perishable, canned or ready to eat foods are in ones kitchen or pantry.

Eating perishables from the refrigerator, and later, the freezer would probably be the wise first choice. If all power failed, the contents of the refrigerator would almost certainly be safe for the first 24 hours (if you don't open the refrigerator too much). Frozen foods in the freezer would be at least 48 hours. Treat the freezer as you would an ice chest or portable cooler (as long as the ice and melty ice lasts), thereafter it's like a refrigerator.

Bulk non-perishables can be the basis of longterm survival. Wheat (flour), corn and grain, rice, potatoes, yams, and starchy roots have been the staple of diets for all human cultures the worldover, and indeed, a supply of any of these items (along with water) can insure survival for a considerable time. The more diverse a culture's food supply, the more adaptable it is to natural disaster, climate change or crop failure. Yams, potatoes and other starchy vegetable roots have gram per gram the most immediate nutritional value, however, they are also the most perishable of the staples listed. Wheat and processed cereal products (breads, pasta, flatbreads, and cakes) unfortunately have the least food value per gram. Rice is a good balance between the two, but rice is very resource intensive to produce (water, space, energy). It may just be a cultural bias on my part, but I prefer the compactness, convenience, and comforting satisfaction of rice. A 50 lb rice sack would amply supply my personal needs for a year. I tend to buy multiple, vacuum sealed 10 lb bags and stack them in storage.

Bulk foods for one's survival shelter should ideally have good nutritional value (read: calories per ounce). Beans, corn starch, peanut butter, sugar, powdered milk, baking mix, and pasta are all good readily available things available in bulk. Taste and variety are important (for morale) so stocking supplemental seasonings is also a good idea, chicken bouillion, salt, pepper, chili powder, crushed red pepper, garlic powder, lemon pepper, curry powder, seasoning salt, Italian mix, and cinnamon. Common condiments especially in single serve packets are great to have, soy sauce, tabasco, ketchup, lemon juice, barbecue sauce, sweet and sour sauce, mustard. Honey is an excellent survival sweetener. It will essentially last indefinitely at room temperature as it is technically a liquid without enough moisture to spoil or support microbes. Blocks of honey have been "thawed" after 100 years and found edible.

The rest of my bulk non-perishable survival foods are canned foods. Canning is a method of long term food storage in use since the 18th century, basically vacuum sealing foods into airtight metal cans. Without air, decomposition is suspended. All of my canned foods are carefully marked with the date of purchase, which allows me to approximately consume my canned foods in chronological order. I have a core of canned meats, turkey spam, tuna, chicken, oysters, clams, and lots and lots of beans, pastas, soups, chilis and stews. Then I largely depend on my canned supplies to provide me with vegetable and fruits in the longterm (the fresh stuff out of the refrigerator and frozen out of the freezer being exhausted first). I do get a variety of fruits and vegetables, but fully half of my cans are corn because of it's higher food value. Again, variety is not an inconsequential consideration as monotony brings down morale. An occasional surprise, like premium olives or fruit pie filling can be a welcome "treat" and morale booster.

I've already mentioned that I am a big fan of dry, powdered, dehydrated foods. Instant soups, instant coffee, instant cocoa, instant energy beverage supplement my "portable" disaster supplies. I always have a case or two of chocolate or coffee flavoured Ensure onhand also, each being a high-protein, high-calorie meal replacement. When I need to have a walking meal or a working meal, I sip down an Ensure to keep me going as I go.

Now I'll talk about specialized disaster supplies. These are food supplies specially designed or specially packaged to be long-lasting, compact/portable, and nutritionally balanced.

The core of these supplies is the Mainstay or Datrex non-provient ration. It was developed for lifeboat survival kits to keep one alive without creating thirst. It's basically like a dense, high-calorie shortbread loaded with fat. Mainstays taste kind of sweetish neutral to me. I think Datrex is tastier (not that it matters, in an emergency I'd eat lard). They come in vacuum sealed foil-mylar packages shaped like perfect rectangular bricks or slabs, about the size of a double compact disc case (like the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever). This brick or slab is divided into 9 cubic sections for Mainstay, or 18 wafers in the case of Datrex (pictured above). Supposedly, one Mainstay will supply the nutritional needs of one person for one day, so by extrapolation, one cube equals approximately one "meal". So doing the math for Datrex, a package has 3600 calories if 18 wafers have 200 calories each, enough for 1 person for 72 hours. They have a 5 to 10 year shelf life if stored optimally without temperature fluctuation. Both products take up so little space that they are an excellent option as a fallback option for a shelter, car or go-bag.

Before I consume my Mainstays, I have a supply of military MREs and other freeze-dried backpacker's meals. Most of the so-called MREs sold commercially are civilian copies, or repackaged MREs (usually identified by the clear plastic bag). Military MREs in light brown or older dark brown plastic bags(not readily available to civilians as they are technically illegal to re-sell, as are MREs in yellow plastic bags which are disaster relief supplies) are great complete, self-contained, portable 2500 calorie meals. After working out the bugs and listening to soldier input, the "new" modern MREs are very tasty and well designed (even to the extent that they can be made "hot", and provide both vegetarian and breakfast options too). Look for the four digit lot number on the cases. The last two digits represent the year of manufacture, and MREs are supposed to have only a 3-5 year shelf life. I will aver that I have consumed 10 year old MREs (and 20 year old C-rats) without any ill-effects. Freeze-dried backpackers meals are a delicious, hearty choice for quick, just add hot water meals. For what you get for the price, MREs are a better value IMO. It's best to buy these backpacker's meals on sale, in bulk. Though it is not readily available yet on the civilian market, I shall mention that there is a smaller, compact, modern LRRP version of the MRE. I haven't personally tried one yet, but I have seen them on pallets and know they exist.

Finally, though I've covered "snacks" and quick energy bars elsewhere, I'd like to mention some emergency starvation strategies. I will only disclaim that this information should be taken apocryphally. I tend to "graze" (snack constantly) and I keep a sack, or a tube, of trail mix type stuff close at hand (nuts, dried fruit, M&Ms, etc). If I do this, I am fine with skipping meals for a long time. Caffeine, though a diuretic, is an effective appetite suppressant also (and the basis of the diet pill industry). Eating something dense and starchy (slowly), followed by drinking a beverage tends to make me feel "full" (as the food seems to expand in the stomach). When water is short, putting something (candy, a button, even a pebble) in the mouth can keep your mouth salivating and staving off the sensation of thirst. A packet of Jell-O powder can give one a temporary short term sugar-rush energy burst. Remember though, that the physiological process of digestion requires water. When you are dehydrated, eating (esp foods with salts and protein) can dehydrate you further and make you sick. I've also blogged about the limits of human endurance as far as food. It might be comforting to know that the human body can survive a long, long time to actually starve without food (nominally a month, and anectodotally as much as three to SIX months!). If rations are limited and the likelihood of rescue is not imminent, some lifeboat survival instructions recommend not eating for the first 24 hours (using the body's stored reserves first). Cannabilism is a touchy issue. I guess when it comes down to it I'd just go back to there being no rules or laws in survival, do what you have to do. And as a personal decision, would you rather be a living survivor (forever looked down on by society) or a dead nice guy (who followed the rules to the end)?