Show Contents 6th Octobet 2014

Show Notes

This week I begin with Local Threats to Survival, then, The Blizzard Survival 20% Discount Offer, The Real Poisons in Our food, Have you considered these threats? The Ribwear 30% Discount Offer, Defending Prepping, Water, Water Everywhere, Surviving on Wild food, Water Myths, The field leisure 10% Discount Offer, Survival Eating, The Buggrub 10% Discount Offer, Dealing with an excess of grown food, The Hunters knives 10% Discount Offer, Urban Survival Strategies, EMF

Local Threats to Survival

Do you live near a potential man made threat to your survival, a power station, a chemical plant, a paint store, do you live near a natural threat to your survival, a landslide, earth quake, flooding, extreme weather events, drought etc. as if you do then you actually know what you should at least prepare for.

I live 15 miles by road from the largest NSA spy base in the world but it is only 10.8 miles as crow flies and that worries me as its presence is a threat to my survival, my families survival and my community’s survival should it be attacked.

The base is known as RAF Menwith Hill although it is in fact a U.S. run spy base.

A nuclear explosion releases vast amounts of energy in three forms:

Light and heat

Blast

Radiation

The amount of energy released depends upon the size and design of the weapon. The effects of the blast depend upon whether the weapon is exploded high in the air, or on, or near the ground. An air burst produces more fire and blast damage than a ground burst which results in a big crater and more radioactive fallout.

The very high temperatures attained in a nuclear explosion result in the formation of an extremely hot incandescent mass of gas called a fireball. Immediately upon formation, the fireball begins to grow rapidly and rise like a hot air balloon.

Within a millisecond after detonation, the diameter of the fireball from a 1 megaton (Mt) air burst is 150 m. This increases to a maximum of 2200 m within 10 seconds, at which time the fireball is also rising at the rate of 100 m/sec.

The initial rapid expansion of the fireball severely compresses the surrounding atmosphere, producing a powerful blast wave. There is an instant vaporisation of all matter with the fireball.

As it expands toward its maximum diameter, the fireball cools, and after about a minute its temperature has decreased to such an extent that it no longer emits significant amounts of thermal radiation.

The combination of the upward movement and the cooling of the fireball gives rise to the formation of the characteristic mushroom-shaped cloud. A flash of thermal (heat) radiation is emitted from the fireball and spreads out over a large distance but with steadily decreasing intensity.

The amount of heat energy received a certain distance away from ground zero depends on the power of the weapon, the terrain and the weather.

People can receive flash burns, burns caused by fire, retinal burn and flash blindness.

With a 500 KT nuclear detonation, 3^rd degree burns can be seen up to 6mls away; 2^nd degree burns for people 8mls away; 1^st degree burns for people up to 10mls away from ground zero.

In most places however, fog, smog, haze, clouds, buildings, trees and hills would block and reduce some of this thermal radiation

Major Injuries Caused by a Nuclear Explosion:

Casualties

Within minutes after the bomb exploded people in all the surrounding villages and town would die. Among any survivors most would be fatally injured. Thousands more would have major injuries from which they might recover if they received adequate medical care. And there would also be people who would remain without injuries.

Burn Wounds

In the immediate post attack period, burns would constitute the most common and serious medical problem.

Many hundreds if not  thousands of people would have sustained major second and third degree burns, some from the direct effects of the heat flash on exposed skin, others would be injured in the thousands of fires that would rage on the periphery of the great firestorm.

These people would need urgent and intensive medical therapy. It would not be available.

Facilities for Treating Burn Wounds

In most major areas of the UK burn beds are available but some of these would have been destroyed by the bomb. At best, a tiny fraction of the hundreds of thousands of burn patients would receive appropriate medical care. The rest would die.

Other Types of Injuries

In addition to these burn patients there would be many thousands of other injuries. People blinded by the blast flash or deafened when the pressure wave ruptured their ear drums. People with lungs collapsed by the tremendous pressures. People with stab wounds of the head chest and abdomen who had been struck by flying debris. People with bones broken when they had been hurled through the air by the hurricane force winds or trapped under collapsing buildings.

Not at all a pretty picture.

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The Real Poisons in Our food

My son said to me this morning, you know Dad although I do love take away meals, I would rather have homemade meals instead as there is less fat in them and I think they taste better.

Then not much later while on FB I read a post by a friend of mine RJ Mcfarland who posted about what goes into fast food and you really would not believe what actual crap does.

So I felt I needed to look into this myself and this is what I found out, and I have to say home grown and home cooked is best, cheaper and of course more healthy in every way.

Ammonium Sulfate

Nothing helps mass-produce bread like ammonium sulfate. Unfortunately, nothing fertilizers soil or kills bugs like it either.

Silicone Oil

Chicken McNuggets are full of dimethylpolysiloxane, a silicone oil that is often used for making contact lenses and other medical items.

Cysteine-L

Fast food restaurants use Cysteine-L, an amino acid synthesized from human hair or duck feathers, to flavour their meat and soften their breads and pastries.

TBHQ

This additive can be found in 18 McDonald’s menu items. It’s potentially lethal, but don’t worry, the FDA says it’s generally regarded as safe (GRAS)

Propylene glycol

Propylene glycol is a chemical compound that can be found in anti-freeze, e-cigarettes, and that’s right! Fast food!

