Food Shortages – The Hype and The Reality – Part 1, by SaraSue

If you watch YouTube videos, alternative media, and even mainstream media, there is a tremendous amount of hype about food shortages. A common phrase among Preppers is “stack it to the rafters”. I can imagine the amount of stress this puts on families who don’t have a lot of extra cash. I was there once, so I have deep compassion for those worried about food security, not to mention gasoline and heating cost concerns — the basics. I’ll give a few tips to address that in this article. But first, are there really food shortages in the United States of America?

As I’ve gone to various stores in my region (Costco, Walmart, Piggly Wiggly, Dollar General, Walgreens, etc.), I haven’t seen anything that scares me other than prices are going up weekly – and that doesn’t scare me yet. Now, to qualify what I’m seeing, I live in a rural area of Tennessee – take that for what it’s worth. Our Costco, a new one in a neighboring county, was very well stocked. Walmart had plenty of frozen turkeys on sale for $.89/lb, but I did notice “holes” in the shelves in various spots, and still, plenty of food and supplies. Piggly Wiggly is a small store and I don’t shop there much because their prices are high for most products with limited selection. Dollar General seems to be the store/chain that looks like they aren’t getting full shipments in – very limited inventory and a lot of empty shelves. Walgreens carries a few processed food items including milk, but very little. I shop at the Farmers Co-Op for animal feed, bedding, supplies, equipment, and they are very well stocked. The Farmers Co-Op is a familiar sight in Tennessee and most animal feed is sourced within the State, as far as I can tell.

I order a lot of bulk and organic items from Azure Standard out of Oregon. They run trucks across the country to various “drop points”, and people go monthly to their “drop” on a specific date/time to meet the truck, help unload it, and pick up their orders. They’ve become so popular, in fact, that they’ve put out a plea for volunteers to come to their warehouses in Oregon and help fulfill orders. They’ve had to delay routes and get creative since they don’t have enough trucks and drivers to meet the demand, which has doubled recently. On my last order, only half of the original order was filled. But, as they explained, it’s more a factor of a labor and transportation shortage than an actual food shortage. I generally do a monthly order, so if something isn’t available one month, I just add it to my online shopping cart for the next month’s order.Continue reading“Food Shortages – The Hype and The Reality – Part 1, by SaraSue”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

Avalanche Lily insisted that I post this: Colorado’s Democrat Governor Signs Executive Order To Turn Away UNVACCINATED From Hospitals.

o  o  o

I heard from the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) that the Preventing Gun Violence Through Financial Intelligence Act (House Bill 5764/Senate Bill 3117) was introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate. It “aims to would require financial institutions to turn over information on firearms and accessory purchases to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for developing an advisory about the identification and reporting of suspicious activity.” This is bad legislation. Please contact your senators and congressman, to oppose it.

o  o  o

Reader Melissa B. sent this observation and conjecture:

“Bullets, Band-Aids, and Beans: It has happened, the end of the world as you know it.  It wasn’t what you thought it would be, but nonetheless here you are.  You’ve worked hard to put up food and know that your family will not go hungry.  You were going to work on securing your perimeter fence and work on a defensible space but ran out of time.  As you kneel, watching the group of men loading your food that you had worked so hard to put away, you keep thinking of the things you should have done.  Your blood boils as several of the men make lewd comments towards your daughters.  You see your sons set their jaws and know that they are ready to fight.  If only you had trained for this situation.  If only you had built a proper fence.  If only you had had more time.  If only…..

It has happened, the end of the world as you know it.  It wasn’t what you thought it would be, but nonetheless here you are.  You’ve worked hard to put up food and know that your family will not go hungry.  You have secured your property and have slept well knowing your family is safe.  You leave the bedroom where your son is writhing in pain.  Last week, as he was splitting firewood, the ax slipped and hit his leg.  You were able to get the bleeding to stop and thought how thankful you were that it had not been worse.  But it is worse.  The cut has become infected.  You know that just a short time ago, you could have gotten antibiotics and he would be fine.  Now you stand, looking into the forest surrounding your home and realize that you should have prepared for this.  If only you would have stored medicines.  If only you have learned about the medicinal plants that are all around you.  If only you had had more time.  If only…..

