survival foods weston a. price elgin, illinois steve trisko september 2008 things to think about…

Survival Foods Weston A. Price

Elgin, Illinois

Steve TriskoSeptember 2008

Things to think about….

September, 2008 Survival Foods – Steve Trisko

Survival FoodsAgenda

• Threats and scenarios Financial and institutional calamities Natural disasters Nuclear accident/attacks, riots, civil

disorder Product shortages

• Preparations Your level of risk tolerance Investment and time Sources of information and supplies

• Survival Thinking What does it mean? What must you be prepared to do? How do you get ready?

• Survival Foods On-hand Packaged Foraging 101


Threats and Scenarios

• Financial and institutional calamities Stock market crash Bank, credit union, stock market & 401k

account failures ATMs are dead POS registers at stores and gas stations aren’t

working Communications networks down

• Can’t get your money!• What’s in your wallet?• How long will it last?



• Natural Disasters Tornadoes earthquake, flood Fire, volcanoes Extreme snow and ice Earth changes and pole shift Extended power outage, no natural gas, no water,

no electricity• Man-made disasters

Nuclear accident/attacks, riots, war Chemical spill, gas release Biological warfare Marshall Law declared

• Your home, neighborhood, or town is crippled

• What will you do?


Threats and ScenariosEarth Changes - The Worst Case Scenario

• Mother Earth is Cleansing Herself American Indian and other

cultures’ beliefs and prophesies• Pole Shift is Beginning -

TEWAWKI 3,500 year cycle Sudden, violent changes Dry lands go underwater Underwater lands rise up Lost cities reappear Think of any recent examples?


Threats and Scenarios Earth Changes - The Worst Case Scenario

• Telltale Signs More frequent earthquakes Red/Pink circles around the sun Pink and other color clouds Sun/moon not in the right places Constellations out of place Excessive winds, rains, tornadoes, hurricanes Hotter/colder or wetter/dryer than usual Recurring “100 year” and “500 year” floods Aircraft crashes, bride collapses, and cranes’

tipping over Animals behaving strangely


Threats and Scenarios• Riots and civil disobedience

Roaming looters looking for food, water, $, etc.

Roads blocked to stores, gas stations, etc.

May not be able to go anyplace May be robbed at home or on the road

• How long can you ‘lay low’?• Can you defend yourself and family?• Will you share what you have instead?



• Product shortages Milk, bottled water, juices Soaps, toothpastes, deodorants, etc. Fresh produce Canned and packaged ‘foods’ Frozen foods First aid products, supplements, drugs

• Think about how fast the store shelves went empty with the last big snowstorms

• What’s in your cupboard & refrigerator?

• How long will it last?


You Will be at Bottom During Survival Mode

Few Comforts - Much Hardship

You will be here

Marlowe's Hierarchy of Needs


Threats and ScenariosThe “Perfect Storm”

• Most likely there will be a combination of all scenarios

• Assess your level of tolerance for each threat Decide if you want to deal with it Figure out how Get ready

• Think it through now - while things are calm and normal

• It could happen tomorrow!• Identify like-minded people

Share the analysis and planning Educate yourselves Create domain expertise Find and try stuff you’ll need Establish group contingency plans and supplies Etc.

• Getting ready will take time and money


Survival Thinking

• When are you in survival mode? One day, three days, a week, two weeks? Longer?

• How long a period will you prepare for?• Who is covered by your plan and supplies?

Self? Family living with you? Other family members not living with you? Friends? Neighbors?

• Keep quiet about your disaster supplies• If you believe in readiness you must get your

families to believe as well Otherwise you will be storing for their

needs, too.


Survival Thinking Are you strong enough to survive? Do you

want to? Can you stay healthy?

• You may have to eat a lot of ‘ordinary’ and GMO foods • The internet may be gone• Doctors’ offices and hospitals may be closed• Drug stores may be closed

Can you live without electricity? Gas? Water? Sunlight? Can you make the tough decisions about who does and

does not get food and water? Can you defend yourself, family, and property?

• Do you think you should?• If you have or buy a firearm are you ready to use it?• Do you know self defense?

Can you travel without a car? Do you know first aid? Have the supplies?


Survival ThinkingWill you have everything you need?

What do you need?• Build a checklist - many examples are available • Compute energy, food, water, and other needs• Your checklist is your shopping list

How much will it cost?• Shop garage sales for inexpensive, usable

things• Check websites and eBay for best deals

How long will you allow yourself to get it?• Don’t waste time - set a target date and go!

Where will you keep it?• Needs to be secure and quickly accessible

It will be expensive!• How will you feel if you are in survival mode

but didn’t buy what you could have?


Survival ThinkingWill you be ready to get up and go?

What if you have to abandon your home on short notice?

