While not a doomsday prepper by any means, I do have enough emergency equipment, food and water to last several weeks should the need arise.  

I would suggest everyone do the same because you never know. 

 

for those who haven't yet seen it, http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/the-great-st-josephs-day-blizzard_topic2143.html" rel="nofollow - this might provide some interesting reading ....

 

http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/the-great-st-josephs-day-blizzard_topic2143.html" rel="nofollow - http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/the-great-st-josephs-day-blizzard_topic2143.html

As a result, I have become an outfitter of sorts and have collected quite a bit of outdoor cooking equipment over the years.  I have a CampChef Pro 3 25,000 BTU burner propane stove, several dutch ovens and storage for 100 gallons of water used on the bike trips because they can be carried by one of the support vehicles required to move along 15 people for 4 days in the desert.

I dehydrate and seal in mylar bags with O2 absorbers my own meals for the backpacking trips.  These can always be used as a quick, easy and tasty meal in an emergency and can even be prepared in the bag wrapped in a cozy if necessary.

The only equipment required for this is a FoodSaver with an accessory vacuum tube and a cheap iron to seal the bags.

I have stored other foods at home in this manner in case of a real emergency.  Fruits, vegetables, sweet potatoes, mushrooms etc., are dehydrated and sealed as above or in large mason jars.  Rice, dried beans, lentils and spices can be stored for up to 30 years (depending on what you are storing) in this manner. Add some powdered gravies, commercially produced freeze dried potatoes (potatoes do not dehydrate well at home) and a rotating stock of SPAM,  tuna and other canned goods and you will be living large should the need arise.

Time to revisit this old thread.

If you live under the proverbial rock you can skip this post.

Heck, you can skip it even if you live above ground.

I've never been much of what you might call a prepper, but I have taken the time to learn about long term food storage.

Recent world events have triggered me in several areas. Financial investment and long term food storage being the largest of those. I've been busy storing home dehydrated vegetables, dehydrated pre-cooked sweet potatoes, fruits, beans, lentils, rice and flour. Yes, canning is an option and I may choose to put up some meat, but until that happens canned meats are appearing on my home shelves. Last time I hit Costco, there were only 4-25lb bags of bread flour on the floor. Aside from supply chain breakdowns, and the rise of the World Economic Forum, Ukrain is a major wheat producer of the world, but this years harvest isn't going to come in for some reason . There is also a fertilizer shortage for some reason . Food shortages are coming and this has become a serious business at casa gracoman. I'm asking you folks out there to not take this situation lightly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyagcwQtANQ - - Yes, home freeze driers are a thing now

I'm not thinking this situation is going to go on forever although I suppose it could if things escalate. And they could. I'm fully expecting a bad year though. Consider learning about long term food storage and putting that knowledge into action.

https://youtu.be/-5RPwo0dlek - What is causing supply chain breakdown

I keep thinking I need to get on some long-term food prep, but I just never seem to find the time. I have a feeling it's going to bite me in the backside here soon.

BTW, a couple years ago my brother bought one of the home freeze driers. Pretty cool stuff. He left it at my parents house while his new house was being built, and my dad has been going hog wild with it. Freeze drying really oddball stuff, and pretty much anything he can get his hands on. I have some freeze dried hamburger patties in the freezer (even though I know they are shelf stable) that I'm not real sure I want to try. Freeze dried salt water taffy is really good though.

My experience with freeze dried foods is an old one.  I used freeze dried dinners during my backpacking days.  They were all awful and all expensive, but they filled a need.  Little by little, I changed over to only one freeze dried dinner (along with a 2nd for just in case) and light weight home made dinners.  Rice w/powdered black beans, dried potatoes and similar items.  Then I got a Malamoot that was capable of carrying 50+ lbs.  This and the addition of a dehydrator radically improved dinners on the trail.  

I don't know if commercially prepared freeze dried dinners have improved but I understand home freeze drying produces quality products.  I'm sure not all foods freeze dry well but do not know which foods do and which don't.  Many dehydrated foods come back so well you might not realize they were ever dehydrated.

Dehydrated green beans next to 4 year old rehydrated green beans

A bowl of 4 year old dehydrated green beans that have been rehydrated

Dehydrated foods don't preserve nutrients as well as freeze drying but it does well enough.  Dehydrated foods will easily last for a full year without doing anything more than storing in a Mason/Ball jar that is kept in a cool, dry and dark place.

Dehydrated foods take up less space than freeze dried foods.  Both have the water removed but the cell structure remains intact with freeze drying.  No so with dehydration so they are more compact.

Potatoes don't dehydrate well, so just buy dried potato flakes. They aren't great but they are a thing.  Dehydrated frozen hash browns are amazingly good. Dehydrated cooked sweet potatoes are indistinguishable from fresh.

Learning how to dehydrate foods correctly for long term storage is important.  Low oxygen, foods, dark and moisture are a fantastic environment for botulism. 