Prescription Drugs

By testing feathers, researchers from Johns Hopkins University found some very interesting characteristics of factory-farm-raised poultry. And you thought the pink slime scandal was bad? Anti-depressants as well as other prescription drugs are added to chicken feed for fast food “poultry” items.

That’s right, those McChicken sandwiches and McNuggets come from chickens that were raised on a steady diet of prescription, over-the-counter, and even banned drugs.

Dimethylpolysiloxane

You’ll find this in almost any fried fast food menu item and also in silly putty, contact lenses, caulking, shampoo and conditioners, cosmetics, polishes, heat resistant tiles, and the list goes on…

Carminic Acid

Synthesized by Cochineal beetles, Carminic acid is used to dye foods, especially meats, red.

Cellulose

You’ll find this organic compound, which is produced from wood pulp, in nearly every fast food menu item.

Silicon Dioxide

Silicon dioxide, also known as silica (also known as sand!), is used to make glass, optical fibres, ceramics and cement.

Oh, and chili. Used as an anti-caking agent, it is often added to processed beef and chicken to prevent clumping. It is listed in the ingredient panels for chili from both Wendy’s and Taco Bell outlets in the U.S.

Most experts suggest that it isn’t harmful for consumption, but just know that the ingredient keeping that chili meat nice and non-caking is the also the primary component of diatomaceous earth, commonly used as a natural insecticide.

So are you scared, well you should be, how many children are force feed this S.H.1.T as soon as they can walk, it disgusts me to think how it is affecting their tiny bodies. Imagine how much of these unnatural, unhealthy ingredients the average adult has ingested through their lifetime, it really doesn’t bear thinking about.

Not scared enough yet, OK

HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP
High fructose corn syrup has attracted a great deal of negative publicity and has been highlighted as a “food nasty” commonly found in many processed foods including desserts, sweets, sodas and soft drinks, as well as some breads.

It is chemically similar to table sugar although it is much sweeter and cheaper making it attractive to manufacturers. However the body processes high-fructose corn syrup differently than table sugar.

It undergoes a chemical process where the glucose and fructose, which are normally bound together, become separated.

When these chemicals enter the blood stream, the fructose collects in the liver and starts a process called lipogenesis, which is basically fat production. ‘Fatty liver’ is currently one of the most prevalent diseases in the world today US today it can often lead to Type 2 diabetes. High-fructose corn syrup also raises the risk of strokes, heart attacks, dementia and some cancers.

So what is actually in HFCS, well this lot of healthy ingredients believe it or not, Heavy metals, fluoride, pharmaceuticals, chromium 6, lead and arsenic.

Aspartame

Aspartame is a synthetic chemical combination which is comprised of approximately 50% phenylalanine, 40% aspartic acid, and 10% methanol. Aspartame is found in thousands of foods, drinks, candy, gum, vitamins, health supplements and even pharmaceuticals.

Each of the three ingredients in Aspartame poses its own dangers and each is well documented as causing a long list of side effects and dangerous health conditions. Watch for the ingredient Acesulfame Potassium, which is just another name for Aspartame.

Phenylalanine: Even a single use of Aspartame raises the blood phenylalanine levels. High blood phenylalanine can be concentrated in parts of the brain and is especially dangerous for infants and foetuses.

Aspartic Acid: Aspartic acid is considered an excito-toxin, which means it over stimulates certain neurons in the body until they die. Much like nitrates and MSG, aspartic acid can cause amino acid imbalances in the body and result in the interruption of normal neurotransmitter metabolism of the brain.

Methanol becomes Formaldehyde (Embalming fluid): The most prominent danger of Aspartame is that when ingested, the methanol (wood alcohol) is distributed throughout the body, including the brain, muscle, fat and nervous tissues, and is then metabolized to form formaldehyde, which enters cells and binds to proteins and genetic material (DNA). Methanol is a dangerous neurotoxin and a known carcinogen, which causes retinal damage in the eye, interferes with DNA processes, and can cause birth defects.

It is time to wake up, you must read food labels every time you shop. We are being poisoned daily whilst due to massive advertising campaigns we are being told that the very same food is safe to eat.

We expect our government to approve any and all food additives for human consumption we expect our food agency inspectors to flag up any problems, well I expect them to, I don’t know about you.

We should reject this muck, we can survive without it as we always have long before these slow accumulative poisons were added to our food.

Grow your own, make your own it tastes so much better it really does.

Have you considered these threats?

Here are some threats to your survival that you might not have considered at all.

There are over 1,000 nuclear transports through the UK every year. The trains carry spent nuclear fuel on the UK’s rail network – often at peak times and within three metres of ordinary passenger trains.

The transport of nuclear material is recognised by the International Atomic Energy Agency to be the nuclear operation most vulnerable to terrorist attack or sabotage and tests have shown the flasks to be highly vulnerable to attack from armour piercing rounds.

Nuclear transports are unescorted other than by a driver and a guardsman. Their movements tend to be regular and along a single route.

The weekly trains carry spent fuel from each of the UK’s nuclear reactors to Sellafield for reprocessing.