Who and what will you take with? Where will you go? Will you meet others who will travel with you? How many alternate routes will you have?

• Roads and bridges may be closed• GPS systems may not be working

Do have a big enough vehicle to take what you’d like to?

• Can you go off-road if you have to?• Can you sleep in your vehicle?


Survival PreparationNeed Two Plans – For Your Time Frame

Long Term - More Than 7 Days?• Stationary - wait it out• At home or where your supplies are• Limited travel• Self-sufficient, low profile• Reliant upon and helping community and

family Short Term - Up to 7 days?

• Mobile, forced to move out of your home• Hasty departure• Traveling to another location• Uncertain where you will be and for how

long• May be stranded on the way• Probably be sharing the time with strangers


Survival Preparation

Too much to learn individually!• Decide what you do best and what your skills are• Focus on these and become “the” expert in your

community• Build one or two additional skills – Special Forces

approach• Figure out who knows the other areas

Divide and conquer• Build a responsibility matrix or organization• Decide who is responsible for what• Identify common supplies to be acquired and shared• Determine the criteria to mobilize for a disaster• Decide where you would meet• Plan for non-standard communications


Survival Preparation Typical Skill Areas

• Foods – on-hand, long shelf life, fresh• Eating – disposable plates, utensils, wipes • Energy – heat, cooking, light, batteries, recharging• Health - first aid, medicines, supplements• Water – on hand and purification processes• Sanitation – human waste, personal hygiene• Shelter – repair, demolition• Transportation – fuel, bicycles, off-road vehicles, walking

trails• Communications – weather, short wave, two-way radios• Spiritual support – individual and/or group• Entertainment – books, games, low-tech pleasant

distractions• Defense – personal, home, and community• Hunting and foraging – find it, clean it, eat it


Survival Research and Study

Most sources deal with people on the move or in sudden, unfortunate circumstances

• Make shelter and heat• Find food, find your way ‘home’• Escape and evade, first aid, etc.• Typically military/outdoors flavor• Most have a limited section about foods• Hunting, trapping, cleaning, cooking game


Survival Research and Study

Many good survival books and resources available Start at the library Look on-line, many excellent articles available Look for edible wild food, foraging, and preserving

foods You need reference information on-hand We have three good foraging books with pictures

• Still can’t identify some berries and plants• Most trees aren’t in the books• Very slow learning curve!


Survival FoodOn-Hand and Fresh Foods

• On-Hand What’s in the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer Usually enough on-hand for a week or so Cold and frozen food will go bad in several

days

• Grow fresh Hydroponic and regular gardening Sprouting Foraging


Survival FoodPackaged Foods – Years of Shelf Life

• Regular Foods Dried, stored air-tight - ½ to 1 Boxed, no bag - ½ to 1 Sealed wax paper or cello bag -

1 Jars - 2+ Foil wrapped - 1 to 2 Metal cans - 1 to 3

• Specialty Foods Long-life packaged - 2 to 5 Military Ready to Eat (MRE) - 5+ Freeze dried - 20+

MRE Storage Life

Note: Vacuum Packing Regular Foods Will Extend Shelf Life


Survival FoodOrdinary at Best

• Long-life packaged foods These are reasonably good, Kosher available

• MREs They’re awful but will keep you alive Soldiers eat them because they have no choice Very bad ingredients

• Freeze dried Many varieties of meats, veggies, fruits, grains

available Need plenty of water to bring them back to life

• Almost no organic choices Bad ingredients in many long life foods – GMO? MSG ‘code words’, sugar, chemicals, bad oils, etc. Like typical supermarket foods

• Have plenty of digestive enzymes on hand!• Grow/buy organic

Preserve, dry, or can it for long life storage


Survival FoodGrow Your Own

• Dried foods Make your own from good ingredients Fruit & nut bars, beef/turkey jerky Most fruits work well Takes a long time unless a hydrator is used Vacuum pack to make them last longer

• Hydroponic gardening Plants grow in a nutrient solution – water,

fertilizer, no dirt They need light to grow and green up Water solution needs to be refreshed Can be in a greenhouse or indoors Humidity can be a challenge


• Sprouting Seeds last for several years if kept dry Many sprouts are needed to make a good size salad Soak in water and drain, rinse each morning and

evening Expose to light for the last day or two to green up Most varieties are ready in 3 - 4 four days Typical batch calls for 2 - 3 teaspoons of seeds Doesn’t require much space or work Rinsing will increase your water needs

Survival FoodGrow Your Own


Survival FoodPlant or Find It

• Plant it Regular gardening of veggies Expand to add spices, flowers, berry bushes, & fruit

trees Grow extra and preserve it Know your farmer and help him grow it

• Find it – foraging Locate it now so you know where to go when you need it Seasonality is a major factor Make a map - it looks different during the winter Get reference materials, study, and learn how to

identify edible wild foods Try it now Some plants are food, some are medicinal, some are

both There are toxic/poisonous look-alikes It’s all around us and plentiful!


