Eating when SHTF

Food, Nutrition and Agriculture
jansman
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Eating when SHTF

Post by jansman »

Here is a link to a chap who lived through the Balkan war in the 90's.Interesting points made about foraging too.We read online about folks who reckon they can "live off the land",urban or rural.Anyhow,have a read and draw your own conclusion.

https://www.theorganicprepper.com/selco ... -the-shtf/
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pseudonym
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Re: Eating when SHTF

Post by pseudonym »

jansman wrote:Here is a link to a chap who lived through the Balkan war in the 90's.Interesting points made about foraging too.We read online about folks who reckon they can "live off the land",urban or rural.Anyhow,have a read and draw your own conclusion.

https://www.theorganicprepper.com/selco ... -the-shtf/
Some good info there.


I've tried it for a week, caught one pheasant out of 30 traps set, ate 3 wild strawberries and that was it TBH.

There's a reason our ancestors were hunter gatherers..... they moved with the seasons and the food.
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xplosiv1
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Re: Eating when SHTF

Post by xplosiv1 »

Great article , thanks.
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Deeps
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Re: Eating when SHTF

Post by Deeps »

A good read, I can't say its news to me, from what I've looked into and heard that's pretty much how it pans out, especially the 'gang' aspect of it.
grenfell
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Re: Eating when SHTF

Post by grenfell »

Interesting reading . I've often thought about people claiming that they could forage for food and I've come to the conclusion that it's something of a flight of fancy unless the population thins out somewhat. We can't as a nation feed ourselves through agriculture and relying on foraging , even with potentially abandoned farmland , there simply wouldn't be enough food for all of us. I on the edge of a small town within easy walking distance of a fair bit of countryside and my work takes me all over the local area some of it tending gardens. As a result I do get the chance to "nose" at a lot of gardens. There are very few that grow vegetables , a few more with the odd bit of rhubarb or fruit tree but the most are patios , trampolines , grass and flowerbeds. Ok so we all know some flowers and weeds are edible but again it's the quantity that's the deciding factor. In the surrrrounding countryside there are deer , rabbits , birds and fish as well as foragable plants . Some of the disused areas have a decent crop of nettles but how long all that would last is any bodies guess. Probably one source of protein that would be exploited would be domestic pets perhaps not immediately but once other sources dry up then I think people would put aside there compassion for fluffy animals.
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Deeps
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Re: Eating when SHTF

Post by Deeps »

grenfell wrote:Interesting reading . I've often thought about people claiming that they could forage for food and I've come to the conclusion that it's something of a flight of fancy unless the population thins out somewhat. We can't as a nation feed ourselves through agriculture and relying on foraging , even with potentially abandoned farmland , there simply wouldn't be enough food for all of us. I on the edge of a small town within easy walking distance of a fair bit of countryside and my work takes me all over the local area some of it tending gardens. As a result I do get the chance to "nose" at a lot of gardens. There are very few that grow vegetables , a few more with the odd bit of rhubarb or fruit tree but the most are patios , trampolines , grass and flowerbeds. Ok so we all know some flowers and weeds are edible but again it's the quantity that's the deciding factor. In the surrrrounding countryside there are deer , rabbits , birds and fish as well as foragable plants . Some of the disused areas have a decent crop of nettles but how long all that would last is any bodies guess. Probably one source of protein that would be exploited would be domestic pets perhaps not immediately but once other sources dry up then I think people would put aside there compassion for fluffy animals.
There's also the problem that if you are a family unit of a couple of adults and a couple of kids, are you going to go off foraging and leave the wife and kids to look after themselves, especially if the neighbours know the man of the house is away. The flipside being would you let the missus go off foraging on her own ? You'd need to build up levels of trust between friends and neighbours pretty quickly unless you have a large family with a couple of adults to spare to do the foraging etc.
featherstick
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Re: Eating when SHTF

Post by featherstick »

All things being equal, you'd very soon run out of essential fats and get sick. "Living off the land" is a myth.
grenfell
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Re: Eating when SHTF

Post by grenfell »

Deeps wrote:
grenfell wrote:stuff
There's also the problem that if you are a family unit of a couple of adults and a couple of kids, are you going to go off foraging and leave the wife and kids to look after themselves, especially if the neighbours know the man of the house is away. The flipside being would you let the missus go off foraging on her own ? You'd need to build up levels of trust between friends and neighbours pretty quickly unless you have a large family with a couple of adults to spare to do the foraging etc.
Very true . I did notice in the link a bit about one person from a family going to a place where an airdrop was likely so presumably there must have been a certain level of trust amongst neighbours . Perhaps that trust builds more readily in a wartime situation when all have a common foe so to speak?
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diamond lil
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Re: Eating when SHTF

Post by diamond lil »

featherstick wrote:All things being equal, you'd very soon run out of essential fats and get sick. "Living off the land" is a myth.
Right.
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PreppingPingu
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Re: Eating when SHTF

Post by PreppingPingu »

Very good read. I have read the odd thing before on this site from him. Certainly makes you thinks long and hard about those situations. Very far removed from the Hollywood glamour or post apocalyptic survival gaming world - where you always get to start over if you screw up! Thanks for the link.
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