Note from JWR:

Today we present a guest article from one of our most loyal advertisers. You will note that I post very few articles from advertisers, but when one like this comes along that provides useful and practical information, I don’t hesitate. Also please note that our advertisers are not eligible to participate in the SurvivalBlog Nonfiction Writing Contest.

Sprouting is Key to Good Nutrition in TEOTWAWKI

If you were to take an inventory of all your preparedness supplies, would you feel quite confident that you are in fact “ready”? Your supplies might include a good, well thought out long-term, food storage program, complete with a variety of dehydrated and freeze-dried legumes, grains, vegetable, fruits, dairy and meats. If you’ve gotten this far, you are to be commended for taking two giant steps toward emergency preparedness. But have you also considered the very process by which these foods are preserved to give you the benefit of long-term food storage? Did you know that both the dehydrating and freeze dried process destroys the essential enzymes your body needs to utilize the nutrients in the food itself? That’s what may keep the food from spoiling thereby giving you the benefit of long-term storage, but your body still needs these essential enzymes.

To give you an example of how enzymes work and why they are so important for your health, consider this: Have you ever dropped an apple and noticed a bruise form? Have you ever watched what happens to that bruise over time? Underneath the skin, enzymes are busy at work breaking down that apple until there is nothing left. The exact same thing happens with the enzymes in your digestive tract: These mighty, enzymatic “powerhouses” perform their magic – breaking down the food to its constituent parts – vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and protein – so the body can ultimately use it for life and vitality. Without them, we are borrowing from our body what it was never designed to do. To use the old adage, if I may, we are “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.

Yes, the body is thankfully equipped with the means to also digest these essential nutrients with a flood of digestive enzymes, from amylase in your saliva, to gastric lipase, pepsin and rennin in your stomach mixed with hydrochloric acid. The partially digested food (chyme) then empties into your small intestine where liver bile and pancreatic enzymes continue to breakdown the food so the nutrients can be absorbed. There is a kink in this unreliable system, however. Over time and with abuse, when the body is forced to pump out all the enzymes needed for digestion, eventually the body breaks down. Hence, we see the rise of all these horrific, degenerative disease like diabetes, coronary heart disease and cancer – to name a few. Instead of the food enzymes breaking down our vital nutrients, our bodies are breaking down and we wonder why.

Although this article cannot possibly cover the scope of the need for enzymes incorporated into our everyday lives, it must cover the inevitable concerns we face in preparedness. We know the time is near and we need to prepare. One only has to watch the “real” news to realize we’re headed for some tumultuous times. And for many of you who read and support SurvivalBlog, you already are prepared and continue to prepare. But now you’re faced with this dilemma: Your long term food storage is depleted of enzymes. It contains all the necessary nutrients, but nothing to deliver them to your body. Now what?

That was a question we faced as individuals, and as a self reliant, emergency preparedness business: We sell good, wholesome dehydrated and freeze-dried food products from some of the best companies out there with all the necessary nutrients for survival but void of the enzymes needed to break it down. So, from our personal interest in nutrition, to my naturopathic studies, to the realization that Americans are in imminent danger with their casual approach to health, we decided to take that leap of faith. We had to do something that would not only provide the enzymes needed for everyday living, but for our long-term food storage as well. So we made a drastic shift in the way we eat now by choosing healthy, unprocessed food and incorporate a lot of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables in our diets, including sprouts.

Did I say sprouts? Could it really be that simple that we could live off our food storage and enjoy good health with the simple usage of sprouts? Sprouts are living foods packed with living enzymes ready to take food to its next level. In fact, alfalfa sprouts are one of the healthiest foods available to man with such vital nutrients as calcium, copper, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium silicon, zinc, vitamins B, C, D, E and K. Not only does it possess all these nutrients, it’s alive and full of enzymes. By the simple application of sprouts in your long term food storage, you too can not only enjoy the fresh crisp taste of vegetables but employ every nutrient for the health of your body from otherwise, “dead” food.

Sprouting is so easy, anyone can do it. It requires no special knowledge or complicated equipment, just the seeds, a sprouter kit, some moisture, warmth, darkness and maybe ten minutes of your time daily. They not only store well, but a little goes a long way! In fact, just one pound of alfalfa seeds can produce 10-14 pounds of sprouts. Just simply soak the seeds in water overnight, drain them and lightly water for a few days. Then watch them grow! Soon you will have a bountiful crop of healthy sprouts to incorporate into your long-term food storage plan. – Roxanne L. Griswold, Ready Made Resources

Letter Re: Breeding Guinea Pigs as a Protein Source?