Here is the worrying bit and real cause for concern. The document (PHE-CRCE-014) describes 16 accidents and incidents involving the transport of radioactive materials to, from or within the UK, which occurred in 2012.

The number of events reported in 2012 was lower than in 2011 (38 events), and below the range of the number of events that have occurred in the last 5-year period: 38 events in 2011, 30 events in 2010, 33 events in 2009, 39 events in 2008 and 26 events in 2007.

Bioengineered pandemic

Natural pandemics have killed more people than wars. However, natural pandemics are unlikely to be existential threats: there are usually some people resistant to the pathogen, and the offspring of survivors would be more resistant.

Evolution also does not favour parasites that wipe out their hosts, which is why syphilis went from a virulent killer to a chronic disease as it spread in Europe.

Unfortunately we can now make diseases nastier. One of the more famous examples is how the introduction of an extra gene in mousepox – the mouse version of smallpox – made it far more lethal and able to infect vaccinated individuals. Recent work on bird flu has demonstrated that the contagiousness of a disease can be deliberately boosted.

Is the biggest threat to human survival religious fundamentalism?

How far might religious fundamentalists go, if for instance they possessed a100% lethal and uncontrollable biological weapon?

Biological / Nuclear Terrorism

Right now there are plenty of down-and-dirty, run-of-the-mill terrorists and the grand prize they all hope to get their hands on is a weapon of mass destruction like a nuclear bomb or a vial of smallpox virus. “Today’s society is more vulnerable to terrorism because it is easier for a malevolent group to get hold of the necessary materials, technology and expertise to make weapons of mass destruction.

Super-Volcanoes

As far as Mother Nature-induced Armageddon scenarios go, the simmering super-volcano underneath the Wyoming Yellowstone Park is surely one clear and present danger not to be ignored.

Unlike a surface volcano eruption, a caldera of that scale could throw the globe into a long winter, and even bring on a mini Ice Age, blocking out the sun and displace 10 inches of ash on the ground around a 2500 thousand mile perimeter.

Plant life in the northern hemisphere would likely become extinct for a period of time triggering global starvation, making humans an endangered species as a result.

Asteroid Impact

Recent films like Deep Impact and Armageddon have dramatized this human extinction scenario, an asteroid hitting the Earth. Hollywood is Hollywood, but in 2013, a real-life asteroid appeared without warning in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

About 20 meters wide, it hurled into the Earth’s atmosphere at more than 40,000 miles per hour. Only the angle it came in at and its relatively small size prevented damage and destruction on a massive scale. 

But what would happen if a not-at-all uncommon mile-wide asteroid hit the Earth at this speed? Quite probably it would wipe out the human race.

Bee Decline

Bees are dying—a lot of them, due to CCD, Colony Collapse Disorder. “One of every three bites of food eaten worldwide depends on pollinators, especially bees, for a successful harvest.

Plants depend on spreading their pollen to produce food. Bees are pollinators. No bees, no food (or at least much less). As many as 50 percent of the hives in the U.S. and Europe have collapsed in the past 10 years.

The suspect in bee deaths is a class of chemicals called neonicotinoids, pesticides used on a massive scale in commercial farming. It is believed the chemicals impair the bees’ sense of direction, preventing them from returning to the hive.

Pandemic

Which leads us to a related extinction scenario: a worldwide pandemic. New diseases emerge every year.  Some have the potential to devastate the population.

In 1918, a strain of influenza spread worldwide and killed between 20 and 50 million people—more than were killed in all of World War I.

In the past several years, diseases like SARS have come close to igniting into worldwide pandemics, and it is not at all inconceivable that, in our airplane-riding, interconnected world, some other virus could arrive on the scene with the virulence and transmissibility to decimate, if not destroy, the human population.

Unknown unknowns

The most unsettling possibility is that there is something out there that is very deadly, and we have no clue about it.

I suppose I could say that we have survived every threat, our ancestors survived whatever wiped out the dinosaurs, we've survived plague, famine, nuclear holocaust, flood, war, you name it.

Humans are so far spread now though, that for them to be wiped it would need to be something global and deadly. So yes, we pretty much can face all threats to extinction as humans.

The real question is, is ignorance the greatest threat to human survival?

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Defending Prepping

It’s a common objection to prepping, to point out that one disaster scenario or another, that we have prepared for has not even happened.

So if we talk about preparing for economic disaster, due to the budget crisis and debt limit, and then the problem is sorted, the objection is that we prepared in vain.

And the same thing might be said about preparing for a major flooding or winter storms. Last year 2013 we saw major flooding across the UK, but in areas were up to now there has been no flooding non-preppers will point out this fact, that we prepare for events that don’t occur, as a way of portraying prepping as useless or as a waste of time and money. ]

It seems to them that we were “wrong”. We prepared for a disaster that did not happen.

But the reply from serious preppers is simple and compelling: sooner or later, one disaster or another will occur.

You would be foolish to think that we will never again see a major flooding again, or a major snowstorm, or a major power cuts.

And most economists continue to warn that the UK is headed for eventual economic disaster, if we don’t do something about excess government spending and excess debt.

We preppers might seem “wrong” in the short term, in any particular case. But in the long run, in a sense, we cannot be wrong — because eventually some disaster will occur.

