by Dr. Bones, SurvivalBlog

As a recently-retired physician who is married to a nurse-midwife, my preparedness group looks to us as the post-TEOTWAWKI hospital and medical staff. Medical progress has been exponential and even just the last decade of scientific breakthroughs can equal a century of improvement in medical treatments, surgical techniques and pharmaceuticals. However, in the years (months?) ahead, the crumbling of the infrastructure and devolution of society in general will very likely throw us back to a medical system that existed in the 19th Century.

Let’s take an example: When the U.S. was a young nation, the average woman could expect to be pregnant 10-12 times during her reproductive lifetime (no reliable means of birth control). One out of four women would not survive the pregnancy, either from issues relating to blood loss from miscarriage or childbirth or Infection (no antibiotics) following same. A myriad of other complications occurred which are treatable today but weren’t back then. I collect old medical books, and even relatively modern obstetric textbooks devoted entire chapters on how to crush a fetus’ skull in order to expedite its removal from a critically ill mother, with instruments that clearly had no other purpose. When childbirth was successful, she could expect perhaps 3-4 of her children to survive to become adults, on average, with many minor children succumbing to simple infections that had no known effective treatment at the time.

This is the grim reality that we, in modern times, will face when the inevitable happens and current medical technology and treatments are unavailable to us.

There is an interesting post-TEOTWAWKI series by History Channel called “After Armageddon” which can be viewed on YouTube. Interestingly enough, it doesn’t appear on History Channel’s list of shows). In it, a family seeks refuge in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event. The father of the family, who is a trained EMT, falls sick and dies from a simply cut on his hand because the antibiotics ran out. It shows that the lack of accumulated stores of antibiotics could mean a shortened life span for even the most prepared individual.

Given the new situation that we will have thrust upon us, it behooves every aware individual to begin to stockpile medications that will be needed in the future, and to become trained one way or another in basic and disaster first aid. Even if your group has a designated “medic”, you have an obligation to be able to handle medical issues in a catastrophic scenario for the sake of your group and your family. Just as the designated “medic” should be trained to handle security issues and should accumulate food and other supplies, so should you accumulate medications and medical supplies. Cross-training is essential for when the medic needs a medic!
Accumulating medications may be simple when it comes to procuring aspirin and other non-prescription drugs but may be problematic for those who cannot write their own prescriptions or don’t have a relationship with a physician who can. I would like to focus on the issue of procurement of antibiotics for the treatment of infection in this essay, as there are already a number of good essays on this site that discusses various aspects of medical care in the post-SHTF era. I heartily recommend that everyone read these in detail.

For all intents and purposes, it is highly unlikely that even basic antibiotics like Penicillin will be actively manufactured in an apocalyptic scenario due to the complexities in said manufacture. Those who say, “it’s just bread mold” are naïve if they think just making prepper bread and letting it sit will produce anything That would cure an infection (penicillin is actually made from liquid that the mold produces under certain man-made conditions. And, no, Ginger Root and other “home antibiotics” probably won’t either.

The reason that I consider this a major issue is that there will be a much larger incidence of infection when people start to fend for themselves, and injure themselves as a result. Simple cuts and scratches from chopping wood can begin to show infection, in the form of redness, heat and swelling, within a relatively short time. Treatment of infections at an early stage improves the chance that they will heal quickly and completely. However, many preppers, being the rugged folk that they are, are most likely to ignore the problem until it gets much worse and spreads to their entire body, causing fever and other systemic problems that could eventually be fatal. Have antibiotics already on hand in their retreat would allow them to deal with the issue until medical help (if available at all) arrives.

Now, what I am about to tell you is contrary to standard medical practice, and is a strategy that is best used in the event of societal collapse that causes the unavailability of conventional medical care for extended periods of time. This line of thought that I am presenting is that “sumpthin” is better than “nuttin” and is not meant to serve as official medical advice for any circumstance but a catastrophic breakdown of our infrastructure and ability of our country to provide medical care for its citizens. If there is modern medical care available to you, seek it out.

Small amounts of medications such as antibiotics could be procured by anyone who is willing to tell their physician that they are going out of the country and would like to avoid “Montezuma’s Revenge”. Ask them for Tamiflu for viral illness and Z-packs, Amoxicillin or Keflex for bacterial diarrhea. Stockpiling of these antibiotics is more of a problem. After searching far and wide, I have come across the best option for the prepper: Aquarium Fish antibiotics.

