I think this is the beginnings of an economy based on perpetual growth and fossil fuel energy running headlong into geological energy constraints. Basically I see an undulatory downward path for the rest of my life. From here out, I think any rallies in our economic condition are going to be met with spiking commodity prices that knock us right back down.
Do you regret spending income ($500+) on bulk food in the past?
I didn't buy $500+ of bulk food.
30%
[ 27 ]
Yes.
3%
[ 3 ]
No.
66%
[ 59 ]
Total Votes : 89
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Message
Lumpy Heavy Crude
Joined: Nov 16, 2007 Posts: 307 Location: Rural Western Idaho
Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 6:34 pm Post subject: Re: To those who stockpiled a bunch of bulk food 2-5 years a
Re-met husband in August, 2001. (Went to high school together - hadn't seen each other since then.) He didn't know about peak oil per se, but had the sense that preps were important. He had 1 year supply of food from BePrepared.com.
9/11 happened, & we began to talk seriously about the need for preps ... & how we both believed that moving to a place where we could "grow our own" was becoming increasingly important. So in October, 2001, I ordered a year's worth of food, too. And in 2005, we moved to our 7 acres.
Since then we have used some from the pre-canned stuff, bought some more basics (beans, wheat, etc) separately, and fed a little of the stuff to our pigs. (This last part, because puffed up cans of pancake mix are a bad idea for people. Pancake mix can develop a fungus, that can make people quite ill. That's why you should NEVER used expired Bisquick or other such mixes. Maybe this canned stuff would have been all right, but I opted not to take a chance on it.)
Anyway, we have NO regrets over having put probably $2500.00 into these stores of food. We are going to be rounding out with specific items now ... #10 cans of olives, etc.
It is our goal to be able to live on what we have, plus the eggs/chickens/hogs/fruit/veggies we raise for at least 18 months without ever having to enter a grocery store.
We might lose some weight, but we are both "well-padded" - meaning that we are better prepared than some to restrict our diets and still make it.
Oh, yeah, we have a large store of excellent quality, well packaged food supplements (vitamins/minerals) as well ... so that's extra good.
Lumpy _________________ "A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have." Thomas Jefferson
Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 7:57 pm Post subject: Re: To those who stockpiled a bunch of bulk food 2-5 years a
Pops wrote:
Now grow a little more of what you eat ...
I am sooo working on that. The kids and I are making raised beds, so the garden doesn't drown next year. I knew it was a bit low back there, but didn't realize how bad it was until this year (our second year in this home). Just about everything we planted back there died because of water this spring.
Happier days for the fruit trees that are closer to the house though.
We, (well, the kids and I), at the moment, are preparing for ugly things that may come our way. The hubby does know my feelings about what is going on today, but maybe not as much as I'd like. I wish the phones worked better, or I didn't have to write such long emails for him to understand what I'm doing here. Limited time on the 'net kind of stinks.
I've just bought whole wheat for the first time and bought it because of it's ability to store for a long time (if packaged properly). We may not use it in all the next year or so, but with the grinder... I plan on making bread at home rather than buying it ever again. Almost like when I had the bread machine, but even better.
Anywho, as for the original question. I haven't always kept the amount of food that I store now... But I have always bought things when on sale and stocked-up. It can add up to large savings over years. I see nothing wrong with saving time and money. Also, I love the insurance policy that I have here... If something should happen to the food supply, I will be able to feed my family... and maybe a few others... Who knows?
Joined: Nov 16, 2007 Posts: 307 Location: Rural Western Idaho
Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 9:07 pm Post subject: Re: To those who stockpiled a bunch of bulk food 2-5 years a
Pops wrote:
It is really encouraging to see so many storing what they eat and eating what they store. Now grow a little more of what you eat ...
At present, I estimate that we can produce about 75% of what we need, without delving into our stores of food.
We really want to get a milk cow by spring. Then we could be at 85%. I think that's about as good as it's going to get for us.
Fortunately, we live in an area where a lot of wheat is grown. Farmers are more than willing to sell us what we need if we come & pick it up ... about 1 mile down the road to a silo. So we are spending money now on a hand cranked grain mill. That will go a long way to covering the other 15%.
Lumpy _________________ "A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have." Thomas Jefferson
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 7:17 am Post subject: Re: To those who stockpiled a bunch of bulk food 2-5 years a
Got the 1 year supply from be prepared about a year ago. $1400, I have 2 little ones, so I figure I could stretch it to 4 months at least.
It weird, because one side of me hopes the S will hit the fan, and I will use it one day but the other side hopes in 20 years I will get to roll it all out to the garbage.
But for 20 years of insurance $1400 is pretty cheap.
