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Remember, you need to produce or store foods that not only keep you alive, but allow you to be healthy and avoid anxiety.

Ways to produce and store food.

Greenhouses[]

  • Types of greenhouses
  • Cost of greenhouses
  • How long do they last?
  • How powerful does wind have to be in order to destroy them? Is there a chance of hail stones destroying them, or snow building up enough to collapse them?

Yard gardening[]

Food can be grown in your own yard.

Hidden garden[]

Some grow food in the woods and make it so it blends in, so no one passing by will see and try to steal from you. Some plants repel insects, others attract predatory wasps to attack insects that harm crops. What you can grow depends on the climate and other conditions of the area you are in.

Indoor farming[]

You need a light source to grow food by.

Light coming in from windows or light tubes[]

Wikipedia:Light tube will explain what a light tube is. Rather useful way to get light inside through a thick earthen structure.

Bio-luminous organisms[]

They are currently attempting to genetically engineer a plant that will glow all the time and be able to easily be grown inside your home. Naturally occurring sources of bio-light currently include a glowing algae.

Light from light bulbs[]

If you are regularly in a room, working from home or just spending all day in your living room in front of your computer, you can use that light to grow potted plants in. Or if don't mind paying for the extra electricity, or have your own source of renewable energy, you can do that as well.

Spirulina[]

Spirulina contains high-quality protein, as well as vitamins, minerals, and vital amino acids.[1] A person could live off of it and water alone. [1] It has been included by NASA in its planned missions to Mars. [1]

Food storage[]

Foods that last forever[]

There are some foods which can be stored to made to last forever.

  • Honey. Even after thousands of years, honey found in the ruins of ancient Egyptian was found to be perfectly edible.
  • White rice
  • Pure alcohol will last forever. This is good for a fuel source and to sterilize wounds, use as a mouth wash, and of course you can barter with it. It can also be used for defensive purposes as Molotov cocktails or pouring alcohol to float on your moat to then on fire to burn those trying to cross it.
  • Hardtack will keep fresh for decades. It is a cracker formed of plain flour and water. See Wikipedia:Hardtack for more details on it.
  • Freeze dried foods eliminate all bacteria that can cause things to go bad. See Wikipedia:Freeze-drying for more details about that.
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Pure vanilla extract
  • Corn starch and corn syrup
  • Maple syrup
  • Distilled white vinegar
  • Fruit cakes

Preserving foods[]

Getting the air out of a container before sealing it, by vacuuming it out, or by using an item that makes heat and burns off the air quickly, allows it to last longer.

Some foods can be canned, cooked, or treated in various methods to make them last longer.

Cold storage[]

Seeds[]

Seeds of some plants can not be planted once they reach a certain age. Keeping them cold makes them last longer.

In the cold international Svalbard Global Seed Vault, they claim barley can last 2,000 years, wheat 1,700 years, and sorghum for almost 20,000 years.[2]

A 2000 year old date palm seed found in Israel was planted and grew just fine. [3]

Livestock[]

Chickens[]

Some chickens lay more eggs than others, but don't always grow as large and produce as much meat. Sometimes a smaller chicken species will lay a larger egg than a larger chicken species will. The noise level of chickens is also a factor for some people. Some rooster species are known to attack your feet.

Wikipedia:Silkie. Silkie chickens are very docile, you not having to chase them around the yard, just walk over and pick them up. They only produce three eggs a week. They do not make noise so won't disturb anybody. Good pets.
Wikipedia:White Leghorn. White leghorn lay between 280 to 320 eggs a year. They don't grow large though, so are used for egg production not meat production.
Wikipedia:Rhode Island Red. Road Island Reds lay up to 5–6 eggs a week, and are raised for meat as well as egg production.

Cans[]

Opening a can without a can opener can be done by rubbing its top against concrete, and then squeezing the sides. [1]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Doomsday Preppers on National Geographic Channel, Season 2 episode 6 "Spirulina contains high-quality protein, large concentrations of vitamins, minerals such as calcium and iron, and vital amino acids."
  2. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226092753.htm
  3. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/11/1122_051122_old_seed.html
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