Most preparations that we make are not “single disaster” preps. So if I have stored food, in anticipation of an economic disaster that disrupts the food supply, that food is useful if there is a major flood for example and I can’t get to the supermarket for days or longer.

If the power goes out, it does not matter too much why. Lots of different disasters might knock out the power. But many of my preparations will be useful regardless of the reason that the power is out.

I should add that much of the popular opposition to prepping is based on misconceptions. The mass media and certain TV shows (like Doomsday Preppers) have chosen to sensationalize prepping by portraying all preppers as if they were preparing for a literal end of the world scenario, a complete collapse of all society, one step short of a zombie apocalypse.

To the contrary, most preppers are taking prudent reasonable moderate steps to prepare for the more likely types of disasters, like storms, power cuts, limited disruptions to the food supply, and substantial economic problems short of total economic collapse. Severe disaster scenarios are possible, but less likely.

I have made some preparations for the more severe types of disasters. But most of my efforts focus on the more likely and less severe possibilities.

Water, Water Everywhere

When a disaster hits one of two things will happen either you will be prepared or you will not be prepared.

You will either have preps on hand including water, and something to carry water in.

Or you will not have preps on hand which means that you will not have any water or food.

By now we should know that it is very clear which preps we should be storing to survive SHTF

Some preppers have three months food preps and two weeks water preps, surely that should be the other way around< look I am not suggesting that by the way but with water no amount of preps will save your life.

Without water we can live up to 3 days we need water to stay hydrated. We need water to help keep our body temperature down during physical exertion. We need water to survive.

Having said that, no matter how much water preps we have it will eventually run out, then what will you do? This is when you will have to find ways to obtain the water you will need to survive and to do that you will need to know where to look for it.

Bottled Water for an Emergency

If we have preps when SHTF we'll have bottled water with us, as well as portable water filters, water purifying tablets, and of course a pot for boiling water, for the purposes of making it safe to drink (when water comes from places like ponds, fountains, streams, and even the toilet cistern.

If you have both a water filter and a means to boil water, then I suggest that you boil water as your first choice to purify it -- unless it's clear that this is just a short term disaster.

However, in a long term disaster, you should use your water filter only when boiling water isn't an option for if example, you're in a hurry or on the move. The reason is that your water filter only has so much life in it, perhaps having spare filters would be prudent.

Finding Water

When SHTF and you have access to your preps and you have bottled water both at home and in the boot of your car as well as at your work place, ready to go should you have to flee a disaster if it strikes while you're at work.

With a planned escape route in mind -- and a back-up route should the first route fail -- (such as a bridge being washed away in a flood) you set off on foot, your plan is to escape the from city.

Because you had bottled water on hand, you have enough water to last you a day or two in warm weather. With that water filter device in your backpack, you have the ability to quickly purify water from lakes and streams along the way, even fountains and toilet cisterns if it comes down to it.

Finally, with that pot for boiling water (and a lighter and firestarter for getting a fire going), you've got several days’ worth of drinking water you can count on, and possibly several weeks' worth.

Boiling Water

I recommend that you filter any water before boiling it, this can be done say by pouring it through a T-shirt for example.

Simply start a fire and place the water filled pot on the fire bring it to a rolling boil and job done.

This plan can be counted on in areas of lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds.

Finding Water Urban areas

You will find that in urban areas most buildings, even damaged buildings, will have toilets and even hot water tanks, though you shouldn't have to boil any water you find in a hot water tank (water straight from a hot water tank should be ok to drink).

Route Planning and Finding Water in Dry Areas

Should you have to travel cross-country in an area with few places for water, study a map and find the largest rivers passing through the area? Look for tributaries (small streams that feed into rivers) and consider a path that crosses numerous tributaries as a route to help you get from A to B.

You increase your chances for finding water along the way, especially if your path runs parallel to a river, crossing over streams every few miles.

Not only is it likely to take a greater effort, but you'll want to carry more water with you, when you do find it. So as well as any bottles of water you may have you should consider having a hydration pack too.

But what if?

So the SHTF and you are at work, you leave work and head for the car park but the roof has collapsed on top of your car and now you cannot get to your water and bug-out-bag so you are left with no other choice but to walk home, but that is 50 miles away. Now you have no preps or water.

I have said many times before that when you are driving your car your bug-out-bag should be in the driving compartment with you in fact better still if it is in the floor well of the passenger seat. This is because should you have an accident and be trapped in your seat then all the preps in the world will be of no use to you at all if they are in the boot. This also goes for water bottles as well.

As you walk home you need to look for any useful containers to carry water, look for empty water bottles, drinks bottles, buckets etc. now stop think, where am I most likely to find water even with no lakes, rivers or streams.

Well most homes have outside taps don’t they? But if you can’t find one then leave the area and keep searching for that water you will find it I promise you.

Why not bury a large container full of water in your garden?

Drinking Water from a Hot Water Tank

The hot water tank in your home should have several dozen gallons of water in it. Simply use the drain at the bottom for drinking. In a worst case scenario though that drain may be inaccessible ... with a screw driver or nail, poke a small hole in the side, near the top of the tank (not the bottom), and be ready to catch water (with a bottle or other container) as it drains out.