For evaluation purposes (and because I am an aquarium hobbyist), I decided to purchase online a variety of these products and found them to be identical (unlike some Dog and Cat medications) to those used to treat humans with a doctor’s prescription. I was able to purchase them without any demand for medical licensure, etc. The drugs are listed below and the bottles list the antibiotic as the sole ingredient. They are:

• FISH-MOX (amoxicillin 250mg)
• FISH_MOX FORTE (amoxicillin 500mg)
• FISH-CILLIN (ampicillin 250mg)
• FISH-FLEX Keflex 250mg)
• FISH-FLEX FORTE (Keflex 500mg)
• FISH-ZOLE (metronidazole 250mg)
• FISH-PEN (penicillin 250mg)
• FISH-PEN FORTE (penicillin 500mg)
• FISH-CYCLINE (tetracycline 250mg)

These medications are available usually in plastic bottles of 100 tablets for much less than the same prescription medication at the pharmacy (some come in bottles of 30 tablets). The dosages are similar to that used in humans, and are taken two to four times a day, depending on the drug. The 500mg dosage is probably more effective in larger individuals. Of course, anyone could be allergic to one or another of these antibiotics, but not all of them. (Note that there is a 10% cross-reactivity between “-cillin” drugs and Keflex, meaning that, if you are allergic to Penicillin, you could also be allergic to Keflex). FISH-ZOLE is an antibiotic that also kills some protozoa that cause dysentery.

NOTE: It should be emphasized that FISH-CYCLINE [and other tetracycline antibiotics of various names] can become toxic after its expiration date, unlike most of the other medications listed. So consider acquiring the other ones listed, first.

Which brings me to a question that I am asked quite often and to which my answer is, again, contrary to standard medical recommendations but appropriate in a post-TEOTWAWKI environment where no medical care is otherwise available. The question is: What happens when the medications I stockpiled pass their expiration date?

Since 1979, pharmaceutical companies have been required to place expiration dates on all medications. Officially, this is the last day that the company will certify that their drug is at full potency. Some people take this to mean that the medicine in question is useless or in some way harmful after that date. With few exceptions (tetracycline being one previously mentioned), this is what I delicately term as “a bunch of hooey”!

Studies performed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revealed that 90% of medications tested were perfectly fine to use 8-to-15 years after the expiration date. There was apparently no danger in the grand majority of cases. The FDA tested more than 100 medications, both prescription and non-prescription, and continues to study the issue today. The exceptions were mostly in liquid form (antibiotics included, but also insulin, nitroglycerine and some others). What is true is that the potency of an antibiotic could possibly decrease over time, so it is important that your medication cache is in a cool, dry place if at all possible. Refrigeration is an excellent method to maintain the full potency of many drugs.

Many people gauge their preparedness on the number of full ammo boxes in their closet. I’ve got them too. However, preparedness doesn’t mean going out in a blaze of glory; it means going on, in the best health and condition, to re-establish a peaceful and productive society. Every prepper should have antibiotics as part of their medical supplies. They’re available, they’re cheap and they could save your life.

by Michael V, SurvivalBlog

Don’t plan on your pharmacy being open or not looted after Day 1 after the SHTF.  Just like most cops have reported on this site that they will leave their posts to protect their families, pharmacists will do the same.  Most chain pharmacists have no loyalty other than a paycheck, so unlike “One Second After” it would be unlikely that a chain pharmacist would show up to work and risk their life after the SHTF.  Independent pharmacists who own their own store, and have their fortune tied to it have a better chance of being there, armed, with a more controlled environment, but even those will only last for a few days, at most.  Once armed bands of thugs start roaming, they will be long gone.  All pharmacies get deliveries every business day. (I have worked as a pharmacist in both chain & independent stores as well as hospital pharmacy, so I am familiar with all three types of facilities).  Most pharmacies have to pay for their drug orders within seven days, and many drugs are so expensive that inventories are kept low, (typical inventories are about $200,000) since re-supply is almost daily it is not a problem until deliveries dry up.  Within one day, many drugs will be dispensed, especially if patients are given a larger than normal supply.