Gracoman,

Firstly, a pleasantry to see you and your interesting post here. 

Hope all is going well and have a lovely weekend.  

http://www.reuters.com/business/indonesias-palm-oil-export-ban-leaves-global-buyers-with-no-plan-b-2022-04-25/ - Indonesia's palm oil export ban leaves global buyers with no plan B

Palm oil is banned from the European Union for health reasons.  

My husband and I  have never used this product.

Hope all is well and have a nice evening. 

Best wishes from Spain.

Margi, first world folks like you and I may understand the health issues associated with palm oil.  Asia, Africa and India not so much.  Palm oil is a popular cooking oil in these places.  But, the situation is more complicated than the health aspect of palm oil as a cooking oil.  Indonesia has banned the export of Palm oil as part of a food security measure. This is very telling.

Prices of all cooking oils will rise as a result.  

Margie, you may be using palm oil and not realize it. It is more than just a cooking oil. Palm oil is also used in the manufacture of many different products.

My advice to everybody who reads this thread is to learn about long term (1 year minimum) storage and begin the process for themselves.  The worst that can happen is you have stored foods that can be used as desired even after the shortage situation is resolved.  If things escalate, and they may, this situation may not be resolved as soon as I believe it will be.   This Palm Oil thing is just one more bit of evidence supporting my position in this.  I will post more evidence as I run across it, but all one has to do is check grocery store shelves to see shortages that are already here.

Gracoman,

I live in Spain and believe me, ALL the Spanish EVOO I purchase is SPANISH ..  

I use alot of Evoo which are Major E.U. Award Winning Evoos of 1st class. 

I will sign off as it is quite late here and I must be up at 6am tomorrow.

TRY:   Read OLIVE OIL TIMES - it is in both English and Spanish and available online.

[/QUOTE]

Margie, you may be using palm oil and not realize it. It is more than just a cooking oil. Palm oil is also used in the manufacture of many different products.

As mentioned I read labels for one and secondly it is ILLEGAL in the European Union, and I am a European National ..  

So, you are incorrect ..  I also only purchase Spanish ecological products when we eat at home.  So there is no palm oil in them.

This is the end of this conversation ..  

Palm oil is used as an ingredient in many non-food related products.  Palm oil is in cosmetics, shampoos (Sodium Laureth Sulfate is palm oil), soaps, detergents, and even biodiesel.  Are these products illegal in the European union?  If so, I stand corrected.

Please note that many products that use palm oil aren't clearly labeled. Palm oil and its derivatives can appear under many names, including: Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate, Palmitate, Palmolein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm Stearine, Palmitoyl Oxostearamide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Lauryl Lactylate/Sulphate, Hyrated Palm Glycerides, Etyl Palmitate, Octyl Palmitate, Palmityl Alcohol

Fermented foods are not only fantastic for your gut biome, they will last almost indefinitely in your fridge.

gracoman wrote: My 68 oz Fido jar sauerkraut just finished up this morning.  Been fermenting for 30+ days. https://imageshack.com/i/pnQBnBKSj"> http://www.phoenixhelix.com/2013/05/08/no-fail-no-pound-sauerkraut/ - Fido jar sauerkraut is simple and amazing Edited this post to reflect the proper fermentation time.  30+ days, not the 20+ I originally posted.

The last time I ordered a 25lb bag of hard red winter wheat berries it was under $30.00.  That was after a price increase.  Today it is $55.00. Expect this to be inexpensive, if available at all, by the time October rolls around.

https://www.palousebrand.com/products/hard-red-winter-wheat-berries-25-lb?variant=40135474970677

I also buy other bulk beans, lentils etc from Palouse.  They are more expensive than the bulk section of your local grocery store but the products are fresher and general quality is better.

https://www.palousebrand.com/collections/shop-all

These products can all go into long term storage sealed in mylar bags with added oxygen absorbers. 

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2022/05/03/1096044152/how-palm-oil-prices-are-affecting-the-global-economy

I shall not continue this soap opera with someone who clearly does not believe that this is illegal in The E.U.  

My Evoo per bottle runs between 18 - 30 € per bottle ..  We only buy Top Spanish Evoo. 

As far as cosmetics go,  I only use "ecological" products and shower products.

It is like GMOs -- THERE IS AN "E.U. labelling law" that this POISON must be stated on the packaging IF IT IS GMO AND LABELLED NO GMO IF THIS IS THE CASE.

The Usa is totally different in respect to labelling laws and the healthcare etcetra.

Good luck and start reading labels ..  Stay healthy.

Those Asian countries are killing PANDAS  !!!   i do NOT use ASIAN ANYTHING.  

IT IS THE SAME WITH  BUYING CANADIAN GMO WHEAT FLOUR AND FALSE PASTA OR PURCHASING ITALIAN ECOLOGICAL FLOUR AND PASTA ..  The choice is YOUR´s !!!

Just started a 1 gal container of 7 pounds of cabbage for fermentation sauerkraut.  This is easy stuff. One only needs a glass jar, non-iodized salt and a few flavorings id desired.