Over the coming days, poke new holes lower on the tank, until all the water has been poured out. (When you start by poking a hole near the top of the tank, you can control the amount of water you drain from the tank. If you start by poking a hole at the bottom, it's all going to come out.)

Drinking Water from a Toilet in an Emergency

In the cistern of your toilet (which usually has a removable lid) will be water from your tap. Depending on the age and condition of your toilet, it may not be drinkable as is. This is water you can boil and then drink.

Water Pipes

To drink water that is trapped inside water pipes, turn on the tap that is at the highest elevation in your home to release air pressure and get it into the plumbing. Having located the lowest tap beforehand, now drain water from that tap. Have a few containers ready to catch any water that comes out.

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Surviving on Wild food

It really is vital to understand where to find survival food, even though food is one the least important wilderness survival needs.

As with plenty of water and a comfortable resting place, most of us can live many weeks without food.
However, food is important for your mental and emotional state, as well as a source of energy and to maintain a normal body temperature.
Natural food

In a survival situation, you have to take advantage of everything available to eat. Most wilderness areas are full of natural food, ranging from plants to insects. The food sources you can exploit are determined by the habitat you are in and more importantly I think your knowledge base.

You should try to vary your diet to make sure you get the appropriate proportions of fat, protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins.
Meat and fish are good sources of protein and fat and provide virtually everything a long-term survivor would need.

Wild edible plants
Depending of the time of the year you will almost always find edible plants, unless you are in the middle of an arid desert. Knowledge of only one or two wild edible plants can be of great help in your search for survival food. Learn about eating wild plants.
Edible insects
Your most vital nutritional needs in a survival situation are protein and fat. Most insects are rich in both. Turn off your cultural bias against eating insects. Edible bugs are good, I know as I have eaten them.

Fishing
Fish are a valuable food source. Therefore, if you are near a river or stream, fishing is an important alternative to obtain food. Learn different simple methods of catching fish.
Trapping
Unless you are an experienced hunter, hunting animals for meat is inadvisable in a survival situation. Hunting is difficult and you will expend a lot of energy to get your food.

Instead of hunting consider trapping.

Trapping requires less skill and leaves you free to spend time searching for other food sources. The wilderness survivor needs simple traps that are easy to remember and easy to construct.
Bird eggs
Eggs offer high nutritional value, are convenient and safe. They can be boiled, baked or fried. The first obvious place to look for them is a bird nest. However, not all birds build a nest, but instead lay their eggs directly on the ground or in a hole.

Collecting wild bird eggs are not allowed in most countries. Eating wild bird eggs should only be considered in a wilderness survival situation.
Methods of cooking
Cooking is a skill of great importance for all wilderness travellers. Cooking not only makes many foods more appetizing to taste, but also ensures that parasites and bacteria are killed. You don’t want to get sick from food poisoning.
A compact camping stove is very convenient in the wilderness. However, in many situations, a cooking fire is more practical and allows a wider variety of cooking opportunities.

As a survival skill, you should also be able to prepare your food without any cooking utensils.
Natural food sources

When you learn more about how to find food in the wilderness you also learn more about the nature itself. The more you learn, the more you will love and enjoy the great nature we have.

Water Myths

There are many myths associated with obtaining water in a survival situation that if followed could lead to illness and even death by following them.

Rehydrate yourself with Snow

Snow is cold and requires energy calories to warm it for proper digestion. Eating cold snow can also lead to hypothermia.

Snow on the ground has collected bacteria and other organisms over time. These organisms can make you ill. The rule of thumb with snow is to always melt it first before ingesting and avoid any snow that is not white, i.e. yellow snow.

Once the snow has melted you have to purify it before you drink it.

Can you drink salt water?

NO, if you drink saltwater in any quantity it will lead to further dehydration and it will kill you more rapidly than if you had nothing to drink in the first place.  Use saltwater to cool your body but limit the use to external applications – never drink it.

Open running water is safe to drink

Not always true, you see water flowing down stream has already been somewhere before it reached you. What it came in contact on the way down could be suspect, there could be a dead animal upstream for example.

IF you have a choice between still water and running water always choose running water. However you still must filter and purify it before drinking it.

Drinking urine

Yes, you can but only in very small amount, the trouble is it is extremely toxic and should only be considered in extreme circumstances.

By urinating we remove waste toxins from our bodies.  When you are dehydrated Urine gets darker so reusing this waste to hydrate the body not only slows all of the body’s processing it also requires more water to function.  By the way if you are thirsty you are already dehydrated.

Can you drink water from dips, depressions, ponds and puddles?

No. Water must always be treated before you drink it, simply treat it as runoff and stagnate groundwater.

I must say though, in today’s world there is no excuse for drinking untreated water, there are so many filter and purifying systems available today.

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Survival Eating

Your First Course Insects are the most abundant life form on earth and, except during winter, are the first foods anyone should turn to for sustenance upon becoming lost or stranded. 

Not only can bugs be found in large quantities, but they are highly nutritious, being rich in fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. 

The main caveat is that people who suffer from shellfish allergies should avoid them.

Grasshoppers are easy to pick off grass stems at dawn, when the nip in the air has caused them to go into torpor. Crickets, beetles, and grubs can be found under rocks. 