Survival Food - Foraging• Competition

Birds, critters, other people will also be hunting for food When you go back for in-season discoveries they may be

gone Don’t assume that a return trip will pay off

• Constant Activity Required Your map needs to be precise Lots of foraging time is needed to get very little food If you rely on foraging you will likely go hungry

• Native Americans Harvested everything when it was in season Took only what they needed and did no damage Preserved most of their food for lean times and winter

• Meats – pemmican, smoked, jerky• Berries – dried or mashed into cakes and dried• Grains – dried, ground into flour• Roots & tubers – dried and ground into powder• Nuts – stored in shell, unshelled dried, milled into flour or

butter• Leaves – dried for medicinal uses and tea


Survival Food – Foraging 101 – Testing Plants

• Avoid eating for 8 hrs. before the test. Drink only water. Eat only the plant.

• Divide the plant - leaves, stems, roots, etc. - test only one part at a time.

• Smell for strong, acid or almond-like scent Crush to release potentially hidden smells – if unpleasant smell,

reject it • Place a sample of the plant inside of your elbow or wrist.

Wait 15 minutes to see any adverse reaction such as blistering or irritation.

• If no skin reaction, place small piece on the outer surface of the lip Test for burning or itching. Leave for three minutes.

• Put the piece onto your tongue; hold it there for 15 minutes without chewing.

• Chew the piece of plant, but do not swallow. • Hold the chewed plant in your mouth for another 15 minutes. • Swallow the food and wait for 8 hrs.

If you start to feel ill, induce vomiting, and drink plenty of water. If no adverse reaction, eat a handful of the plant, wait another 8

hrs. If no sign of illness, the plant is safe to eat when prepared in the

same manner as during the test.


Survival FoodForaging Etiquette

• Conservation Never take more than can be replenished naturally Do minimal or no damage to the plants and

surroundings Never collect all of the roots of a colony of plants –

thin them out Leave some tubers in place for next season Take only 1/3 of the leaves on greens OK to take all of the nuts, berries, fruits and seeds

• Location Do not harvest on private land without permission Search in forest preserves, along streams and

rivers Pick from not heavily traveled roadsides


What we found within 1 ½ miles of home Blackberries, raspberries, elderberries Serviceberries, high-bush cranberries Acorns, black walnuts Jerusalem artichokes Cattails Milkweed Amaranth We haven’t started identifying the greens and tall

grasses Best of all, we found a well with hand pump in tact

Survival Food – Foraging 101Local Discoveries


Survival Equipment – garage & rummage Sales New Coleman two burner camping stove - $5 Cast iron pot for cooking in the ground or on open

fire - $2 5 gal. gas can - $1 Shovel - $1, tool box - $1 12v deep discharge marine battery - $5 Coleman heater - $5, Coleman lanterns - $2 Pressure cooker - $5, ball jars and lids - $2 Big candles - $.25 Tent – $5, backpack - $1 Many other items acquired inexpensively around

the area

Survival Food – Foraging 101Local Discoveries


Water, Water, Water!

• This may be more important than food• Plan for 1 gallon per day per person for drinking• Reconstituting freeze-dried foods takes additional

water Typical ratio is 1 part food and 2 parts water

• Cooking takes more water• Forget about regular showers, baths, and shaves• Bathing, brushing teeth, shampooing hair will be rare

treats• Bottled water has a shelf life of about two years• You may have to find water, lug it home, and purify it

Find water sources now Have purifying equipment ready


Water, Water, Water!Dehydration Can Kill You

• Early Symptoms Thirst Loss of Appetite Dry Skin Skin Flushing Dark Colored Urine Dry Mouth Fatigue or

Weakness Chills Head Rushes

• Later Symptoms Increased heart

rate Increased

respiration Decreased

sweating Decreased

urination Increased body

temperature Extreme fatigue Muscle cramps Headaches Nausea Tingling of the

limbs

• Too Late? Muscle spasms Vomiting Racing pulse Shriveled skin Dim vision Painful urination Confusion Difficulty breathing Seizures Chest and

Abdominal pain Unconsciousness


Example books for review• Foraging• Survival • Book highlights• Elgin library inventory

Example long life foods• Look them over – read the labels• Note the ingredients and shelf lives• The cooler the storage area, the longer they

last References - handouts

• URL’s• Sites to search for and identify plants• Sites to buy long-life foods and learn more

Survival FoodsExamples and Handouts


Get Ready Now! When the time comes, it’s too

late!

Discussion….

survival foods weston a. price elgin, illinois steve trisko september 2008 things to think about…

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