Insurance companies, Medicaid, and Medicare Part-D all try to stop patients from stockpiling drugs.  So, what can be done?  First of all, as mentioned here on this site; improve your health by diet & exercise.  Stock up on the vitamins & supplements your family uses.  Keep all over the counter (OTC) drugs in the sealed, original container, and rotate your stock.  Store all medicine according to the storage directions from the manufacturer; I’ve seen mentioned on this site or others where drugs should be stored in the refrigerator, but not all drugs should; so read the label or check with your pharmacist.  Have your Doctor write prescriptions for a year supply as a quantity and you should be able to purchase whatever quantity you can afford at the pharmacy.  Use the generic or ask your pharmacist if there is a generic available that is similar to the brand name in the same therapeutic drug class; he may be able to get the doctor to change your prescription for you.  Pharmacies typically carry much larger quantities of generics than the high priced brand names.  If you are on high priced brand names (like Insulin), try refilling your prescription every 23 days, a little known fact is that many insurances will allow an early refill as long as it is within 7 days.  Begin to stockpile your insulin or expensive brand name drugs by marking your calendar and getting a refill whether you need it or not; every 23 days.  Some insurance companies like Medco keep track and won’t allow any early refills, so ask your pharmacist and try.  Work with your doctor and pharmacist to increase the quantity of critical expensive medicine like insulin so you can increase the number of vials you can get, and get it refilled regularly until your stockpile grows.

Ask your pharmacist if you can have your long term storage meds dispensed in the sealed original containers with the expiration dates visible and rotate your stock.  If not; ask that they include an “adsorbent” which is typically found in the original containers, and have the pharmacy staff write the expiration date of the drug on your label.  Having anti-virals like “Tamiflu” and antibiotics like Ciprofloxacin, a broad spectrum cephalosporin like Cephalexin, an antibiotic eye drop like Gentamycin, an antibiotic ear drop like generic Cortisporin at home is also a good idea.  Avoid Tetracycline; one of the few antibiotics that is toxic once it expires. Doxycycline is the drug of choice for Lyme disease, but is related to Tetracycline and should be discarded after the expiration date. Clearly mark your bottle with the expiration date, and rotate your stock.  Pain meds like Hydrocodone or Acetaminophen with Codeine will be useful too.  Don’t forget anti-fungal creams, topical steroids, and assemble a great first aid kit.

In my years of being a Boy Scout leader and dealing with scouts at summer camp I have treated a large number of ‘usual cases’; so these are conditions that regularly occur while away from civilization: diarrhea: use Loperamide it’s OTC now and a good drug, prescription drugs like Diphenoxylate/atropine are better and Belladonna Alk with PB help with cramping if available. Stomach aches: have an antacid like Tums EX, plus a PPI like Omeprazole (now OTC).

For cuts and scratches, have Hydrogen Peroxide and triple antibiotic ointment (and Band-Aids).  Knife cuts: use Steri-strips are a great product made by 3M. I have used many times to avoid an ER visit, works great except for hairy areas that are difficult to shave.  Head lacerations may require stitching or staples; so get a suture kit with 1% Lidocaine (to deaden the area before stitching).  How to suture a wound can be found in this US Army video.  Poison ivy: use Tecnu wash to cleanse the area after exposure and treat with topical steroids like Hydrocortisone or non-steroid Domeboro. Both of these are OTCs that work, but prescription steroid creams like Desoximetasone or Fluocinonide are better.  Topical fungus are common (ringworm, jock-itch); use Clotrimazole (OTC) or Ketoconazole (prescription).   Developing a relationship with your doctor and pharmacist is crucial in getting the supplies you need before TSHTF.

Are your vaccinations up to date?  Recommended immunization schedules can be found at the CDC’s web site. If TEOTWAWKI does happen having your family up to date on vaccinations will improve your chances of staying healthy.  Many of the diseases that are found in third world countries are controlled here in the United States by vaccinations, proper hygiene, sanitation and working sewer infrastructure; when that disappears these diseases will reappear here.  The CDC has a very cool web site with travel information and vaccines for every part of the world. It is worth a look.

Is your training up to date?  We had not only our leaders, but all our scouts in the Venturing Crew take the Standard First Aid Course with CPR from the American Red Cross.  I have taken the Wilderness First Aid Course by them also, which is a ‘step up’ in training.  The National Outdoor Leadership Schools (NOLS) has some of the best training available for wilderness medicine; check out their web site.  Their web site is also useful in planning a good first aid kit.  Click on the WMI store tab, and search their first aid kits to get the list of items they recommend.

If you are planning on going to your pharmacy on the day TSHTF, remember; with no electricity your pharmacist is going to have to rely on knowing you and seeing your bottle before you are going to get any medication, since he cannot access any of his records.  Also, developing a relationship with an independent pharmacist if you are on life saving medication is critical, since he is going to be taking a lot of that inventory back to his home or retreat to use it for barter.  Walking into a pharmacy where the employees don’t recognize you (big box stores) and especially without your bottle is going to get you nothing.  Hopefully, by planning ahead you won’t have to be one of the hundreds of people trying to get a refill on life saving medicine with no electricity available and no deliveries coming. – M.V. in Missouri

by Officer Tackleberry, SurvivalBlog

Please consider the following scenarios:

• You are sitting at a table in a local restaurant with your family, significant other, and/or friend when a person enters the business and starts shooting.
• You are shopping with your family at Christmas time and several subjects enter the mall and start shooting.
• The “Crunch” has happened and it’s now full-blown TEOTWAWKI.   Looters are present and have forced their way into one of the buildings on your homestead.  The 911 system doesn’t work and the area police force is non-existent.   It’s up to you and one other person from your homestead to find the looters and remove them.