Other good places to search include behind loose bark, in decaying stumps, and inside seed pods. Earth mounds often betray insect activity underneath.

For sorting through loose soil and rotted wood, it helps to use a digging stick. Another excellent tool for insect collection is a seine, which you can jury-rig by tying your shirt or handkerchief between two poles. 

Use it to catch active bugs such as flying grasshoppers, or in a stream for aquatic insects.

Whatever your pleasure, you have your choice from more than 1,400 edible insects to choose from. If you're from the United States, Europe or Canada, you may think that eating a bug is something reserved for bets, dares and reality TV shows. 

The rest of the world has a different perspective. All over Asia, Africa, Australia, Central and South America, people eat insects.

Stranded in the wilderness for days, your stomach audibly groans from hunger. Foraging on plants or berries isn't an option because you don't know what's safe to eat. Instead, you hunt.

Drawing on your dwindling energy, you manage to kill a rabbit. Now, the only thing that matters is getting that sustenance into your body fast. Building a fire and cooking could take more than an hour, so you contemplate eating it raw.  

What's the harm?

Not so fast. Sure -- in the wilderness, some normal rules of civilization don't apply. 

But when it comes to meat, you need heat. 

If you want to maximize your chance of survival, I recommend cooking all wild game and freshwater fish because of the threat of bacteria or parasites.

Bacteria thrive and multiply between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit (4 and 60 degrees Celsius). That's why you should cook meat until the internal temperature measures at least 150 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees Celsius) to effectively break down the bacteria cells and prevent them from reproducing.

You're probably thinking: 

If that's true, then how have Eskimos and other indigenous groups survived eating raw fish meat over the years? And what about eating raw fish in dishes such as sushi?

The difference is the salt water and the temperature of the meat. 

Saltwater fish are safer to eat raw because the water actually helps to kill parasites and bacteria.

The salt in the water creates a hypertonic solution, where a higher concentration of salt exists outside of the bacteria cells than inside those cells. 

To correct that imbalance, the bacteria cells release their water content through osmosis. When they lose that water, they shrivel up and die. In addition, when Eskimos eat raw whale and seal meat fresh, it hasn't had time to breed more bacteria.

Cold temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) also stop bacteria reproduction. Sushi-grade fish, called sashimi, that people commonly eat raw has been frozen before use to help destroy any remaining bacteria. 

In case of any lingering invaders, food safety guides do recommend heating all saltwater fish to more than 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius).

Food is not just a source of energy and sustenance, but a comfort item as well. 

When you are hungry, morale goes down and chances of survival dwindle.  There will be several opportunities to find food after the supermarkets close you just need to know where to look and what tools to have.

The first thing you need to know is that meat will only take you only so far.  If you read Meriwether Lewis’s journals from their Finding Food after TEOTWAWKI exploration; the men still felt hungry although they were eating several pounds of meat per day. 

You can eat 10 rabbits a day and still “starve” as rabbit lacks everything except protein for your body’s survival.

Look if I have a choice of eating “normal” food then I will by planning to do so. I intend to bug-in and therefore I will not need to eat the above, well the bugs anyway.

Hunting and fishing are a different matter altogether, I enjoy doing them and I have learned how to deal with what I shoot or catch in getting it ready to eat.

You too must plan as to what you and your family will eat. I suggest the more people who decide that they will bug-out, the more that I think will end up eating bugs.

Simply put if you have prepped enough food and supplies for you and your family for a long term SHTF situation then, if bugging out, how will you transport this food and supplies to your bug-out location? 

I do not think that you will be able to do it, OK you can reader, but I do not think that everyone can.

Have you thought, no, let me put it another way, have you actually loaded up the kids, the pets, the survival kit, weapons, ammo, clothing, shelter, water, food and everything else you have bought for your families survival and driven anywhere,  
NO, I thought not.

And there my fellow preppers is the problem, and if you have not practiced doing it how the hell will you manage when SHTF?

Peter at buggrub is not only sponsoring the competition on my website he is also offering a 10% discount on all his products, by using the word PREPPER. So have you got the gonads, can you walk the walk, dare you, I dear you to buy some buggrub and then eat it, go on I dare you. Peter’s website is www.buggrub.com

Dealing with an excess of grown food

Storing your harvest is a great way to deal with gluts (a surplus of vegetables) and for months when little is growing. There are many ways to store your vegetables; these include drying, freezing and preserving.

Some fruits and vegetables store well for months if they are kept in the right conditions. The key to success is choosing unblemished specimens and checking them regularly, removing any diseased ones.

For example one rotten apple can ruin the whole batch. Storing the crop in a dry, well-ventilated place will prevent it from rotting. You can buy storage boxes but a wooden crate or shallow cardboard box will work just as well. Some boxes and crates will be designed so you can stack them but if you do this make sure that air can circulate between the levels.

Apples and pears are well suited to storing. Wrap each fruit in newspaper and place in a single layer in the bottom of your container.

Root vegetables (such as carrots, potatoes and beetroot) also store well. Cut the leafy tops off beetroot and carrots and place them in a single layer without wrapping them. Both benefit from being covered by a layer of sand to prevent them becoming rubbery. 

