Survival food thoughts

I don't stockpile because of the chance a person having to leave their preps,Just my preference and "A" way not "The" way. I do however, have food cache's hidden here and there in locations i know i may travel. MRE's while they don't taste great will do what they were designed to do and keep you alive. I keep some of those. Vegetable seeds are IMO a valuable investment for long term survival, hunt and gather what you can while your crops grow then reap the rewards later. Also learning to dry/preserve your own food is an immensely valuable skill to have and i recommend it to anyone

a reply to: EyesOpenMouthShut

Why anyone spends the small fortune on buying 20 year MRE's is beyone me.

In a shtf scenario, you'll have eaten through those MRE's long before the 20 year timeframe is up. Unless you're replenishing your food stocks with gardening and preserving your own fresh food supplies and not actually eating any of those MREs, they're going to disappear real quick.

The intention should be that you have them for emergency purposes only (ie: a bad growing/hunting season).

Otherwise, it's a waste of money. Any home canned/preserved food inventory will cycle in a normal timeframe (eaten within a year or two as you continue to replenish during harvest season each year).

Unless the shtf scenario is so bad that you can't even grow or hunt for food, which means ultimate death for each and every one of us either way you look at it, then you'll be eating up all of your MRE's within the first couple of years (depending on how much you have stocked) anyways.

originally posted by: CranialSponge
a reply to: EyesOpenMouthShut

Why anyone spends the small fortune on buying 20 year MRE's is beyone me.

In a shtf scenario, you'll have eaten through those MRE's long before the 20 year timeframe is up. Unless you're replenishing your food stocks with gardening and preserving your own fresh food supplies and not actually eating any of those MREs, they're going to disappear real quick.

Thats exactly the way i see it.
Stash it for those times where there is nothing else to eat.

originally posted by: EyesOpenMouthShut

originally posted by: CranialSponge
a reply to: EyesOpenMouthShut

Why anyone spends the small fortune on buying 20 year MRE's is beyone me.

In a shtf scenario, you'll have eaten through those MRE's long before the 20 year timeframe is up. Unless you're replenishing your food stocks with gardening and preserving your own fresh food supplies and not actually eating any of those MREs, they're going to disappear real quick.

Thats exactly the way i see it.
Stash it for those times where there is nothing else to eat.

Yup.

Unfortunately, there are people out there who think they'll get by on just MRE's alone.

These will be the people that once they've eaten up their $7000 dollars worth of stash in 6 months, will be running around raiding grandma's homemade garlic dill pickles.

a reply to: blkcwbyhat

Having that food is good, but it is very high in sodium and would not be good eating it for long periods of time.
Normal canned goods are a great way to help with food storage, a garden and canning your own is by far best.
MRE's are also a good added item, but again anything that has a long shelf life...has a lot of things in it that should be avoided for the main supply of your food. I know honey and a few other things last a very very long time, but you are not going to live on honey alone.
rice, beans, and wheat flour are good but you will want more to eat than that.
Garden fresh foods you raise yourself
Home canned goods you can yourself
store bought regular canned goods ..watch exp. dates
MRE's Freeze dried foods are alright, but no good to eat everyday for a month.

if you have a farm or some land, get a few animals.
make sure they can reproduce for you, chickens, rabbits, goats, pigs, cattle ...let them reproduce and butcher what you need and use some of the animal that you butcher to barter with for other things you might want or need.

just my .02 cents

I would not rely on MREs for more than a 5 day stretch.

In my experience, if you eat them for more than 7 days in a row, you will have hellish constipation. I mean, you will STOP until you can take a 45 minute dump that will split you like Rumpelstiltskin.

A vet friend of mine told me it's because the military designs the food that way. They are meant to be eaten by a squad who is in combat or whatever for a few days at a time. It saves time and danger if the soldiers don't have as many bowel movements while on maneuvers. so MRE is designed to stove you up.

Eat them for 21 days and tell my about your experience.

I have discovered it to be a problem with MOST preserved foods, even my own dehydrated/jerked foods. Maybe it is merely the dense nutrient content. Bu you might want to pack a gentle laxative in with those oxygen absorbers.