It has happened, the end of the world as you know it.  It wasn’t what you thought it would be, but nonetheless here you are.  You have secured your property and have slept well knowing your family is safe.  You have stocked what you figured was sufficient.  You figured that you would have time to purchase more food later.  You figured that someday you would have a large garden and animals to sustain your family.  Last night, your family ate the last little bit of canned goods you had.  You decide to try once again to go hunting.  It has been a month since “the event” and the people of the small town near you have decimated all the animals within walking distance.  But you must try.  So, you wake up before dawn, set traps, and look for any sign of life.  Thankfully, you can bring home one small rabbit.  The next day a rat is in one of your traps.  You know that is not enough, but it is all you have to offer.  The third day, you shoot your 22 at what you think is a deer.  It is only the leaves rustling in the trees.  You know that your family will have heard your shot.  You stay out until dark, yet they all come running to see what you have brought them to eat.  You know that you will need to take your family and leave the home you’ve built.  If only you had stocked more food.  If only you have learned about foraging.  If only you had had more time.  If only….”

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — November 16, 2021

November 16th was the birthday of Michael D. Echanis (born 1950, died September 1978), a former United States Army Special Forces and 75th Ranger Battalion enlisted man. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with “V” device as a LRRP in the Vietnam War. He was born and raised in eastern Oregon. Echanis was killed while working for the CIA in Nicaragua in 1978 in a plane crash along with his colleague Charles Sanders and members of the Nicaraguan armed forces. There was conjecture that the plane was destroyed in flight by a saboteur’s bomb. My novel Survivors includes a minor character from Oregon with the surname Echanis, as a small homage to Mike Echanis.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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 $795,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 97 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Antibiotic Synergism: More Bang for Your Bug, by ShepherdFarmerGeek

Introductory Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and this is not professional medical advice for treating any medical condition. Improperly using antibiotics – too much or too little – could lead to illness, injury or death. Do the research and draw your own conclusions – the information in this article will help you get started. Don’t resort to using privately purchased antibiotics as long as professional medical care is available.

—

WHAT IS SYNERGY?

Synergy is “the interaction or cooperation of two or more …substances… to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.”

Why you might want antibiotic synergism:

  1. In order to take less antibiotic to minimize effects on intestinal flora (i.e., killing off your beneficial bowel bacteria) and reduce toxicity
  2. To treat a difficult/advanced infection or resistant bacteria
  3. To stretch and conserve your antibiotic supply by being able to use less antibiotics for the same effect
  4. To compensate for the fact that you don’t have a more advanced antibiotic and must make do with available varieties of “fish antibiotics” or other non-traditional sources
  5. To speed the healing process and return the patient to service sooner
  6. To wipe out all of the disease-causing bacteria without leaving resistant ones behind to cause a second infection.
AN EXAMPLE

Probably the best-known example of synergism in general is that between grapefruit and statins, but in fact grapefruit can increase or decrease absorption, bioavailability, and duration of availability of 85 drugs. And one glassful of juice can have an effect for up to three days.

Want to know all the fascinating things grapefruit does? Then read this and this.

There was even talk about combining grapefruit with (some) statins in a single pill to allow greater medication effect with a lower drug dose. What scuttled that plan, so far as I can tell, is that variations in individual genetics and personal biochemistry make predicting the degree of synergism impossible, not to mention that grapefruit could synergize other medications that the patient is taking as well!

ANOTHER EXAMPLE

As modern medicine began to treat malaria parasites (“the most deadly disease in the world,” killing nearly 500,000 people annually), the parasites began to develop a resistance to the most commonly used medications (including quinine and doxycycline). Now, a new approach called “Artemisinin Combination Therapy” (ACT) uses an herbal extract of the sweet wormwood plant (which also kills the malaria parasite by itself) at a 50/50 concentration with a known antiparasitic drug, and has been proven superior to using just one medication at a time (monotherapy). Synergism!