Potatoes can be stored in hessian or paper sacks. Harvest them on a dry day and leave out in the sun to dry. Remove any mud from the potatoes to prevent mould forming.

Store them in a dark place to avoid poisonous green patches forming on the skins. Parsnips are best left in the ground over winter and harvested when needed.

Onions, garlic and shallots are best dried thoroughly then plaited before storing in a dry place. You can also cut the tops off and hang the bulbs in an old pair of tights or netting.

Plants in the squash family (such as pumpkins and courgettes) can last for up to three months, depending on the variety. Pumpkins and marrows don’t keep after midwinter, but other squashes (such as butternut and spaghetti) may keep until early spring.

Ensure they are in good condition and store them in a cool, dry place such as a cupboard.  Courgettes don’t store well, and should be kept in the fridge for a maximum of three weeks.

Leafy crops (such as lettuce and spinach) do not store well and should be eaten within a few days of harvesting.  Sow regularly right into early autumn so that you still have leaves to harvest in the colder months

Legumes (such as peas and beans) can be dried for use in stews or blanched and frozen.

Freezing your harvest

Freezing is a quick and easy way to preserve your harvest. 

Freeze in usable quantities so that the produce can be easily defrosted. Choose only firm, just-ripe fruit and vegetables and freeze them as soon as you can after harvesting.

Pack them into a plastic, airtight freezer bag or container to ensure they keep well and don’t suffer from ‘freezer burn’ (inedible dry, brown patches caused by lack of moisture).

Some fruit and vegetables will need blanching before freezing. This prevents the water in the fruit and vegetables crystallising and rupturing their cell walls, causing a soggy, soft consistency when defrosted.

Simply plunge the fruit or vegetable into a large pan of boiling water for about one third to one half of the normal cooking time, and then transfer to ice cold water, before patting dry and freezing.

The following freeze particularly well:

Raspberries

Blueberries

Blanched apples

Blanched beans (including runner and French)

Cranberries

Gooseberries

Peas

Rhubarb

Drying, pickling and bottling your harvest

Crops that dry well include tomatoes, peppers and apples. Drying can dramatically alter the flavour and texture of your crop (such as sun-dried tomatoes) and can make interesting additions to dishes.

Simply wash and thinly slice your fruit or vegetable and arrange the pieces in a single layer on a baking tray.

Traditionally this would be left outside over long sunny days to dry out.  An easier method is to set your oven to its lowest temperature setting (130C/250F) and leave the trays in for several hours until the pieces have shrunk in size and are almost crispy. Once dry, store the pieces in a sterile, airtight container and consume within a few weeks.

Beetroot and shallots are delicious when pickled and will keep for several months. Wash and prepare beetroot (don’t remove the tops, this can cause the colour to leech out).

Boil in water for 30 minutes or until the skins and tops rub off easily. Slice them and place in a sterile jar and cover in pickling vinegar. (Jars can be sterilised by washing them well and then placing them in a cool oven at 150C/250F/Gas mark ½ for 20 minutes)

For shallots, peel and trim the tops and bottoms. Place them in a shallow dish and cover with salt (this draws out excess moisture). Leave them overnight then rinse thoroughly and place in a sterile jar and cover with pickling vinegar.

You could also make chutney using any excess from your garden or allotment, including courgettes, plums and tomatoes. Jams (such as raspberry, blackberry, kiwi fruit and apricot) are delicious spread on toast and will keep for up to one year.

Summary

Storing fruit and vegetables can help deal with gluts, enabling you to enjoy home-grown food throughout the winter

Fruit and vegetables store well if given a dry, well-ventilated space and checked regularly

Freezing, drying and bottling your harvest can keep fruit and vegetables for several months

Some vegetables (such as parsnips) do not store well and are better kept in the ground.

Nigel at www.hunters-knives.co.uk has offered you dear listener 10% on all his products simply by using the code PREP10.

Urban Survival Strategies

So you plan to bug-in, OK, so you are going to survive in your home for months or even years and you will be able to protect your home by having someone on guard 24/7.

The fact is, that is probably not going to happen. Imagine an economic collapse followed by several months of unrest.

During this period, you like most people will still have a job. Those out of work will spend their time searching the surrounding area for supplies.

Now apart from a lack of food and clean drinking water, I think the biggest threats will be thieves, rapists and murderers. Crime will be rampant, so you better start thinking about home security. Here are a few suggestions:

Find a safe place to live. Avoid houses with large windows and sliding glass doors. Glass doors may as well be open doors. They’re just too easy to get through. Also remember that second and third-floor apartments are much less likely to be broken into as criminals want to be able to make a quick getaway in case there’s trouble.

Reinforce your doors. Most criminals don’t even know how to pick locks; they just kick in the door. But if you have a sturdy door that can’t be kicked in very easily, they’re likely to just move on to the next house. And don’t forget the back door and the garage door. A good idea would be to affix a second door say 3ft back from the front/back doors with a defensive aperture shall I say built into it.

Get motion detector lights. Especially the kind that run on batteries, as there could be rolling blackouts. Criminals don’t like to be seen, and if a bright light hits them they’ll probably flee.

Get an alarm. A loud one. And again, make sure it will work if the power is cut. 