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 1:25 pm Post subject: Re: To those who stockpiled a bunch of bulk food 2-5 years a
I've never gone out and spent $500+ on food stockpiles for peak oil, or for the current financial crisis. We have been self-employed for the last 15 years, and our pantry has evolved during that time. We could eat well for probably 6 months without having to shop. Some things need to be tweaked a little (toilet paper!), but I'm comfortable with our current levels. Our oldest, who is away at college, shops at our pantry about once a month!
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 7:25 pm Post subject: Re: To those who stockpiled a bunch of bulk food 2-5 years a
We have never spent $500 in one shot either. Rather, I've bought, grown, and canned what we needed over time, buying a little extra here and there, and adding to the pantry. Last year, we added on a new room specifically to use as a pantry. It stores all our groceries, and has two freezers and an extra fridge. We have about 6 months worth of food there, and we grow a garden every year. Carlin starts hunting season in the next couple weeks, and I expect we'll have a couple more deer and wild hogs to add to the freezers by the middle of November. We do eat what we store and rotate regularly. I don't regret it a bit.
In February of this year, Carlin lost his job, and we went about a month with no income coming in. Other than being short of cash, it wasn't really a problem. We ate exclusively out of the pantry and didn't even need to scrimp. It's a great insurance policy against all kinds of down times, whether its TSHTF on a wide scale, or on your own personal scale.
K
Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:28 am Post subject: Re: To those who stockpiled a bunch of bulk food 2-5 years a
I regret buying my food 2-5 years ago because it is today even older than it was new. I ate some and lost some. In the end, I threw most away.
Today, I eat garbage. The things other people don't eat, won't buy, or don't, end up somehow on my plate. Its dirt cheap.
Along the way I picked up the odd habit of eating stuff that happens to grow around me, at various times of the year.
I have the knowlege of the seasons and can grow any crop I want.
I save my own heirloom seed.
Far more valuable, in my estimation, is my seed collection.
I figure a food stash only needs to be good enough to supplement what I'm already going to be scavenging and caching.
And its likely I'll run across more than a few food stockpiles, not far from the skeletons of their former owners.
All in all I plan to have a lot of your stuff at my disposal.
As I roam the land in my Full-coverage environment suit with external respirator.
You do have an environment suit right?
Look for the NIOSH-reated "Avian Flu" respirators at your local Home Depot - I'm serious.
I mean, look, why eat survival food when you can have meat on the hoof.
One thing is for certain. At some point, Uncle Sam is going to come reaffirm his sovereignty over you and his Stuff, probably in the form of a ragtag combination of National Guard, cop, and regular army.
So anybody that thinks they're going to be sitting pretty on food stocks better be prepared to die for it.
You can bet farms will be invaded (and defended) across the country. In the end though, you can't win against superior firepower.
Walled compounds and the like will be torn open with Tank barrels. They will find your food and you'll have to fall in line with the rest of us in ration lines, soup kitchens, and the like.
Cities will be a rat maze of underground food deals, disease, and death.
Joined: Mar 18, 2008 Posts: 393 Location: Upstate New York
Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:31 am Post subject: Re: To those who stockpiled a bunch of bulk food 2-5 years a
BlisteredWhippet wrote:
One thing is for certain. At some point, Uncle Sam is going to come reaffirm his sovereignty over you and his Stuff, probably in the form of a ragtag combination of National Guard, cop, and regular army. So anybody that thinks they're going to be sitting pretty on food stocks better be prepared to die for it.
You can bet farms will be invaded (and defended) across the country. In the end though, you can't win against superior firepower. Walled compounds and the like will be torn open with Tank barrels. They will find your food and you'll have to fall in line with the rest of us in ration lines, soup kitchens, and the like.
Ugh.. I hate this crap argument:
1. Uncle Sam will have bigger fish to fry than some food hoarder for a very long time. In that time you will either have used your preps or moved them to a sneaky location.
2. People have been hiding food for eons. Raid parties have been looking for valuables and food for eons. You just have to be smarter than the grunts they send to you.
3. 63 million people with firearms. Even if 10% fight back that is 630,000 people, hiding, sneaking, blending into the neighborhood. How many active duty personal are there again??
So if your argument helps you sleep at night without preps then so be it. Me... I sleep better knowing that I can survive without assistance for at least 12 months or until planting season. And I will be one of those 10%. _________________ Arsenal
The tragedy of modern war is that the young men die fighting each other - instead of their real enemies back home in the capitals. - Edward Abbey
A man is no less a slave because he is allowed to choose a new master once in a term of years.
Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 5:46 pm Post subject: Re: To those who stockpiled a bunch of bulk food 2-5 years a
Arsenal you are right about that.
Our goverment will have to much on its plate to worry about those that have stocked up on food,, they will be to busy running around trying to feed the starving hoards and out of control crime rate.
Its those millions that are starving that one should worry about.
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