Hi Jim;

I remember reading a “review” from a survival-minded individual who raised some Guinea Pigs (cavies) as a test case for survival situations. It took some searching, but I found it on the excellent Alpha Rubicon Web site.

While I was searching for it, I stumbled upon some other sources of information as well:

An article on the pros and cons of cavies as a meat source, from the book “Microlivestock”

And here’s an article (in PDF) on cavies for meat production.

And an older article about Peruvian Guinea Pig meat production. I love this line: “Today, churches in Lima and Cuzco still display Indian depictions of the Last Supper with Jesus and the 12 disciples eating roasted guinea pig.” Is Guinea Pig even kosher?

Thanks again for my daily read, – JRIP

Economics and Investing:

Jack B. sent a link to a brilliant little essay by “Innocent Bystander”, posted over at The Silver Bear Café, titled Economics.

From Greg J.: US government seeks to rein in executive pay. Greg asks: “When will this stop? If the Benevolent State can declare both a minimum wage and a maximum salary, then what is to stop them from controlling all wages? This is madness! “Punishing” the rich will just push funds and eventually people and entire corporations offshore. As you’ve mentioned in SurvivalBlog, wage and price controls have an ugly history. They’re indiscriminate. They’re ineffective. They’re anti-freedom. And they’re coming soon again, to America.” JWR Adds: Just wait until inflation returns, in earnest. We’ll no doubt then see some draconian wage and price controls. Methinks it is time to dig out my copy of Dr. Gary North’s book, Government By Emergency.

Nouriel Roubini asks: Is Eastern Europe on the Brink of an Asia-Style Crisis?

I noticed that spot silver took another substantial dip on Friday. Buy on these dips!

Items from The Economatrix:

Two Japanese Carrying $134 Billion in U.S. Treasury Notes (and 10 ‘bond Kennedy’ of the nominal value of $1 billion each) Detained In Italy. This sounds more than a little bit fishy. If these bearer bonds weren’t counterfeited, then somebody in the US Treasury has a lot of explaining to do. Oh, and here is a bit of interesting follow-up commentary on this case. (The latter link courtesy of Frank K.)

US Stocks Fall On Concern Over Bond Yields, Rising Fuel Costs

US Trade Gap Grows as Exports Decrease Geithner: “Recovery here depends on recovery abroad.”

Oil Prices Near $72, Strike New High For 2009

The Media Fall PForhony “Jobs” Claims “We would never have used a formula like ‘save or create,'” he tells me. “To begin with, the number is pure fiction — the administration has no way to measure how many jobs are actually being ‘saved.’ And if we had tried to use something this flimsy, the press would never have let us get away with it.”

Majority Now Supports Ron Paul’s Fed Audit Bill “The majority of Americans are fed up with Fed secrecy.”

Fed Would Be Shut Down If It Were Audited, Expert Says

Counterfeit or Just Fake? (The Mogambo Guru)

Odds ‘n Sods:

A USCCA Video Tip of the Week: Carrying Extra Magazines.

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Reader T.M.N. sent a link to an article that gives new meaning to the term “efficiency apartment”: Man turns closet into living space. The space efficiency achieved is laudable, but that doesn’t leave much room for prep logistics. (FWIW, the food storage shelves for my family in JASBORR take up more cubic feet than his “apartment”.)

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Steve in Philly mentioned that a six-part Gunsite video on Tactical Carbine handling and marksmanship is now available on YouTube. (I’m dubious about its copyright status! (So it is best to buy your own copy, on DVD, directly from Gunsite.)

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A bit of modern wilderness survival lore at Gizmodo, courtesy of SurvivalBlog reader C.S.: SurvivorNerd: How to Start a Fire with Your Cellphone.

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 23 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from OnPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day OnPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried foods, courtesy of Ready Made Resources.

Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of $350.

Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing.

Round 23 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009, by Bill in Chicagoland

I think as a boy my favorite stories were always about epic journeys or quests. I always saw myself as the lone hero; bravely making his way through a barren landscape overcoming impossible obstacles and having fantastic adventures along the way. As preppers I think many of us still believe that WTSHTF our trip to “Get out of Dodge” will be an adventure such as those we read in books. I’m afraid however; the reality will be much grimmer than we can imagine. I fear that it will be more like The Road by Cormac McCarthy or the recent novel One Second After by William R. Forstchen , than anything else.

