How Safe Is The Food Supply?
May 17th, 2007This article should be called, “How Well Prepared Are You for Collapse?”
Via: Business Week:
That powder keg hasn’t exploded–yet. But every month there are a surprising number of near misses. Europe just had a scare from harmful bacteria in vitamin A from China that nearly got into infant formula. And in the past few weeks alone, the FDA has issued warnings or recalls for brands of milk, olives, bottled water, bread, prepared fruit trays, melons, oysters, and peanut butter. The pathogens or contaminants implicated in such scares form an unholy litany: salmonella, listeria, norovirus, nitric acid, arsenic, even wire fragments. Toxins such as lead routinely show up in vitamins and dietary supplements.
Does anyone know of an article/book I could read regarding preparing for a food/water/energy crisis WHILE still living in the city?
Although I believe we are in for some tough times ahead I have to still live in the city and can’t excape to some remote place away from city life.
I guess what I’m getting at is, what can one buy food/water/energy wise to store at home until needed?
I don’t want anyone to get on SW’s case about how cities are doomed, etc. We know all of that, and I’m sure SW does too. SW has made up his or her mind to ride it out in a city, let’s do our best to help.
Here is the best information that I know of:
Crisis Preparedness Handbook: A Complete Guide to Home Storage and Physical Survival by Jack A. Spigarelli
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0936348070/ref=nosim/cryptogoncom-20
Are YOU ready for disaster? by AlphaGeek
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/9/161748/9747
In the Wake
http://www.inthewake.org/
Survival Blog
http://www.survivalblog.com/
In case you don’t know about guns, I’m going to boil down my nearly 30 years of shooting experience into a few suggestions.
Hopefully you already have guns and know how to use them, as well as a large stockpile of ammunition, extra magazines and cleaning equipment, solvents and lubricants (or CLP).
If assault rifles are available, you can’t go wrong with AK-47 type, AR-15 type (Bushmaster makes good ones) and FN FAL type. Hint: cops and soldiers will be using AR-15/M-16 type weapons. Their ammo and magazines will work in your AR15.
If you can afford HK gear, you can probably afford to change your living situation… but HK stuff is very good. Is it worth the premium prices? In my opinion, probably not, but HK heads won’t shoot anything else.
For close quarters battle, select a high quality 12 gauge shotgun (Benelli, Mossberg, Remington, etc.) I like #4 shot. Others will suggest 00 buck. If you don’t have an assault rifle, keep solid slug rounds handy in case your problem involves body armor, vehicles or Tyrannosaurus Rex. While any old pumper will do the trick, the Benelli M4 is the finest combat shotgun money can buy.
Handguns: For semi auto, I never experienced a single failure or stoppage of any kind with my Sig Sauer P226 in 14 years of use. Countless thousands of rounds. Flawless. Glocks are reliable and durable, but require a lot of practice to learn to fire accurately. Revolvers: Ruger GP100 .357 mag is an excellent option. Fire those frightening +P loads with confidence because the frame on that piece is extra strong and overbuilt. For the women and girls with smaller hands: Ruger SP101.
What caliber? Everyone has a different answer. .357 mag is generally accepted to be the most lethal. I like 9mm because you can carry a lot of it and it’s easy to stay on target. Some people swear by .45. The only .45 I liked to shoot was the impossibly rare HK P9S. This will be sacrilege to some, but I just don’t like 1911 style weapons. Any of them. I know, grandpa will write in to tell us about his old Betsy custom job with all the chrome, but unless you REALLY get to know that thing, she’s gonna jam. I guarantee it. I suggest the Browning/FN HP, CZ and Sig variants. HK has made a bunch of handguns in recent years (USP), but I’m really only familiar with the classic P7 and P9S. I never did own a P9S of my own. * sigh * That thing is a .45 that feels like a 9mm. Incredibly accurate and easy to shoot.
Will you require a sniper weapon?
If so, your best bet these days is probably a Springfield M1.
* phew * I’m glad I’m nowhere near the U.S.
