MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS

[rocky3]

Of all the warnings of worst foods to eat have you thought what foods you should not store. e.g. Swordfish and other high in mercury fish, non-organic strawberries, because of pesticides,. Canned tomatoes because of BPA, Corn, because of GMO, Sprouts because of E coli and Listeria.
How do you know when buying Freeze Dried vegetables and fruits if they are safe, same with dehydrated ones.
And than we go to high sodium content...
Prepping is a wonderful thing, just be careful.

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[Kevinkris]

thats why you should buy storage foods from other countries. mexican rice and beans that have been dried tend to be much better for storage than american produce. i dont keep beans any more but i always have 50 lbs of rice because of my asian girl friend. the local farmers markets also have great buys when it comes to storage produce if you preserve your own food.

 

[unklekippy]

I have started to worry about the same things. How much of what I already have is "tainted"?

I personally am not concerned with sodium(within reason, of course) because you need that to live. BPA, GMO, the E coli and listeria and other things that I really don't understand are what concern me. I can look in my bag of beans/rice/Alpo/whatever and see mold, bugs and other things, but what does a GMO look like?

Yesterday Burt Gummer put up a link to Apricot Power EDTA. I am now looking into things like this to possibly counteract the poisons in the food. If I sound like I don't quite know what I'm talking about, it's because I have less than 2 days of research into this. I will learn more.

I have put together very valuable stores that have taken years and more money than I care to consider to acquire. I then moved my family to a very rural location. I can't imagine doing all that just to find that the food I am storing will poison me and mine. We are now in the midst of preparing our land to have our own garden and small orchard. Combined with the vast supply of meat in the neighboring forest, we should be as self sufficient as possible. But then I even need to make sure I am not buying tainted seeds.

When I buy 50lb. bags of rice or beans I simply look for the lowest amount of ingredients. That is not enough. I will be rethinking that and will be armed with more knowledge of what is what.

 

[Kevinkris]

When I buy 50lb. bags of rice or beans I simply look for the lowest amount of ingredients. That is not enough. I will be rethinking that and will be armed with more knowledge of what is what.

when i buy rice i dont buy if it has more than just rice in the bag. mexican rice is cheap and they are not GMO products so its a good one for storing on a budget. i on the other hand buy rice from the Philippines because it only costs a bit more and has exceptional flavor for rice. on top of that you can go to any asian store at any time and they will have plenty in stock. fo anyone who is storing food i would recommend asian stores for dried and canned goods. they have far fewer chemicals and far more taste than american produced and preserved foods. just dont think im writing off your local farmers market though, you will never get better food than what is produced locally.

 

[Riot]

My suggestion?

Make sure you don't just go venturing on this on your own. Get with people who have been storing food for a while (i.e. the Mormons).

 

[jbett98]

Variety is the spice of life. Don't just load up on 400 lbs of kidney beans and oatmeal.
There have been studies regarding diets that consisted of only a few staple items. Eventually, humans will tire of the same food and refuse to eat it.
Here's a valuable tip, if you have unwanted relatives or friends move in on you, only feed them Top Ramen noodles every day.
Works like a charm.

 

[knuckle Head]

Good point reading the label and the ingredients is important, My canned tomatoes says NO GMO, No Bioengineered ingredients.

 

[Riot]

Variety is the spice of life. Don't just load up on 400 lbs of kidney beans and oatmeal.
There have been studies regarding diets that consisted of only a few staple items. Eventually, humans will tire of the same food and refuse to eat it.
Here's a valuable tip, if you have unwanted relatives or friends move in on you, only feed them Top Ramen noodles every day.
Works like a charm.

Ever read the book "Five Years To Freedom"? US POWs in Vietnam being fed nothing but water and rice...some POWs died from malnutrition, simply because they just couldn't eat any more rice.

*edit*

Also if you're worried about things like canned tomatoes and getting botulism or GMO/BPA poisoning, you can always grow them yourself, cook them in a pressure cooker and can them yourself.

Pickleing foods is also incredibly easy and beneficial for longterm storage. As stated before, "variety is the spice of life." In survival, you simply cannot just store your way to success. You will need the knowledge and experience to succeed for longterm.

For example, you should not only have seeds- you should know how to garden and make compost. You shouldn't just know how to shoot guns- you should know how to lead cast your own bullets and reload.