Synergism is happening all the time between the foods and supplements we eat and the medications we take. We’re just not used to the idea that it can happen with antibiotics and we’re not used to the idea that we can use this effect to help us under difficult austere medical conditions.Continue reading“Antibiotic Synergism: More Bang for Your Bug, by ShepherdFarmerGeek”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on Idaho State Rep. Heather Scott. (See the Idaho section.)

Idaho

Over at Redoubt News, video from Rep. Heather Scott: Idaho Voter Integrity. Her introductory note:

“In a day and age of ever-increasing societal moral rot, it is certainly possible and highly likely that voter fraud occurred in the last election cycle.  While the national debate on forensic audits and voter integrity continues to make the headlines, many are searching for answers and solutions from government to address problems and discrepancies in our election system.”

o  o  o

Reader C.B. spotted this: Trump backs McGeachin over Little in Idaho for 2022: ‘True supporter of MAGA’.

o  o  o

State legislators discuss return to session next week.

o  o  o

Some SurvivalBlog reader living in the Boise area might be interested in this beast: 1990 BMY 5 ton, 923A2 Military Truck Bobbed 4X4 – $26,500.  (Thanks to Terry H. for spotting that Craigslist ad.)

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 15, 2021

Today is birthday of David Stirling. (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990.) He was a Scottish officer in the British Army, mountaineer, and the founder of the Special Air Service (SAS). He saw active service during the Second World War.

—

Our George Patton’s Birthday sale is continuing, at Elk Creek Company.  Be sure to check out the reduced prices on all of our pre-1899 antique cartridge guns, percussion replicas, percussion conversion cylinders, bayonets, and knives. The sale ends on Saturday, December 11th, 2021.

—

Today we present another review and test conducted by our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

 

Gryphon Knives M-35 Combat/ Survival Bowie, by Pat Cascio

I love big, fixed blade knives – you can do more with them, than a smaller knife when out in the field camping, hunting or surviving. However, I don’t like a fixed blade knife that is too big, either – they are too heavy to carry and too heavy for a of chores as well. About 25 years ago, my lovely wife, bought me a Gryphon Knives M-35 fixed blade knife. It is one of the best of the best, Bowie knives I’ve had the pleasure of owning. Sure, there are other Bowies that are better – but not “that” much better – an not even close to this one for the price. I like this M-35 so much, I now have a brace of them!

The trend these days for a lot of American cutlery makers are having their knives produced in Taiwan (free China), and to a lesser extent, in mainland China (the oppressive PRC). You may have read that Seki City, Japan used to be the world leader in top-of-the-line knives. Today, not many knives are being made in Seki City. One reason is, that having knives made there is a very expensive proposition. Then again, you are getting some outstanding cutlery. Many Japanese warriors of the past had their Katanas made in Seki. They demanded the best!

Cutlery Shoppe, in Meridian, Idaho is run by Jeff Loffer, and he’s a really good guy to do business with. I used to make a lot of trips to his then walk-in shop, and we’d visit a lot. He knows quality blades and tools. 15 years ago, I moved from the east side of Oregon to the west side. So I haven’t had a chance to visit with Loffer. He no longer has a walk-in store – too bad. However, you can check out his extensive line of products on his up-to-date website – and be prepared to spend hours poring over his products.Continue reading“Gryphon Knives M-35 Combat/ Survival Bowie, by Pat Cascio”

Recipes of the Week: Salsa Verde and Roasted Tomato Compote / Salsa

The following Salsa Verde and Roasted Tomato Compote/ Salsa recipes are from blog reader Mrs. Alaska.

Mrs. Alaska’s Intro:
“As readers may imagine, an Alaskan gardener harvests a lot of green tomatoes at the end of the season. Some I store indoors in paper bags and cardboard boxes to ripen.  Some of the green ones I use right away in a favorite seasonal treat. Both recipes are variations from Ball’s Complete Book of Home Preserving. Both recipes are versatile.  Feel free to substitute alternative ingredients if you lack something.”