These scenarios, plus many others, are very probable.   Unfortunately, the first scenario has happened in the U.S. several times in the past few years and the second one has occurred hundreds of times in other countries.   Our responses need to be thought out and trained for, especially if you plan on having an armed response.

Some of the training necessary to prevail in these types of situations means being willing and even somewhat comfortable with shooting a target that’s next to or behind a loved one or another innocent person.  How prepared are you and your loved ones to do this?

Disclaimer
Before I go any further with this article, I need to provide a disclaimer.  To many of you, this will be common sense but I still need to write this.
Training and using a firearm can be very dangerous, especially when it’s done carelessly and without proper supervision.  A person can be severely injured or killed with a firearm and they need to be respected at all times.
Treat every firearm as if it’s loaded and always keep pointed in a safe direction.
Use proper safety equipment, such as eye and ear protection.
Please get quality firearms training from a reputable instructor/training center before doing these training drills live-fire.  If you do these drills live-fire on your own range, have a knowledgeable safety person present whose sole purpose is to watch those doing the drills and to stop the drills any time something unsafe occurs.
The #1 rule of firearms safety is that the gun will not fire unless pressure is put on the trigger.  So, keep your trigger finger away from the trigger and the trigger well until you are ready to fire the gun!

Tools and Props
Many of these drills can be performed dry-fire, with an inert training gun such as a “red” or “blue” gun and with airsoft guns on a regular basis.  Make sure that you and your training partners check each firearm used for dry-fire training to make sure they are not loaded.  Also, keep all magazines and ammunition away from the “training area”.
Other props that are useful for training in partner tactics are cones and/or barrels for movement drills and a table and at least 2 chairs.  Having a booth to train with would be nice since most restaurants have them but you can use a couch or a love seat and a small table to a least practice the concepts.

The First Drill
The first drill is often referred to as “warrior inoculation”.  This drill is used by our military, especially in Special Forces units, and SWAT teams on a regular basis.  Fortunately, it has also made its way to some patrol officers, including myself, and I feel I am better off for it.

You start this drill by having you and your partner about 15 feet away from the target.  Your partner is directly in front of the target and you are 2-3 feet to their left or right.  Now you walk forward 5-6 feet.  With your back towards your partner, your partner now fires 2-3 rounds into the target.  Your partner’s bullets should not come anywhere close to you (I mean as far as inches go.  The bullets should still be 2-3 feet from you.), but you will feel the concussion of the gun being fired.  On your partner’s cue, you turn to face your partner.  Once your partner is sure you haven’t inadvertently moved into his line of fire, then your partner verbalizes he’s ready to fire.  Unless you object for some safety purpose, your partner then fires 2-3 more shots into the target.   Once the line is safe and your partners has re-holstered, you and your partner switch places and repeat the drill.

Now, you may ask, why in the world would I ever do such a drill?  I’ve heard this objection voiced by several officers as well and the answer is pretty simple.  Where is a gunfight most likely to happen, in a flat open area devoid of any other people like the practice range?  Or, is it most likely to occur where innocent people and/or your loved ones are present?  This drill helps you and your partner get used to shooting at targets near “friendlies” and also keeps you from freaking out when your partner shoots a target near you.

The Weave Drill
The 2nd drill involves using cones, barrels, or some other barrier that’s set up at 10-foot intervals from the target, so the 1st one is at 10 feet from the center of the center target, the 2nd at 20 feet and the 3rd at 30 feet.  There should be at least 3 targets for the 2 of you to shoot and use steel targets if you can since they give instant feedback while you are moving.  That “ping” of a hit on a steel target is always reassuring.
Before the drill starts, you are on left side of the barriers, about 10 feet back from the last barrier, and your partner is on the right side, about 10 feet back from the last barrier as well.  On your command of forward, you both draw your weapons and move forward while shooting the targets.  Your partner should be slightly in front of you as you are both moving forward and as soon as you clear the first cone, you yell cross.  As he crosses in front of you, he keeps shooting the targets as you dip your muzzle towards the ground.  Once he is clear, your gun is back up in the fight.  This process is repeated all the way past the cone closest to the targets.
Once you are past the first cone, you start moving backwards using the same commands and safety precautions, only now the roles are reversed.  Your partner should now yell cross.
If you do this drill correctly, you use several critical skills.  You must constantly use your peripheral vision, good movement since a moving target is harder to hit, vocalization under stress and magazine changes while moving.
A quick note on pointing the muzzle towards the ground when your partner crosses in front of you:  This is known as position “sul” but rather than your hands being pulled all the way back to your chest, it’s done with your arms extended.  There are several articles/videos posted about position “sul” so you can Google it.  A quick description is that you lay the barrel of you gun across the back of your support hand and point it towards the ground.  This position allows you to get your gun back in the fight as quickly as possible.

