Food Storage And Ice Age Farmer

I was looking for information the other day. I was wondering why certain food prices were going up. I asked a friend of mine who was a buyer for Kroger but retired a few years ago. He said he had been away too long that his sources had dried up. But as I was searching my wife turned me on to iceagefarmer on You tube. Now I think You tube is a communist organization but I conceded that it is the best platform out there. I’m hoping others will change that. But anyway, as I watched Iceage’s video reports I got the answers I was seeking. He searches the internet for information about food supplies throughout the world. I like his perspective and analysis of food production and how he encourages his viewers to grow their own food and raise their own animals. He also shows where he got his information. I’ve watched his channel for a while and researched myself and I want to say GET YOUR FOOD STORAGE! I’m not meaning to sound panicked or shrill, but everyone who reads this should be working on their food storage. I don’t think it’s too late or anything so now would be a good time to start if you haven’t already. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t want to be doom-and-gloom so I try to be positive. One of the things that most “preppers” thought at the beginning of this pandemic was , “I told you so!” Most prepared people didn’t clamor to get toilet paper and food. Look at your preparedness program and try to envision holes in it. When the pandemic started, we noticed some holes in our program. We were able to take care of those problems and now we are better prepared. If you are new to this concentrate on the basics. When I teach preparedness I start with the basics of survival: Air, Shelter, Water, Food, Fire, Security or the acronym ASWiFFS. Most of us have air and shelter covered. The next priority would be water, which is the easiest next to air to maintain. Now I realize that water is heavy, and space consuming, but with some thought, and little money you can have your emergency water needs covered. When storing water ensure that it is not next to gasoline or other chemicals. The fumes may migrate into the water and ruin the flavor or even contaminate the water. Used good containers. Milk jugs are not a good choice. The plastic breaks down quickly. Juice containers are a better alternative. Washing them thoroughly keeps the taste of the original product, the juice, from getting into the taste of the water. There are many containers for water that are not expensive if you are looking for a new container. If you decide on used barrels for your water storage make sure of what was stored in the barrels originally. Make sure it was something edible. But also that it wasn’t something that will ruin the taste of your water like a pickle barrel. The water would still be good, but it may taste like pickles. After water is food. Start small with maybe a goal of what you would regularly eat for a month. Then up that to 3 months. In the meantime learn about grains and beans. With this knowledge of how to cook with more raw items you can up your storage to 6 months and a year. It is a process so the sooner you start the sooner you can get where your family is taken care of in a crisis. My wife said yesterday that we were crazy for having a year supply and being prepared for all these years. I reminded her that several years ago we lived off of our food storage for about a year when we went through a financial crisis. Having food storage saves money because when we need something we just get it and don’t have to make another trip to the store saving time and gas. Because of our food storage we save money because we can shop sales and not have to get that item because we have none. We’ve helped others who were struggling. We have helped, and continue to help our children by sharing the abundance that we have as they work on their own. The town we live near has had problems several times with their water system where they had to boil their water. We have a well and many gallons of backup water to supplement that. We’ve never had a problem with our water. Even when we have a power outage we have alternative ways of lighting, heating, and cooking. We’ve used our preparedness many times for temporary reasons. If there is ever a more long term reason we could survive quite well. She had not thought of those things together as a whole. I like contingencies. After you have covered the basics of ASWiFFS, it would be good to look at other things like energy, medical, and other needed areas. In 1912 the Titanic was considered an “unsinkable” ocean liner. Yet an iceberg sank it by breaking 5 of its 16 chambers. It would have survived if only 4 had been flooded. It was that 5th chamber. In preparedness what is your “5th Chamber”? What would “sink” you in an emergency? For me it’s a hot shower. That would make me pretty irritable. So, we have several solar showers, hand soap, and shampoo. Enough to me through a year at least. I also have an outdoor shower that is fed by a black barrel that sits on top of the shower. It is built with pallets. So I can have my hot shower. What can you not live without? Do you need to vacuum can chocolate? Do you need to buy a hand powered clothes washer? We all have some 5th chamber issues. Put your mind to it an come up with a plan “B” or even ”C” for what will sink you in an emergency. For now I would encourage you to work on water and food. Especially food. I don’t know for sure but I think there will start to be shortages of certain foods starting in about June of 2021. Prices will also continue to rise too. I could be wrong, but I see several indicators that tell me this may be imminent. If you want to control people, control food and medical. I think this pandemic has covered lots of medical. Next will be food. Between this and gun control with ammo shortages, controlling the masses will be quite easy. I know this sounds like conspiracy theory. Actually I believe in some of that, but this may be circumstance and possibly evil men. Being prepared will never hurt you. Being self-sufficient will never do you wrong. Sometimes it may be a hassle and more work, but it will always benefit you and your family. Do you best and prepare on! Semper Paratus Check 6 Burn

