I think a lot of people like to think they'd know what to do if the world went to hell tomorrow. But, be honest with yourself- do you really know what it would take to live, at least slightly comfortably, without the convenient comforts that we take for granted today? Think about it- what would you do without a grocery store, fast food, or pizza delivery for that matter? If you had no one preparing your food for you, how would you do it, and do you know how to find the food you need? We rely so much on a food supply that is quite easy to disrupt, and then we would probably starve.
Thus, it's a little more complicated than you may think and takes some specialized knowledge, but with some basics to expand on, you'll be more than ready if the civilized world as we know it ends. You'll be prepared and equipped with emergency survival food, while others won't, which will give you the survival edge if the situation ever presented itself. You could also read more about modern survivalist experts like Damian Campbell.
Securing Your Safety in Urban Riots.As relevant as ever for our times, 2011 was a year filled with riots in many nations all across the globe. These riots give survivalists a small sample of what could be to come when food, water, and shelter become sparse in a national emergency. From our TV screens, we could sense the panic and hysteria of those cities in riot. In Cairo, the Egyptians swarmed into the town squares, threatening the safety of everyone living in the vicinity. In Russia, organized mass riots occurred everywhere as people felt threatened by political instability. Even here in the United States, we had the Occupy Wall Street movement. Riots of modern times are controlled and quarantined by police, but when violence breaks loose you will be able to see video clips of mob violence on YouTube. In an urban emergency, security is a pleasure that is not taken for granted.
Tools of the trade.You may want to make sure you always have some basic survival tools and basic supplies handy, and you should know how to use them. A good, foldable hunting knife is a great start. A hatchet is also a good idea. A machete is a good tool if you happen to live in an area that sports heavy vegetation. A gun may be useful, but in terms of basic survival they're not really necessary with the right skill sets (like knowing how to build traps, use a slingshot or spear, etc.) Know how to tie knots and have rope handy. Know how to make simple shelters and familiarize yourself with how to build larger, sturdier shelters for permanence if needed. For reference, some of these tools and others like a ham radio are listed in Damian Campbell's survival manuals.
There are several basic foraging tips you should know. For wild crops, there are several high yield, easy to identify, and highly nutritious wild foods that you should use as your basis of foraging in the event of an emergency. One of these foods is cattails. American Indians relied on cattails for a good portion of their diets, and it's unfortunate that American settlers didn't adopt this food source and cultivate it when they came to America. Every part of the cat tail is edible and very tasty. The best edible parts of the cattail are in the stalk itself. To harvest, simply either cut an entire stalk at the ground and remove the outer leaves revealing a lighter colored fleshy heart, or you can also pull away the outer leaves of the stalk while it's still attached to the ground, and pull up and hard on the heart flesh, popping it out of the ground without cutting it. Cattails also have fleshy rhizomes that are edible and can be stored for a long time. You can pull these up out of the ground by grabbing one in the muck and pulling up hard. You can extract the starch in the rhizome by mashing it in a liquid, then allowing the starch to settle down, pouring off the water, and squeezing out the water of the white starch. This is a labor intensive process however, but the result is a mash of high-energy food that's easy to eat. Another very common food that's easy to find through a good portion of the country are American persimmons. Persimmons are a very sweet, large, fleshy orange fruit that fully ripens in the fall, and is usually ready to be harvested after the leaves of the persimmon tree have fallen off and the fruit just begins to look past its peak. If you eat them any sooner, you'll be punished with an astringent feeling in your mouth that's not unlike dentist's cotton (not pleasant). You will need to learn from local experts what grows in your region and temperate zone.
You're going to need to know what wild foods around you are edible and worthwhile to seek out and harvest. If you're going to be foraging for emergency survival food, it's best to spend the least amount of energy finding the most food, in an ideal situation. For now, it may be worthwhile to look up more information on foraging, because every environment is different. Or consider contacting a local foraging expert and asking them how to forage properly. But, for convenience's sake, there are some basic foraging crops and skills you should know.
Along with the limitless amounts of food you can find in the wild, you're going to need to know how to store your found emergency survival food, especially for survivalists that live in northern climates when winter time makes for difficult foraging. One way to preserve plant foods is to can them. Canning is the process of sealing foods in a glass jar with high amounts of heat in a boiling water bath, that in essence stops the food you seal from decaying (in a sterile environment). This is a great way to save harvests over a season. Canning needs to be done in a very clean area, because you can get very, very sick from bacteria that populate in canned foods. Depending on the kind of jars and foods you're canning, it's a good idea to learn the specifics before you try canning them. A good way to start is to try making your own pickles. There are plenty of recipes on the internet you can try, and canning supplies are easily found in most grocery stores these days, especially in the fall season. You can try just about anything, especially fleshy vegetables and fruits. Berries are easy to find, and you can turn what may be a very sour and not very palatable berry into a delicious jam with enough sugar, canning it for later use. Crabapples are excellent fruit that are great as preserves or as a jam. Currants, gooseberries, mulberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries- almost any kind can taste wonderful canned with enough sugar.
Damian Campbell has a lot more tips for surviving and packing emergency food supply lists. This material is great training for you to survive many scenarios, including long-term "end-of-civilization" emergencies. If you follow the materials and training in his manuals, and put together the emergency kits he recommends, you will have to forage less when disaster strikes. With an emergency kit already assembled, you could be more mobile and perhaps you could flee the disaster area better. That is why it pays to be prepared, and Damian Campbell has a lot to offer.