SALSA VERDE

Quantity:  3 pints
Ingredients
  • 7 cups chopped green tomatoes
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 5 – 10 hot peppers (like jalapeno), or mild, if preferred
  • ½ cup lemon or lime juice or vinegar
  • Include the zest (colored part of rind)
  • ½ cup cilantro leaves (or substitute celery or parsley leaves)
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
Directions
  1. Chop the tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, cilantro, and garlic.  (If using dry peppers, soak for 30 minutes, first.  If using jarred or canned peppers, estimate a similar quantity).
  2. Dump everything in a food processor.
  3. Add the citrus juice and/or vinegar.
  4. Blend to a chunky or thin texture, as desired.
  5. Refrigerate, give away, or can to be shelf stable.
This has a nice, bright flavor.  Tasty with fish, chicken, rice, or potatoes.

ROASTED TOMATO COMPOTE or SALSA

Quantity:  4 pints
Ingredients
  • 3 lbs red tomatoes, thickly sliced
  • 2 small – medium onions, chopped
  • 14 peppers, sweet, hot, or combined, to taste
  • 1 head of garlic, separated into cloves
  • 2 tsp honey or sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ + cup water OR
  • ¼ + cup vinegar
  • A drizzle of olive oil
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 450 or broiler setting.
  2. Drizzle the sliced or chopped vegetables with a little olive oil and then spread out one layer thick in one or more roasting pans.
  3. Depending on the size of your pieces, roast for 10 – 20 minutes.
  4. Cool.  Pour the soft vegetables into a food processor.  Blend with a bit more olive oil.  Add water to thickness desired.
  5. Blend again.
  6. Serve it as a thick compote with chicken or pork, or spread it on pizza dough (my preferred use).
    Or thin it with vinegar as a salsa. The flavor is darker and sweeter than a raw tomato salsa

—

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the declining purchasing power of the U.S. Dollar. (See the Inflation Watch section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold Breaking Out Amid Loss of Investor Confidence in the Fed.

o  o  o

Arkadiusz Sieroń: Will Evergrande Make Gold Grand?

Economy & Finance:

The Power of Labor: Record Churn & Quits among Workers as Employers Desperate to Fill Huge Number of Job Openings.

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge:  IRS Says Tax Brackets Will Be Higher In 2022 Thanks To Faster Inflation.

o  o  o

Is the Biden-Harris Regime Purposely Destroying the American Economy?

o  o  o

More Bad News For Biden As Real Wages Plunge.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — November 14, 2021

On November 14th, 1985, the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano erupted in Colombia, killing over 20,000 as nearby towns are buried in mud, ice, and lava. Scientists studying the volcano believed an eruption was imminent and had recommended an evacuation of the area which was largely ignored, resulting in the high number of casualties.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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 $795,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 97 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Prepping For In Between – Part 2, by Noah C.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

Tangible takeaways

As I researched this I found a fascinating point of agreement in writings and interviews with disparate sources (former Delta Force, CIA agent, British Paratrooper, and a Mossad agents) all saying that being aware and friendly is the default to avoiding bad outcomes across cultures. Not being intimidating. Not having weapons (in fact sometimes deliberately avoiding firearms and knives). A friendly face blending in while being aware is the ideal default. Regardless of what other steps you decide are prudent friendly unobtrusive awareness is the pre-requisite.

If things continue to deteriorate (while not falling apart) an almost universally accepted strategy is in the subtle power of numbers. Not gang movement but group movement. Going to restaurants or parks or even shopping with multiple families. An outing showing good humor and good manners by all while at the same time offering the safety of numbers and multiple eyes on the horizon. That is not provocative but is protective. We’re not there yet here in the US but we may be headed that way.

Finally, even though signs of danger vary from place to place I will offer this as a possibly universal signal that there is danger: if the children disappear. For months, I didn’t bring my children on outings and I didn’t see other children out. If there had been children and now there are not, the baseline has changed in a major way.Continue reading“Prepping For In Between – Part 2, by Noah C.”