New Years Plans For Defense

I hope that all of you had a good Christmas and a fun New Year. With the new year comes looking back but more importantly, looking forward. Most people start the new year off with trying to set goals and resolutions to become better in the upcoming year. I have done this and have hope for a chance to change and to improve. May I suggest goals for your preparation and defense? One of the goals I have is to improve my skills in the area of preparation. I come from a generation where using a tourniquet during a medical emergency was a “last resort.” We have been at war for 20 years now and we’ve learned some medical realities. One is that a tourniquet can save lives. So one of the skills I want to learn this quarter is how to effectively use a tourniquet. My goals are in a few areas. Spiritual, emotional/mental, Physical, preparedness/defense, and matrimonial. If you think that is too much pick the two or three most important of these and work on them. In the area of preparation I would suggest maybe taking inventory of your food/water, medical, and other preparation supplies. Write it down and put it in your computer. If you can assess where you are in your program, you can see where you would like to improve. If you have done very little, try to prioritize what you think is the most important. I would suggest working on water first. With water all you need to do is figure out where to store it, in what containers, and how to treat it. Water is pretty plentiful in this country and there are many ways to store it. It’s pretty easy. Next I would work on food storage. Then I would concentrate on medical. All of these have skills attached. In defense you might assess your home security. You may want to work on individual security in the form of self-defense. I have obviously chosen guns as personal and home protection. I don’t put all my eggs in one basket. I have trained and acquired equipment in other forms of defense and weapons. I think for the purpose of this article I will focus on defense. But I feel a well rounded preparation plan should be in place. Security and defense go hand in hand. Doing a security assessment on your home and property is a great idea to start off or to improve your plans. The same goes for defense. If you have small children talking about “stranger danger” or how to call for help if needed may need to be taught or reviewed. We have an “important phone numbers” that were near our phones when we had hard lines in our home. We still have those numbers posted in the same place as we always have so that everyone will know where it is. With cell phones, no one knows phone numbers anymore. I’ve also made small lists of these numbers to carry in my wallet if I ever need it. Without my phone I’m lost so I need a few back ups. I try to not rely on technology so much but it’s hard when it does so much. Evacuation (bug out) plans are a good idea too. Where will you meet if you have to leave and you’re not all together? Short term, where will you meet in case of fire? Do you have a place to go? Defensively, do you have any idea of the training you would like for you and your family this year? Taking a shooting course or martial arts, or even a class on how to use pepper spray would be good to plan for during the coming year. Reviewing what you have in place is always good at least once a year. Re-evaluating your ammo storage and plans you have for practice through-out the year would be good. Looking at your defensive skills and thinking about how you would like to improve or other things you’d like to learn is also benefit. One of the problems with preparing for defense is that we are taught our entire lives that we should not defend ourselves. When I played basketball as a youth I was taught to not retaliate if someone throws an elbow. If you do, you are usually the one called for a foul. As children we’re taught if we fight back we’ll both be expelled. Even the government teaches “Run, Hide, Fight” when it comes to an active shooter. Fight being the last resort. You Mother probably even taught you, “Violence never solved anything!” These are all true things but under the right conditions, defend yourself. I’m not saying fight instead of giving up your wallet, but sometimes more than the wallet is demanded. I subscribe to General Mattis’s saying “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.” When you get people to understand that there is such a thing as prosocial violence, that it is perfectly OK and they have a right to do it, then violence becomes a useful tool. Having a defensive mindset is most of the way to defense. Plan this year to learn what a defensive mindset is and how to develop one. Prepare for your own defense and make plans to improve and progress. Semper Paratus Check 6 Burn