I live in the Chicago metropolitan area, yes far behind enemy lines so to speak, and have been a prepper for most of the last 10 years. Like many of us I must live in a big city because of my job. I need money to survive. Living here is no big deal if you learn to ignore the local politics. My kids are grown and I have no long-term attachments here. If the world falls to pieces I always felt I could leave in an instant. I have the requisite pick-up truck, keep it full of fuel, pre-positioned much of my supplies with my son at a relatively safe location in a small town (population 5,000) about 600 miles from here. I’ve got my G.O.O.D. bag packed and I’m ready to go when ever things go south. Or am I ready?

Let’s review my bug-out plan. Wait a second, I have no plan! This blinding flash of the obvious hit me as I was stuck in rush-hour traffic last Friday evening on my way to my son’s. It took me nearly three hours to get from my apartment on the far north side of the city to I-80 on the far south side. This was the route I assumed I would take to skedaddle. Think about that; I was on Interstate highways the whole time, leaving at 8:00 PM, and it still took me nearly three hours to go less than 80 miles. What’s really scary is that I was thinking all along how light the traffic was. I had no alternative routes in mind. Yikes!

Well, I’ve got to tell you this dear readers, that realization scared the bejeebus out of me. I was so unready to bug out. I had the stuff, the means, the mindset, etc., however, in a meltdown near-panic situation, I would’ve have been just one more member in a stream of hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the big city. This experience got me off my duff and forced to review what I will do when the next shoe drops in our ongoing economic nightmare.

I drew up a list of what was necessary to implement an action plan to “Escape from Chicago 2009”

1. Have a bug-out kit ready at all times
a. No problem I have a bug-out bag packed and ready to go. No last minute packing required. However; I hadn’t checked it in quite some time and when I did I found plenty of things to replace and replenish. Batteries lost their charge. Foods had expired. So did many of the common medications I packed. BTW, I also now have a 72 hour bag with me whenever I leave the house. You can never be sure when the worst thing you can imagine will happen.

2. Bring as much as you can with you.
a. Unlike many of you, I am not a man of any particular religious belief system. However, like most of you, I feel what makes us truly human beings is our compassion. I have to say that I don’t think while bugging out, I could look a frightened hungry child in the eyes and say no – nothing for you. Bring more than you need. If you don’t need to share then all the better; there’s more for you when you reach your destination.

3. No stopping to buy last minute items.
a. If it’s so bad you need to be bugging-out do you really think others don’t know that and are at that very minute stripping the local Wal-Mart clean? During the Los Angeles riots in 1992 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the grocery stores were near impossible to get to and if you could, it didn’t matter; they were closed, or had been looted, and were empty. Also, shop owners, for example, may attempt to defend their stores with firearms (a la the Los Angeles Riots) and you don’t want to be caught in the crossfire. <Sarcasm on> I know, I know, Chicago has very strict gun laws so there won’t be any shooting except by a few gun-toting NRA/survivalist types <Sarcasm off>.

Finally, one interesting image comes to mind when I think of someone “liberating” goods from a Wal-Mart. During the Katrina emergency I recall seeing a video of a very obese woman wading through chest deep flood water, polluted with who knows what, holding a Dyson vacuum cleaner she had “liberated” over her head. No electricity, no home, no floor for that matter, but she had an expensive vacuum cleaner she had probably always wanted. Also, an interesting side note is the lack of bookstores looted.

4. Be sure to “Right size your bug-out vehicle
a. Simply put, don’t try to put a 10 gallon load in a 5 gallon bucket. Have a big enough vehicle to accommodate what you need to bring. If you have too much stuff, try to pre-position the bulkiest and heaviest items ahead of time. Be sure to leave enough room in your vehicle for people and pets. If you can’t pre-position the bulkiest stuff at the far end; consider renting storage space in some small town along your intended bug-out route. If necessary, keep a small trailer at the midpoint as well. Also remember that unexpected things may/can/will happen and you will need to change your plans accordingly. Therefore, only the non-essential “nice to have things”, not the essential for survival things, should be stored at waypoints along the way.

5. Don’t oversize your bug-out vehicle
a. A corollary to the above is having a vehicle that is too big. Big is not always better. We’ve all seen in footage of the highways during the Hurricane Katrina and Rita emergencies. Massive Gridlock. If/when you need to get off the highway onto a secondary road you’ll need to know if your Jumbo Superbago or SUV with the extra-long Airfoil trailer can negotiate any tight turns and/or low clearances on your Plan B, C, and D routes. I don’t even want to discuss how much fuel bigger vehicles consume.