A quick word on shit:
Shit is likely to be your biggest problem initially, assuming you have water to drink. What happens if water is cut and lots of people can’t flush?
You will need to implement latrines and/or a cartage systems involving buckets immediately. Most people will be totally clueless about how to deal with their own shit. You might have to teach them. If other people aren’t dealing with their shit, that’s a BIG problem for you and yours. The Humanure Handbook is the authoritative text on all shit related matters. I highly suggest it:
http://weblife.org/humanure/default.html
Here’s the book on Amazon, if you like:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0964425831/ref=nosim/cryptogoncom-20
Wow thanks for the awesome reply. I will be sure to check out the links you included in your post when I get home after my day of wage slavery is over.
Maybe a bit more background info about me is needed. I actually live on an island (near France) now so strictly speaking I don’t live in a city. But I still believe in “Be Prepared”. Thats why I emailed you the one day Kevin asking about Tasmania as an option when all this shit goes down in the world.
I know you live in New Zealand but I was keen to hear what your thoughts are regarding Tasmania.
Thinking about all this just makes my head spins. One thing that keeps going through in my head is retirement too. I think its all a con knowing what could happen in this crazy world but I guess thats for another time/place in this blog.
Wow, and all I thought I needed was an airgun or crossbow. Sheesh. I have a lot to overcome re guns and self defense which I will most likely need this summer since there is a gas station a quarter mile down the road and there will be long lines of irate people idly fuming and waiting and parking in front of my house eyeing my garden, my chickens, etc.
And speaking of latrines and bowel movements, my sister has 33 acres in the Spanish Peak wilderness area and intends to keep this land pristine with only a few “farm” sheds (works of art) built for storage since she doesn’t live there most of the year. Once a year she has a camp out with lots of people and rents a portable toilet that is hauled off weighing much than when it arrived. On off peak visits all who go there poop in bags that go into the trash that we take into the town dumpster. I’m not sure of the why of this (da bears?) but in a crisis situation I’m thinking that most water should be saved for drinking. Diets in a survival situation (unless you’ve stored ample liquid otherwise) are usually of the dry type, and require lots of water. And hereby follows what is probably more information than you will want but assuming a dry storage diet you will need increased liquid – not less. If you don’t drink enough water you won’t have a BM for days and when you wan’t to go your feces will be too dried out for that urge to fulfill itself naturally. This often happens with the elderly in situations where they’ve had congestive heart failure and other ailments that require medications to expel fluid rapidly from their systems. I’ve helped another human get their dry stool out, (yeah, you might as well imagine a finger or a spoon, and yes you learn what you need to when the opportunity presents itself) but that is what you have to do when you can’t poop but really want to. Knowing the balance between between liquid and dry intake, and how to poop when you want to but can’t without intervention is just one of those hands on survival things I’ve learned of throughout the ages. BTW knowing how to break up such a blockage can save your life. We have also had a practice where we don’t flush after ever pee and we don’t ever put paper of anykind into the toilet. Sooo much water is wasted with the flush of a toilet. We’ve come to accept that the color of our pee is yellow and yeh verily have no problem leaving that yellow snow lie in wait for the flush.
@ Eileen
This is the most incredible thing I have read in a long, long time:
I would love to know why they wouldn’t just go with buckets and sawdust/leaves???
Re: Guns
Guns aren’t for everyone. It’s a very personal and subjective choice. If you decide that guns are for you, I strongly encourage expert training, either from a friend of family member who is a lifetime shooter, or a professional instructor at a range.
Well said, Kevin, very well said.
On a firearms side note, the older Ruger Service Six & Speed Six revolvers (that the GP100 and SP101 replaced) are equally nice, if not more so. Get it in .357 if you can, as it will also accept .38 ammunition (.38 special still plentiful and inexpensive).
If you do not shoot much, you’ll be better off with a revolver. Semi-autos that have not been broken in well jam frequently, I see it all the time at the range.
Also, re-read Alphageek’s recommendations. Some are a bit dated now, but current substitutes exist.