Margi, I understand that there is a ban on palm oil in the European Union and I understand why.  Agreeing with such a ban is another story.  What I can't find is information on any bans of palm oil derivatives.  I suspect there is no such ban as it would be close to impossible and put the European Union at an economic disadvantage.  We all know money is much more important than climate or peoples lives so I tend to believe no such palm oil derivative ban exists. 

yum! I need to make some again soon.

The Asean Post ..  

  

The problem with things like this is they are always political with no regard whatsoever for the people who are caught in the middle.  The European gov'ts want to get reelected so they enact laws that will be popular without consequence or retribution.  On the other side, Developing Nation govt's involved want to make more money so they squeeze and squeeze the local populations until they can't squeeze anymore. Its a win-win for the rich and powerful.

Govt's should find solutions to these problems before enacting political laws that create more human misery. Billions of people rely on palm oil for food and emplyment.  They don't have the education, or inclination to worry about healthful foods.  They are busy worrying about where dinner is coming from. For many, if they don't work that day they don't eat that night. Even as cheap as palm oil is, many cannot afford it all the time 

Too bad about them I guess. It sucks to be poor anywhere.  It really sucks to be poor in a developing nation.  You are at the mercy of everyone and everything.  Let them eat dirt.  As long as the Western world knows panda's are happy and healthy.

Solve the habitat problem first.  Restrict peoples wages and food supply after proper substitutes are available. 

It occurred to me that perhaps I should use a couple of examples to illustrate my stand on this.

Arguably, one of the greatest,if not the greatest threat to climate (also unsustainable BTW) is the agribusiness of meat production. A politician who advocated for a decease in meat production, nay, a huge decrease in meat production, by making it illegal, would be committing political suicide. Such a measure would fail immediately. I don't believe we will be seeing something like this soon without coercion.  Cooperation ain't gonna happen like it did with Palm oil.  It hits to close to home.

Over fishing of the oceans isn't illegal, for the most part.  Where it is, it still happens anyway.  Fish populations are being decimated. Salmon runs are shorter and smaller.  Japanese whaling and sharks are still being killed for their fins. This has slowed but it still happens anyway illegal or not.

Don't get me started on poultry, hog production. These agribusinesses are horrific.  Sometimes entire flocks or herds are culled due to disease.

There are no cute furry animals to protect here. Politics dictate it continue. People would be upset if they couldn't eat meat of some kind, and a lot of it. 

 

  

 

https://www.healthycanning.com/wp-content/uploads/USDA-Complete-Guide-to-Home-Canning-2015-revision.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdkJj2KyNi4 - The coming global food crisis explained

 

The current Netherlands farmer protests are https://youtu.be/mswHVPD-j_o - not covered by American media .  These protests are a reaction to the WEF's (World Economic Forum's) nitrogen policy.  The gov't there is demanding livestock be culled and farming be drastically cut back. Why? Because nitrogen.  It is interesting to note the air we breathe is 77% nitrogen. 

I am posting this here as this policy will exacerbate the food shortages already happening.  This Winter promises to be a rough one.

   

http://fortune.com/2022/07/07/hummus-shortage-chickpea-price-soaring/ - Global chickpea shortage predicted due to Russian/Ukrainian conflict, poor crop yields due to government action and changing weather patterns.  Hummus may have has gained some popularity in the US as a dip but chickpeas are an important staple in India and the Middle East.

"The largest chickpea exporter, Australia, has seen output decline as floods have left some fields under water, while the ones that can be harvested are struggling to find a spot in an ocean freight vessel container.

Meanwhile, Turkey, the second-largest exporter of chickpeas, completely banned the export of the bean on Mar. 11 to ensure domestic food supply security that could be jeopardized due to conflict between Russia and Ukraine."

Nothing invites conflict more than empty stomachs. 

https://www.palousebrand.com/?omnisendContactID=5cbf6e0fa2ea58f61d867ab3&utm_campaign=Newsletter_Types+of+Wheat+Berry_+Highly+engaged&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Ominsend - Palouse is offering free 2-day shipping and 20% off all 25lb products.   My family and I can easily live on beans, lentils etc. with added rice and vegetables.  I already have their 25lb bag of chickpeas and just ordered 25lbs of brown lentils.  I've always likes their brown lentils.  They don't get mushy when cooked. I've been storing bags of Costco rice and dehydrating veggies all along.

This deal is only good for today 7/11 and tomorrow 7/12/22.

Use the code FAST20 when checking out.

I may just order 25lbs of Red Kidney Beans. 

I always miss Prime day.  Always miss Prime black Friday too.  Last year, I cancelled Prime altogether and found out I never really needed it.  Seems I can wait the 5 days it takes to ship stuff me after all.  

FOMO (fear of missing out) is a nasty piece of human nature that makes us all buy stuff so we can store it alongside our other https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sctC_cuP-Hc - stuff that we never really needed.