Moving From Seated Position
Many of us eat at restaurants on a somewhat regular basis.  How many of you have thought about, let alone practiced, accessing your concealed firearm while in the seated position and engage targets while seated and while trying to stand up?  I personally believe that this is a very critical OPSEC training task for you and your loved ones in today’s world if you conceal carry a firearm.

Many contributors to this blog talk about discussing possible scenarios with your loved ones and even playing the “what if” game.  I couldn’t agree more, especially when in a restaurant, which has limited movement area and people are crammed close together all the time.

For this drill, start with at least two of you on the same side of the table.  The first several times you do any of the seated drills, do it dry-fire and/or using Airsoft and make sure that the designated safety person is watching that safety rule #1 is being followed.  Keep your finger off the trigger and away from the trigger well until pointed at the target!  Draw you firearm and engage the target from the seated position.  Once you have practiced this several times, then do it while standing and moving away from the table.  Consciously train yourself to move the chair with your leg as you stand.

This drill can be continued by having your partner move to the end of the table and eventually sitting on the other side of the table.  These parts of the drill become even more challenging for the person sitting at the end or on the other side because that person must turn towards the target and engage while moving.

Getting used to drawing your firearm from a seated position, engaging the target while standing and engaging while moving are key skills since there may be more than one attacker and/or you may want to draw the attacker’s focus away from your loved ones.

A booth would be great to get additional practice in but obviously most ranges don’t have them present.  This can be practiced in the home dry-fire and/or Airsoft using a couch or love seat and a table.  Also, think about how you would react to an attacker each and every time you are in a restaurant.

Conclusion
I know that there are many, many other drills that can be used to strengthen your partner tactics.  Many times, we are only limited by our imagination.  But please, in any and all training that you do, keep safety as the #1 priority of all involved.

I pray for God’s blessing on each and every one of you!

by Country Codger, DTO.me

In earlier articles I tried to highlight the problems that we are faced with in this day and age not only in America but also throughout the world. Wherever you look, the United States is poised for war with some country. We are poised for war against Syria, Iran, China, Pakistan, Russia and possibly even Yemen. If the implications of this ideology, gunboat diplomacy, does not make you so mad that you want to chew nails and spit tacks then there is nothing I can say or do to help you. You have my prayers and fondest hopes for a prosperous New Year.

If you suspect something is wrong, but aren’t sure just what it might be, let me give you some sites to go and investigate for yourself, what is about to befall our world and in particular, our country. This is just a small sampling of the sites on the web that are helping, not only Americans, but people around the world to try to wake up before it is too late:

1.) www.infowars.com

2.) www.dollarcollapse.com

3.) www.theeconomiccollapseblog.com

4.) www.drudgereport.com

5.) www.sgtreport.com

6.) www.shtfplan.com

7.) www.zerohedge.com

8.) www.corbettreport.com

9.) http://dont-tread-on.me

10.) www.theinternationalforecaster.com

Now, if you can’t find a place to start with ten top-notch resources like those above you are in bigger trouble than you realize. You may not agree with everything on all of these sites, and you may not agree with all of what is on any one site. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that any one of these sites has more factual, hard-hitting news than all the mainstream media sites put together.

Now I will make a bold leap forward. If you are here at the http://dont-tread-on.me  site you probably know or feel that something is not quite right. Perhaps you can’t quantify it. Perhaps, you know in you mind or feel it in your gut that something bad is about to happen. If you do, then I address the following decisions to you.

Every American will need to make decisions in 2012. Some Americans will make a decision to ignore the problems of world and the world will make all the decisions for them, but the decisions will be made. What decisions? Simple, those that will affect the lives of everyone in this country and may affect others around the world:

1.) If there is a major financial collapse, i.e. the Euro, the dollar, credit default swaps, another Lehman/Bear Stearns type collapse do you have the hard money resources to provide for your family for the duration of the emergency?