6. Expect no fuel to be available along the way
a. My Dodge pickup gets 18 mpg fully loaded and I have a 22 gal fuel tank. For those of us who are lacking the math gene; that works out to 396 miles per tank and my destination is 600 miles away. Hmmm. That means I need an additional 10 gallons or so. Three options present themselves; get a larger fuel tank, carry gas cans, preposition fuel along the way.
b. Option one is too pricey $1,000 plus in my case.
c. Option two means using three 5 gallon gas cans. The problem here is that in order to be prepared to leave at any moment; I’d need to keep them all full. My biggest problem here is where to store them. As I mentioned, I live in an apartment so that’s really not an option I’d use except in the direst circumstances and I’d hate to leave them in my truck either. I’ll have to figure this one out.
d. Finally, Option three requires storing them at waypoints along the route. This is a so-so solution. The primary route may change and you can’t count on being able to get to it before you run out of fuel. Secondly, most storage faculties have a serious prohibition on the storage of flammable, toxic, or explosive items.

7. Enough cash or “realistic” barter goods for a few weeks
a. This is one area that I can’t really give any solid advice. Who knows what’ll be acceptable legal tender or barterable goods. You always read in the “Survival Canons” that certain barter goods will be useful. Honestly, I can’t imagine some 7-11 or Wal-Mart clerk accepting pre-1965 silver or ammo for the loaf of bread or gallon of gas I want to buy. Not in the first few days first anyway. I’d suggest that initially, good old greenbacks will do. How many to bring is the big question ($500 $1,000? Fives, Tens, or Twenties?). I can almost bet that by the time the Schumer hits the fan, most, if not all, banks will be shuttered for a “Short term-bank holiday” and ATMs will likewise be shut down . “No checks please.” Inflation may be rampant and gouging will be the name of the game. Remember Dan and TK’s trip in “Patriots” ? $50 a gallon for gas may not be too farfetched.

8. Route selection
a. Take your time starting tomorrow and carefully route the best escape route you can. Note that best doesn’t always equate with fastest. If the shortest route takes you through, or by, a major urban center, you’re just jumping from one frying pan into another. Use your GPS en-rote to see what other routes are nearby. Use on-line mapping software, on-line (Google or MapQuest) or a PC or Mac-based routing program. Test different routes and compare times and distances. Most of better routing software also shows gas stations, food, Wal-Mart’s, etc., along your route. Learn to use the software now; not when it’s crunch time. Again, Dan and TKs trip in “Patriots” . Parallel routes to the Interstates perhaps?

9. Expect Societal Breakdown
a. Don’t count on your neighbor’s good intentions. Yep, you know which neighbors I mean. They’re the ones down the block with all of the expensive toys who had nothing put aside for an emergency and now are demanding you provide them food, water, and even transportation. Be prepared for incidents of aggression, attempted assault, and theft of supplies. You may need to resort to serious means to defend yourself and your loved ones traveling with you. (I hate to keep referring to “Patriots” but the description of the Laytons’ harrowing trip out of Chicago will be much truer than we care to think. )
b. Be especially wary en route. When you stop for whatever reason, you may be approached by others wanting food, or fuel, or other essentials. Help those you feel are truly desperate to the best of your ability. However, you may have to be rather aggressive to deter insistent requests by overly aggressive fellow refugees. This is a good time to be traveling with like-minded, security-conscious friends, so that all concerned can provide mutual security and back-up.

10. Trust but verify
a. I was originally going to title this section “Trust no one”, however, I feel that is just a bit to cynical. There will be those you meet along the way who are true Samaritans. But, there are also those may have few if any compunction related to “liberating” a few of your items as a donation for their efforts. Or, in the worst case, there will be some full-blown predators out there masquerading as shepherds waiting for the sheep to come to them. Be wary of all help; including that from our friends in the government.

11. Be wary of Government help.
a. I don’t know what will happen if I need to bug-out; but one thing I can be sure of is that if you should stop for help at any government facility; the first thing they will do is ask if you have any weapons with you. This is pretty much standard police procedure in any case. The second thing they will do is take any weapons you have from you. It’s as simple as that. They will claim they are doing it for your own protection but you can be certain you will never see your weapons again. Confiscating weapons was illegally done in New Orleans and few of the confiscated weapons were ever recovered. As unconstitutional as it was, they still to this day, justify taking the weapons as being in the best interest of the public. Forgetting of course that they were seizing the weapons of people least likely to use them against the forces of law and order an all the while never venturing near the danger zones in New Orleans where the actual goblins with illegal weapons resided. Additionally, you can probably also be sure that they will also take whatever food, or other goods you have that they deem necessary, to redistribute it among others who weren’t quite so well prepared as you. How dare you greedy selfish people who prepared have more than others who didn’t?