Reinforce your windows. Like I said before, windows are just too easy to break through. I recommend putting bars over all your windows. If there are bars on the windows, 9 out of 10 times criminals will move on to a house without them.

Put up a security fence. It needs to go all the way around your property and be at least seven feet high. Criminals might still find a way past it, but the point of most of these measures is deterrence.

Think like a criminal. If a criminal looked at your house, would they see toys, tools or other things in the garden? Are there lots of trees and bushes to hide behind? Would they see expensive items through the windows? Don’t leave things outside, get rid of those bushes and get some heavy-duty curtains. When you’re done, look at your house and compare it to your neighbours’ houses. Does it look more secure than theirs? If not, your house could be targeted first.

Here are some do’s and don’ts.

Do

Observe the people in the area your operate in

Wear what the locals wear

Wear a cheap watch

Buy your clothes from the same places the locals buy them

Wear clothes that are earth tones

Find out who the locals avoid and don't pay attention to. Be like them

Eat what the locals eat

Don't

Wear jewellery

Wear Bright colours that stand out

Brag about your stuff

Dress better than the locals

Have the latest, greatest stuff

Do anything to stand out in the crowd.

EMF

In our busy, modern world, most of us experience electromagnetic radiation from many sources. We call this chaotic mix of EMFs electromagnetic pollution or electrosmog.

An Electromagnetic Field (EMF) is a wave of energy which radiates out from a source at the centre, and weakens rapidly as the distance increases, like ripples in a pond. It is also called electromagnetic radiation.

Depending on the wavelength, most EMFs penetrate deep into your body, and some pass right through, bones and all! So it is not surprising that it can affect every organ and every cell of your body.

As you move around in your environment, you move nearer to some radiation sources, and further away from others, so the EMF your body experiences is constantly changing.

What Creates EMF Pollution?

Here are some of the major contributors to EMF pollution:

Cell or mobile phones

Digital phones and base stations

Computers and related equipment

Wireless gaming consoles and base stations

Wireless baby monitors and base stations

Electrical appliances (including TV’s)

Electronic equipment

Cell phone masts

Radio and TV transmitters

Microwave ovens

House-wiring

High and low-voltage power lines

Information networks

Cars, motor cycles, buses and electric trains

Smart meters (electricity or gas meters which transmit radio signals).

Most of these sources generate radio-frequency EMF, but some (such as house-wiring and power lines) only produce low-frequency EMF. How many of the items in this list have already affected you today?

Why Does Electromagnetic Radiation Affect You?

When an electromagnetic wave passes through your body, it induces an electric current inside you.

Your body makes use of electrical impulses for many purposes (e.g. thinking, conveying sensory information, initiating muscular movement and controlling heartbeats.)

Even the chemical processes which go on in our cells, blood, body tissues and organs, which we don’t normally think of as being electrical in nature, all rely on electrical charge.

So an external EMF that creates electric currents within your body can and does interfere with many biological processes.

As they better understand how our bodies use electric currents and charges, scientists are discovering how weak electromagnetic fields can be used to modify molecular, cellular and tissue function, relieve pain and even heal broken bones.

So there is no doubt that we can and do respond to these fields.

But the chaotic mix of EMFs that penetrates our bodies every day is far from beneficial.

How Does EMF Pollution Affect You?

What are the health effects associated with high EMF levels? They range from EMF hypersensitivity, which may already affect three percent of our population to brain cancer. Here are some of them:

Allergies

Alzheimer’s Disease

Autism

Blood Pressure Abnormalities

Brain Cancer

Breast Cancer (male and female)

Depression

Electrosensitivity

Fertility Impairment

Headaches

Heart Disease

Hormonal Disruption

Immune System Damage

Leukaemia (Adult and Child)

Miscarriage

Nervous System Damage

Sleeping Disorders

Sperm Abnormalities

Stress Disorders

Symptoms of Exposure to EMF Pollution

Some of these conditions might result from years or even decades of EMF exposure.

But long before that, and usually after only a few months of heavy exposure, a person may experience some of the more common symptoms of excessive EMF exposure, including these:

Anxiety

Concentration difficulties

Depression

Fatigue

Headaches

Memory impairment

Nausea

Palpitations

Skin rashes

Sleep disturbance

Unfortunately, all of these symptoms can be caused by many things, not just EMF exposure. But if you suffer from any of these symptoms, and you and your doctor do not know why, it would be sensible to assess your EMF exposure, reduce it if you can, and see if that helps.

How to avoid being an EMF Pollution Victim

Remember, a strong EMF can be due to a weak radiation source near at hand. Most of the EMF pollution in your home is probably of this kind, i.e. the EMF source is actually inside the house. This radiation can be much more dangerous than that from an electricity pylon or a cell phone tower 200 feet away.

So take a look around you. What electrical equipment do you have in your room? What electronic equipment do you have in your house, or on your person? Are these devices having a subtle effect on your health, and that of your family?

If you know what is the strongest source of EMF in your environment, you can reduce your exposure by.

Switching it off, if possible

Moving further away from it

If it is a wireless device, replace it with a wired alternative.

If you don’t know what creates EMFs in your home, consider getting a low-frequency EMF meter, or a radio-frequency EMF meter, or better still, both!

I would consider this an investment in your future health.