2.) If the United States suffers from the initial stages of hyperinflation, do you have the resources to provide for the needs of your family, i.e. food, water, shelter, hygiene, medical care, clothing and safety?

3.) If the United States goes to war with Iran, and the war remains a conventional war, if the Straits of Hormuz are blocked, will you be able to handle $200-300/barrel oil prices?

4.) If the above war turns into a nuclear conflagration involving the U.S., Russia and/or China are you living in an area that is a low risk zone for nuclear or biological attack?

5.) If the world commodity prices skyrocket due to any of the above scenarios do you have enough fresh water and food on hand to feed your family for an extended period of time, i.e. 3 months, 6 months, 1 year?

6.) If the U.S. dollar collapses for whatever reason, and the cities become literal war zones because “transfer” payments (welfare, medicaid, food stamps, etc.) cease or are worthless, will you be able to protect and defend your home and family from looters?

7.) In Number 6 above, will you be able to feed your family until the violence ends?

8.) In the event that the United States Government declares a national emergency because of one of the above scenarios, or catastrophic natural calamity or because of a “terror” event that has taken place, will you be willing to let your family go to a relocation center/F.E.M.A. center for their own good?

9.) If you are a member of the armed forces and are directed to round-up certain potentially dangerous individuals and take them to a detention facility, will you do it?

10.) If you are a member of the armed forces and are directed to go from house to house to collect guns and other “dangerous” weapons, will you obey the order?

11.) If because of the military’s refusal to arrest civilians or collect firearms, the U.S. government uses police and military from other nations to enforce the law, will you, as someone who has sworn to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic, stand idley by and do nothing?

12.) If the forces, designated by the U.S. Government, show up at your door to take you and/or your family to a detention facility, will you go peaceably with them?

13.) If the forces, designated by the U.S. Government, show up at your door to collect your firearms, will you give them up?

14.) Knowing that there is only one candidate running for the office of President of the United States, in either the Democrat or Republican parties that promises to restore the Constituion, will you get off your butt and vote for him? (Yes, Ron Paul!)

15.) If it were possible, would you be willing to change your lifestyle in order to protect your family from any or all of the scenarios above?

Do I have all the answers for you? No, you know better than that.

I have tried in my other articles to give a strategy to use or adapt to your needs, to help you make some of those decisions possible. Ultimately, no one person can change the world, not even the President of the United States of America. It will take all of us working together to get tangible results. But the only person that can answer these questions for you is yourself. Only you know what you are willing to do when faced with the above situations. Notice, I did say willing and not capable and that is for a reason. I have seen people, who in the face of danger or certain death, do things that defied logical thinking or rational thought. That is called courage. Whether male or female, having a set of cahones to give you the courage to make that impossible split second decision in 2012 will be a necessity.

I believe that 2012 for America, will be in the course of human history, that split second that will take courage to make those almost impossible decisions. Start thinking about them. Formulate your strategy and even your response. Set you mind to the task and be prepared to follow your heart, even when it defies logic or rational thought. You never know what one person is capable of until you try. Happy New Year!

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheMilitantLibertarian/~3/1TmJCqWzmIQ/

by Sheila C., SurvivalBlog

Many food strategies have been discussed in preparation for a TEOTWAWKIscenario: beans, rice, MREs, coupon-based purchases and heirloom vegetable seeds, just to name a few. However, there are certain limitations to a food-storage-only strategy. MREs, for instance, are quite expensive and only provide one meal at a time. They would be great for an emergency G.O.O.D. situation, but not long-term sustainable when you are packing everything you have in the world on your back. And beans and rice are wonderful staple foods, but what do you do when you run out of them… or worst case scenario happens and you have to flee your refuge? I have to admit, I have a considerable supply of beans and rice and heirloom seeds, but I also have many years’ experience preserving food and developing meal plans for backpacking. I have found that there are numerous ways to preserve food with contingency plans. I have a passion for food, and in this article I am going to discuss approaches to raising, harvesting, and preserving various types of food with flexibility in mind.
Several years ago, while on a backpacking trek with my teenage son, I concluded that the little pre-packaged backpacking foods were not going to meet our needs. We had just spent a good part of the day hiking over the top of a rugged mountain, and were ravenous. I prepared one of those expensive backpacking meals on our little stove while my son setup camp. As we finished up with “dinner”, my boy looked over at me and asked, “Is that it? There’s nothing more?” Suffice it to say, it was time for a change.