Thus, it's a little more complicated than you may think and takes some specialized knowledge, but with some basics to expand on, you'll be more than ready if the civilized world as we know it ends. You'll be prepared and equipped with emergency survival food, while others won't, which will give you the survival edge if the situation ever presented itself. You could also read more about modern survivalist experts like Damian Campbell.
Securing Your Safety in Urban Riots.As relevant as ever for our times, 2011 was a year filled with riots in many nations all across the globe. These riots give survivalists a small sample of what could be to come when food, water, and shelter become sparse in a national emergency. From our TV screens, we could sense the panic and hysteria of those cities in riot. In Cairo, the Egyptians swarmed into the town squares, threatening the safety of everyone living in the vicinity. In Russia, organized mass riots occurred everywhere as people felt threatened by political instability. Even here in the United States, we had the Occupy Wall Street movement. Riots of modern times are controlled and quarantined by police, but when violence breaks loose you will be able to see video clips of mob violence on YouTube. In an urban emergency, security is a pleasure that is not taken for granted.
Tools of the trade.You may want to make sure you always have some basic survival tools and basic supplies handy, and you should know how to use them. A good, foldable hunting knife is a great start. A hatchet is also a good idea. A machete is a good tool if you happen to live in an area that sports heavy vegetation. A gun may be useful, but in terms of basic survival they're not really necessary with the right skill sets (like knowing how to build traps, use a slingshot or spear, etc.) Know how to tie knots and have rope handy. Know how to make simple shelters and familiarize yourself with how to build larger, sturdier shelters for permanence if needed. For reference, some of these tools and others like a ham radio are listed in Damian Campbell's survival manuals.
There are several basic foraging tips you should know. For wild crops, there are several high yield, easy to identify, and highly nutritious wild foods that you should use as your basis of foraging in the event of an emergency. One of these foods is cattails. American Indians relied on cattails for a good portion of their diets, and it's unfortunate that American settlers didn't adopt this food source and cultivate it when they came to America. Every part of the cat tail is edible and very tasty. The best edible parts of the cattail are in the stalk itself. To harvest, simply either cut an entire stalk at the ground and remove the outer leaves revealing a lighter colored fleshy heart, or you can also pull away the outer leaves of the stalk while it's still attached to the ground, and pull up and hard on the heart flesh, popping it out of the ground without cutting it. Cattails also have fleshy rhizomes that are edible and can be stored for a long time. You can pull these up out of the ground by grabbing one in the muck and pulling up hard. You can extract the starch in the rhizome by mashing it in a liquid, then allowing the starch to settle down, pouring off the water, and squeezing out the water of the white starch. This is a labor intensive process however, but the result is a mash of high-energy food that's easy to eat. Another very common food that's easy to find through a good portion of the country are American persimmons. Persimmons are a very sweet, large, fleshy orange fruit that fully ripens in the fall, and is usually ready to be harvested after the leaves of the persimmon tree have fallen off and the fruit just begins to look past its peak. If you eat them any sooner, you'll be punished with an astringent feeling in your mouth that's not unlike dentist's cotton (not pleasant). You will need to learn from local experts what grows in your region and temperate zone.
You're going to need to know what wild foods around you are edible and worthwhile to seek out and harvest. If you're going to be foraging for emergency survival food, it's best to spend the least amount of energy finding the most food, in an ideal situation. For now, it may be worthwhile to look up more information on foraging, because every environment is different. Or consider contacting a local foraging expert and asking them how to forage properly. But, for convenience's sake, there are some basic foraging crops and skills you should know.
Along with the limitless amounts of food you can find in the wild, you're going to need to know how to store your found emergency survival food, especially for survivalists that live in northern climates when winter time makes for difficult foraging. One way to preserve plant foods is to can them. Canning is the process of sealing foods in a glass jar with high amounts of heat in a boiling water bath, that in essence stops the food you seal from decaying (in a sterile environment). This is a great way to save harvests over a season. Canning needs to be done in a very clean area, because you can get very, very sick from bacteria that populate in canned foods. Depending on the kind of jars and foods you're canning, it's a good idea to learn the specifics before you try canning them. A good way to start is to try making your own pickles. There are plenty of recipes on the internet you can try, and canning supplies are easily found in most grocery stores these days, especially in the fall season. You can try just about anything, especially fleshy vegetables and fruits. Berries are easy to find, and you can turn what may be a very sour and not very palatable berry into a delicious jam with enough sugar, canning it for later use. Crabapples are excellent fruit that are great as preserves or as a jam. Currants, gooseberries, mulberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries- almost any kind can taste wonderful canned with enough sugar.
Damian Campbell has a lot more tips for surviving and packing emergency food supply lists. This material is great training for you to survive many scenarios, including long-term "end-of-civilization" emergencies. If you follow the materials and training in his manuals, and put together the emergency kits he recommends, you will have to forage less when disaster strikes. With an emergency kit already assembled, you could be more mobile and perhaps you could flee the disaster area better. That is why it pays to be prepared, and Damian Campbell has a lot to offer.
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Read more about Sold Out After Crisis, and also watch out on solution to the global food crisis for your needs.
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