[/rant]

 

[Kevinkris]

the problem with reloading is getting the materials to do it long term too. the modern cartridge requires a supply of machine created components like casings and primers. if having a gun for years without having those supplies is a concern of yours, you should get a muzzle loading rifle and know how to make or where to procure black powder. you would be much better off keeping a blade weapon and a bow as well as know how to make a bow and arrows for security. as far as hunting goes, you should also know how to kill or trap animals without being loud or announcing your kill.

ive actually been looking into getting a gladius to lay next to my 9mm mattress softener and flashlight. having difficulty finding out what is true quality in a modern sword is the biggest thing holding me back from making a purchase.

 

[AMProducts]

In the US nearly all corn is GMO, however that's not it's biggest issue, corn is in nearly every kind of pre-prepared food you find. There are a litany of things that are derived from corn, the biggest issue I have is my wife is allergic to corn, as a consequence I have to be very careful about what I buy.

I order a lot of my dry ingredient foods from honeyville grain. Honeyville | Leader in Food Storage & Baking Ingredients

I usually purchase beans (I eat TONS of beans, both white and pinto), millet, and all the stuff I make soups and chilli with. I do a lot of slow-cooker food, so it make sense to buy the ingredients in bulk.

As far as rice goes, I tend to buy it in bulk also (as it goes in most soups, chilli, red-beans and rice), however I buy my rice from my cousin, who has a rice farm in the deltas in california. I usually buy a pallet at a time that I split with friends and other family. It's usually about 6 mos supply. And I buy my beef from my aunt (who owns an organic beef ranch).

Oregon and Washington, despite the industrial and information service sectors of the economy are agricultural states, this means if you look around and start developing relationships with farmers in your area you can usually purchase bulk foods fairly cheaply. If anyone is looking for a business opportunity, you could probably set up a business just supplying "preppers" with farm direct food from the pacific northwest.

 

[Riot]

In the US nearly all corn is GMO, however that's not it's biggest issue, corn is in nearly every kind of pre-prepared food you find. There are a litany of things that are derived from corn, the biggest issue I have is my wife is allergic to corn, as a consequence I have to be very careful about what I buy.

I order a lot of my dry ingredient foods from honeyville grain. Honeyville | Leader in Food Storage & Baking Ingredients

I usually purchase beans (I eat TONS of beans, both white and pinto), millet, and all the stuff I make soups and chilli with. I do a lot of slow-cooker food, so it make sense to buy the ingredients in bulk.

As far as rice goes, I tend to buy it in bulk also (as it goes in most soups, chilli, red-beans and rice), however I buy my rice from my cousin, who has a rice farm in the deltas in california. I usually buy a pallet at a time that I split with friends and other family. It's usually about 6 mos supply. And I buy my beef from my aunt (who owns an organic beef ranch).

Oregon and Washington, despite the industrial and information service sectors of the economy are agricultural states, this means if you look around and start developing relationships with farmers in your area you can usually purchase bulk foods fairly cheaply. If anyone is looking for a business opportunity, you could probably set up a business just supplying "preppers" with farm direct food from the pacific northwest.

I like Honeyville & Mountainhouse, but they're a little on the spendy side. I'm guessing you buy this stuff in bulk or do group buys?

 

[AMProducts]

If you have a honeyville that's local to you, the in-store prices are a lot cheaper than what you see on the website. Usually I just pick and choose my suppliers based on price. Sometimes it's Costco, sometimes it's honeyville. I also look at how the product is packed, honeyville often sells, beans, rice, etc in totes or buckets. Sometimes it's a wash on price once I buy buckets, and then buy the food at costco and then repack.

Btw, beans do best if they're put in their own bucket, otherwise they dry out and are impossible to cook. A pressure cooker will cook old beans much better than even slow cooking.

I've never been too impressed with mountain house, maybe if I was an ultralight backpacker I might feel differently. Usually I look around for deals on Ameriqual A-Packs, or warnick eversafe civvy MREs.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

the problem with reloading is getting the materials to do it long term too. the modern cartridge requires a supply of machine created components like casings and primers. if having a gun for years without having those supplies is a concern of yours, you should get a muzzle loading rifle and know how to make or where to procure black powder. you would be much better off keeping a blade weapon and a bow as well as know how to make a bow and arrows for security. as far as hunting goes, you should also know how to kill or trap animals without being loud or announcing your kill.

ive actually been looking into getting a gladius to lay next to my 9mm mattress softener and flashlight. having difficulty finding out what is true quality in a modern sword is the bigget thing holding me back from making a purchase.