I hope that you will think about what I have presented here and do your best to be prepared. I hope you all make it to your destinations safe and sound.

Letter Re: Portable Oxygen Condensers

James,
I recently installed an AuraGen system similar to the current listing on eBay (#330329068735) onto a customer’s Bug Out Vehicle (BOV), a 1986 Chevrolet Suburban 1 ton (modified with some parts that were originally incorporated in the M1008 CUCV). This customer also is afflicted with COPD and uses a 110 VAC Oxygen generator. The Auragen, being a military designed system is far more durable, far more rugged, and most importantly, far more versatile than an inverter placed into any vehicle electrical system. Being a mil-spec unit,.EMP is also not an issue as it meets the military requirements for such use in medical units for power generation.

At around $1,700 on eBay the end user can add about another $500-to-$600 for install and miscellaneous parts. I personally have a PTO drive system in my own vehicle and have used it in several situations where, as some say “The Schumer has hit the rotating impellers”, LOL, powering some mission critical communications, networking, and telecom facilities for other NGO customers. These are not cheap, but what price is reliable power when lives depend on it? Best Regards, – Bob S.

Letter Re: Growing Food on a City Lot

Sir:
On my quarter-acre lot in California’s San Joaquin Valley, I have about 50 small fruit trees (citrus, apples, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, and cherries) grape vines, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, squash, cantalopes, watermelons, tomatoes, eggplants, rhubarb, Armenian cucumbers, potatoes, carrots, basil, parsley, tarragon, and a kiwi vine. (And there is plenty of space left over for the house, garage, ornamental landscaping, and plain old lawn, although more of that lawn is going away next year, to be replaced with more fruit trees.) Now, I didn’t do it myself; I paid my gardener quite a bit of money to build trellises, install drip irrigation, break up hardpan [adobe clay soil] with a jackhammer, replace bermuda grass lawn with planting space, prune the grape vines, and generally give me advice. But I couldn’t do it myself, and I regard the money as well spent, not only for my own benefit, but to help employ a good, honest, hard working man with a family to support.

But my point is: you can grow [dwarf or semi-dwarf variety] fruit trees as little as four or five feet apart; you just prune them ruthlessly when they get too big. The Dave Wilson Nursery web site is very helpful.

My other point is, besides non-perishable food and necessary household items, I am buying extra fertilizer. The price is quite a bit higher this year than last year, and I expect it will only get higher in the future.

– K.C. in California

Economics and Investing:

Ray T. sent this: US long-term interest rates hit high. We haven’t seen anything yet! To attract bond buyers in the future, I predict that Banana Republic level rates may be coming.

I found this linked over at TSLRF: Bernanke Freaks Out About Obama’s Spending and Debt Plans. Don’t miss the accompanying Tech Ticker video commentary on the risk of debt monetization leading to hyperinflation.

Items from The Economatrix:

GOP Rep. Kirk Warns: China Is Investing Away From Dollar…Buying Gold And Oil

Fed Lost $5.3 Billion on AIG, Bear Stearns in 1Q

No More Federal Money Planned for GM, Chrysler

Is the US Economy Heading for a “Jobless Recovery”?

Gary North: Regional Central Bankers Blow The Whistle On The Fed

Weiss: US Debt Crisis as Treasury Bond Prices Collapsing and Interest Rates Surging

Senators Want Homebuyers Tax Credit Raised to $15,000
Dropping income cap, 3-year limit, etc. [Wasn’t “loose money” what created the housing mess in the first place?]

California Nears “Meltdown” as May Revenues Tumble

New Jobless Claims Drop to 601,000; Retail Sales Rise
“Still, the number of people claiming benefits for more than a week rose by 59,000 to more than 6.8 million, the highest on records dating to 1967.”

Failed Banks Dot Georgia’s Vistas “The state is home to just 4% of all U.S. banks, but 20% of the nation’s bank failures since August.”

American’s Net Worth Shrinks $1.33 Trillion in 1Q

Car Loans Are Tough to Get, Even with Good Credit “Dealers say loans have dried up, even for buyers with good credit.”

Oil Price Leaps to Year’s High

Economic Hell (The Mogambo Guru)