Since then, I ‘ve looked at food a bit differently when I buy storage foods. I think of dehydrated foods as backpacking food and I imagine how I will use it in meals on a trek. I also look at much of my planning for food storage with the thought that I may need to carry some of that food on my back someday, and how to make it lighter. So in spite of my thousand-or-so Mason jars, I always look at food preservation as a multi-faceted process – some of the food will be preserved to use at home, while some will need to be light and ready to go.

In a long-term survival situation, protein and fat are two of the most important sources of nutrition, especially for athletic people. Carbo-loading can only take you so far, and then your body will have to start breaking down muscle for energy. Meat and fish are some of the best sources of protein and fats. On my little farm, I have some chickens, goats and cows. I also live in an area where there is an abundance of wildlife. Today, most meat is preserved in the freezer, with some being jerked or canned occasionally. However, if there were to be no power, how would this vital resource be preserved? Although I have many canning jars, my strategy for meat will be smoking and drying. While I may can a few jars of meat, I will be more interested in keeping those jars for fruits and vegetables, and here’s why – re-hydrated meat in stews and some dishes can be almost as good as fresh, and it makes more sense to me to have it in its most condensed form. I have been using jerky in backpacking dishes for several years. It is light, easy to work with, has good flavor, and it provides that very important protein we need when climbing rugged mountains.

There are many ways to “jerk” meat. While the most important additive is salt, a good jerky mix with spices and seasonings is hard to beat. I have stockpiled some good seasonings, and I also grow garlic, onions and peppers that could be used if I run out of my supply. I try to buy another carton of Morton’s salt every time I go grocery shopping (at the cost of around 50 cents). My family uses a propane smoker for fish and jerky today. However, propane may be difficult to obtain in a TEOTWAWKI situation. The Native Americans sun-dried the bison and other wildlife they preserved for their winter food. Sylvan Hart (The Last of the Mountain Men) had a space between his fireplace and the rock wall behind it that he used for smoking meat. There are many ways to make jerky, and I anticipate my strategy would change some if I did not have access to modern conveniences, so I have developed several crude backup plans for drying meat. For instance, apple wood is abundant in my area, and I would use the coals from an apple wood based fire along with mason’s screen I have on hand for makeshift drying racks over the burning coals. Or I could use those screens with thinly-sliced pieces of marinated meat in the sun. I feel that I may need to improvise, based on the conditions of the world around me.

Last year, on one of my backpacking adventures, I forgot to bring the fuel for the backpacking stove. We improvised and cooked all of our meals over the fire on a small aluminum grill I carry tied to the back of my pack. I was amazed at how well I could control the heat (with a bit of effort) and how tasty the fish were when we cooked them directly over the fire. I had to be careful not to leave them over the fire too long or they quickly began to dry out. It was this experience that got me to thinking about how an efficient little drying system could be “McGyver-engineered” on the fly. I started looking around at things I have at home, and thinking about what could be used and how. My point is that there is sun, wind and fire available in most scenarios, and a person may need to get by with some ingenuity.

When I plan my backpacking meals, I always include some type of jerky-meat as the base. That teenage boy of mine can really eat, and he needs his protein. I usually try to make one-pan meals, and I start with water and jerky. I have noticed that high-quality jerky re-hydrates better. It usually takes about 20 minutes of low heat and water for the jerky to start “plumping” up, as it re-hydrates. It is at this point that I begin adding other dehydrated ingredients to the dish, because the jerky seems to take the longest to re-hydrate. The flavors in the jerky need to “jive” with the flavors of the dish, so I plan accordingly. Presently, I buy various types of jerky to match my meal plans – turkey, chicken, spicy-chicken, and beef – but I have also developed ideas about how to flavor homemade dried meats in order to be cooking ready. When I have prepared a meal, it is a solid meal and the boy is full. And it costs me less, takes up less space and is lighter than most of the fancy backpacking meals.

Last winter I used some venison jerky to make a stew in a Dutch-oven on my woodstove. I just wanted to see how it would turn out. While it was not the same as fresh venison, it turned out nicely and it made a good meal, even in the world of modern conveniences. I spent a large amount of time experimenting with woodstove cooking last winter and found that there are a lot of possibilities for food drying. If I needed to dry meat in the winter, I would use a set of racks over the woodstove. I also found that some meat tasted better when wrapped in foil and cooked inside the woodstove, so I believe there is good potential for using the inside portion as a drying mechanism as well.