Learning/stocking all of the above would be perfection. I am certainly short on at least three subjects such as making black powder etc.
I keep a machete sized Cold Steel Kukri in a handy position by my bed, not great steel but tip heavy and carefully sharpened. A quality gladius would be great!

 

[Sgt Nambu]

If you have a honeyville that's local to you, the in-store prices are a lot cheaper than what you see on the website. Usually I just pick and choose my suppliers based on price. Sometimes it's Costco, sometimes it's honeyville. I also look at how the product is packed, honeyville often sells, beans, rice, etc in totes or buckets. Sometimes it's a wash on price once I buy buckets, and then buy the food at costco and then repack.

Btw, beans do best if they're put in their own bucket, otherwise they dry out and are impossible to cook. A pressure cooker will cook old beans much better than even slow cooking.

I've never been too impressed with mountain house, maybe if I was an ultralight backpacker I might feel differently. Usually I look around for deals on Ameriqual A-Packs, or warnick eversafe civvy MREs.

This and AMProducts above post are well reasoned and informative! I keep a supply of Mountain House for bug out, having used them for many years of backpacking. I have never manage to resolve the need for extra water to rehydrate in an emergency. Thanks for the good, as usual, posts!

 

[CoastRange57]

In the US nearly all corn is GMO, however that's not it's biggest issue, corn is in nearly every kind of pre-prepared food you find. There are a litany of things that are derived from corn, the biggest issue I have is my wife is allergic to corn, as a consequence I have to be very careful about what I buy.

Commercial grade corns are all GMO. You can find lots of heirloom and non GMO's in smaller markets and farm direct. You just will not find them at the local grocery stores, simply not going to happen.

If anyone is looking for a business opportunity, you could probably set up a business just supplying "preppers" with farm direct food from the pacific northwest.

That opportunity already exists in at least one spot. I cannot promote a business on here with out rightfully compensating the owners, but PM for info.

As a farmer, anybody reading this thread can pretty much take AMProducts food info as gospel. I find nothing wrong with what he is saying, and can easily support his knowledge of food. When you understand how important the food you eat is, and actually become educated, you will be amazed at the pure CRAP that is sold in grocery stores, both fresh and the preserved...you will feel so much better when you understand what you are feeding your body, where it comes from, how it is grown.

 

[erudne]

Rule #1
Death follows the cessation of life.
Cavemen ate Organic Food, drank Pure Water, breathed UNPOLUTED air and died before they were 45 years old.

If you are an American, alive and in good health, under the age of 68 YO, the last thing you have to worry about is your environmental consumption of tainted foods.
Your children and grandchildren may have a different outlook, ask any Russian, they inherited the 'Blessings of Collectiveism'

 

[Riot]

Rule #1
Death follows the cessation of life.
Cavemen ate Organic Food, drank Pure Water, breathed UNPOLUTED air and died before they were 45 years old.

If you are an American, alive and in good health, under the age of 68 YO, the last thing you have to worry about is your environmental consumption of tainted foods.
Your children and grandchildren may have a different outlook, ask any Russian, they inherited the 'Blessings of Collectiveism'

I wonder what percentage of the CAVEMAN population had cancer...I'm guessing it was a pretty low percentage when compared with today.

 

[Kevinkris]

longer average life is a result of greater access to food, higher hygienic standards and the advancement of medical care. genetically modified foods change the order of natural food and creates stronger parasites that need stronger poisons to kill. adding radioactive pesticides to our food will never make you live longer.

 

[AMProducts]

The problem with corn, specifically is that it is very heavily subsidized, if you want to make arguments about "collective farming" and government mandate, the US' current production of corn both for use as a food product as well as a biofuel is really the only thing that supports the ever-present monocrop grown in america's heartland. The reason soda is sweetened with corn syrup here in the US is because we have high import tariffs on cane sugar. At the same time because corn is so cheap in the US, the huge variety of products that are derived from it has grown exponentially over the last 30 years.

I will admit, I don't want to get on the bandwagon of "GMO BAD!" but at the same time, I would like more consumer choice in the matter and more study, especially because corn is the basis of our food supply. One thing I do know is that over-consumption of corn (and only corn) is that it causes pellagra, an acute niacin deficiency.

On a fundamental level, the current corn subsidies in the US have created a bubble, and if there is one thing I know is that nature hates a bubble, whether this is a matter of population explosion (in this case of corn) or an economic bubble (where a product is either over or under-valued), of which corn is both, there's a finite amount of time before that bubble bursts, usually creating massive damage to everyone nearby.