Resolution: 90 Day Food Storage

Maybe part of your New Year's resolutions is to get your food storage! Let me say at the beginning of this that I believe everyone should be familiar with, and have the desire to attain, grains in their food storage. I think grain is the best food storage item to store because of its longevity if stored correctly, and because of its versatility and nutritional value. But I also recognize that most people don’t have the time or desire to learn about and how to use grain. It does take time to learn how to use well. I believe grain should be the backbone of a food storage program. But having said that, grain is not included in this list because it is not a common food. Beans. 20 pounds. There are many kinds of beans out there but the most popular is clearly the Pinto bean. Beans are nutritious, keep you full, and with a variety of seasoning, very tasty! They are available all over North America, usually in great abundance. Beans can be tricky to use especially as they get older. But between soaking and a pressure cooker, they are easy to use. They are usually very affordable too. Rice 20 pounds Rice is a staple of most of the world. We are fortunate to have a lot of rice in this country. There is white rice that has a longer shelf-life, but brown rice has greater nutritional value. Canned Vegetables 20 Cans Tomatoes, beans, peas, corn, even spinach are a few of what can be found. Buy what you eat. Canned Fruit 20 cans Everything from fruit cocktail to peaches and pears. There are many varieties, like veggies, so you can choose what you like. Fruit can give you a sweet variety. Canned Meat 20 cans There are a lot of canned meats out there. Salmon and tuna, chicken and beef. Even bacon. Even SPAM is considered a meat. So there are many possibilities. Beef, chicken, and turkey stews can be included in this. Oats 4 pounds Oats are very nutritious and filling. Perhaps your Mom was right! Peanut Butter 2 Large jars Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein, with plenty of calories for energy and sustenance. Peanut butter doesn’t have a real long term shelf life but it is excellent for emergency food storage on a one-year timeline. Make sure you rotate this item. Powdered Fruit Drink 2 Large cans Many of these drinks have sugar that in a regular situation you may want to avoid, but as long as the drink has vitamin C, it will do its job. Powdered Milk 5 pounds Powdered milk has a bad reputation as tasting terrible. I can attest to this. But in the last several years powdered milk has improved immensely. Milk is a great source of protein and calcium. Salt 5 pounds Salt is very important in our diet as well as enhancing many foods. Pasta 10 pounds Pasta is an easy meal to fix and a familiar comfort food. Spaghetti Sauce 10 jars This is something that enhances pasta and other dishes. It’s something most of us are used to. Honey and Jam/Jelly 2 pounds of honey, 2 large jars of jam We need some sweetness when we’re going through a difficult time. Sugar works but these items are better for you. Pancake Mix 10 pounds This stores well and only requires water to make. It is easy to use and a comfort food. Soup or Broth 20 cans Soup is pretty affordable. Soup can be eaten as a meal or can be used with rice or pasta. It’s versatile. Cooking Oil 1 Large Container Every diet should have some fat. Peanut butter is a fat but oil can be used in many ways. I like olive oil but there are many oils on the market for cooking. It adds flavor and gives other ways to cook like frying. Spices This items changes everything. A meal can be changed just by adding or changing spices. Garlic, chili peppers, other peppers, onion powder, Italian spices, sage, oregano, and cinnamon are just a sampling of some of the spices that can transform your cooking. Choose the ones that you use the most. Hard Candy 2 Big bags This is one item that can really make an unbearable situation much easier to get through. It’s also good if you have kids to help them feel a little more normal in a bad situation. I think this list is complete enough for the average person. But as you learn about cooking and baking, you will learn what you prefer in foods as far as ease of preparation, and personal preference, you’ll know how to form your program. I highly encourage working on a 90 day supply of food, with plans to increase that to a longer term years supply. These are difficult and trying times that I don’t think will change very soon. Acquiring a food storage will give you peace of mind you can not have from anything else. Semper Paratus Check 6 Burn