Many people still prefer canned meat, and I will probably want to can some meat if I do not have the option of my freezer. For canning of meats, it is important to note that they MUST be done with the aid of a pressure cooker in order to be safe for consumption. I have eaten a number of very tasty dishes prepared with meat from a Mason jar. Canned meat has a long history in our civilized world, so I would never dismiss it as irrelevant. It can be a delicious substitute to fresh and dried meats. I have decided to limit canning meat because I like the flexibility that dried meat provides, and I love canned fruits and vegetables, so I will be keeping most of my jars for them.

I try to raise a good variety of vegetables in my garden, for both fresh veggies and for the seeds. I don’t really need the seeds right now, but it makes me feel good when I can plant something I grew last year, and it comes up and produces what I expect it to. My seed harvest is pretty simple, I leave some of the plants to go to seed and harvest them when they are mature and dried. I have some beans that will be harvested as “green beans” and I have some that I vine-dry for a mature bean harvest. Apparently (according to Mom) home-canned green beans can cause botulism if not canned in a pressure cooker. Mature beans take a lot of work to produce a pot of beans. Dried beans have to be hulled after they are picked in their dry shell from the vine. However, the work is worth it to me because they will fit nicely into a backpacking meal if need be and they are easier to store.

I also raise a substantial quantity of tomatoes. Tomatoes are almost a staple food for me, as they have great nutritional value and are used for the base of a large amount of my home recipes. I prefer canned tomatoes for most of my recipes; however, sun-dried tomatoes work nicely in a pinch and are a preferred ingredient for some of my Italian dishes. Tomatoes are another vegetable that people will tell you to use a pressure cooker for canning. I grew up canning, and we canned a lot of tomatoes without the pressure cooker, but I understand that botulism is not a pleasant experience. I was told as a child that we were supposed to boil the tomatoes from a home-canned jar for 10 minutes before we tasted them. Apparently that worked, because I never have experienced botulism.

Most vegetables can be dried and re-hydrated well, but there are many of them that really don’t do well being canned. Summer squash is a vegetable that dries well but I have yet to see someone can it in a way I would want to eat it later. Canned corn is pretty good, but dried corn is also good and can be a versatile ingredient for one-pot dishes. I was a child of the hippy generation, so I grew up tending a huge garden. We let some sweet corn dry in the husk and then hulled it. We ground some of it for corn meal and it made the yummiest cornbread I have ever tasted. We also re-hydrated some of it, and while it was not that great by itself, it tasted good in a dish with other veggies. We also dried peppers, onions and carrots for stews and flavorings. In the summer, we had large screens full of fruits are vegetables drying in the sun almost constantly. Dried vegetables are a good source of nutrition and easier to store and transport.

The root vegetables are the easiest to preserve if you are not on the move. Potatoes, carrots, beets, and onions all do well if you store them in a cool dry place (preferably a basement). In the old days, people built “root cellars” that were made for precisely this storage need. They were below the earth’s surface and therefore did not freeze during the winter and stayed cool during the summer. I lived in an old farmhouse as a kid that had a “Cadillac” of root cellars, encased in a nice concrete form with a fancy little roof on it. I think the less fancy root cellars were probably more functional, but we had a lot of space for stuff and it was somewhat clean. However, my present day root storage plan involves a dugout place in the crawl space under my house. It is the best I can do without a basement or a formal root cellar. In short, root vegetables will last for the longest if they are kept cool, dry, and away from light. Root vegetables can also be dehydrated for the backpacking adventure.

For me, there is nothing quite like a wonderful jar of peaches in January. I grew up with a fairly big orchard operation, and while I developed a resentment of canning, I also developed a lifelong love of canned fruit in the winter. Scurvy was a terrible problem for early settlers because they went for long periods of time without access to Vitamin C. Fruits are wonderful sources of Vitamin C, as well as many other essential nutrients. I think I would probably fill most of my Mason jars with fruit if I did not have the sense to stop myself. If you want to get the most Vitamin C, apricots are where it is at. They are reported to have one of the highest concentrations of Vitamin C and other antioxidants that support the immune system. Fruits are also less “dangerous” to can, in that you do not need a pressure cooker to make them safe. However, do not forget to dry a bunch of fruit in case you have to carry them in a backpack. Fruit really is (in my humble opinion) the most flexible for preservation and the most fun to enjoy.

An older woman friend of mine (a master gardener) recently said, “I am a home maker – wherever I am, I make it a home because I provide food and comfort. This is what makes a home, so I am a home maker.” That statement resonated with me because it is so real for now and in any situation we may face in the future. I make it my priority to understand food from as many angles I can because I am a home maker, regardless of where that home may be (backpacking, living in my little retreat, or running for my life). I believe the world could use more home makers.