Nutrition: A Cultural Issue?

[Don Alaska]

I have not done it yet and I have back up preps. But I have wanted to try living off my little farm. We now have arrowroot in the pond and I am seeking some lotus to bring in. Daughter knows where some is but has not brought me any pods yet. This week is cattail week. We pick it and enjoy it. I have frozen it but the spears are not as good as fresh (my favorite vegetable) The bad growing weather this spring pointed out the need to prep--not just for Armagedon or political issues...
Weeds don't seem to be that affected. They do change where they choose to grow though.

Have you considered wild rice @Mary Stetler? I once considered planting some in our water , but I feared it would become invasive here. It is wonderful waterfowl sustenance, and I think there is only one source for the seed but you might be able to find some in the wild. We could live off the land if we absolutely had to do so, but it would not be pleasant. The Natives here have done so for millennia.

 

[Yvonne Smith]

After living alone off-grid in north Idaho for several years (back in my 50’s) , I totally do NOT want to ever be without power and water again. It was hard for me even back then, and would be totally impossible now. If the time comes when we have to do that to survive, both Bobby and I are agreed that we hope survival is not an option for us.
Since we live across the street from Redstone Arsenal, home of NASA, Missile Defense, FBI, and more; we would probably be a target if America was attacked.
North Idaho had way more snow and cold than I liked, and I have never even considered living as far north as Alaska.

We do try to eat food that is as natural and as healthy as possible, and i shop for mainly either fresh or frozen food, except for dry items like beans and rice. We make our own ice cream with the Ninja Creami, and i make Fiber Cake for a treat, so it is at least fairly healthy, and better than the chemically loaded desserts in the grocery store.

 

[Don Alaska]

I had a friend who lived off-grid near Talkeetna as @Axel Slingerland contemplated, but she and her husband, although they did use an outhouse, had both solar (summer) and wind power electrical power and a diesel generator when neither worked (much of the winter). Her husband had a construction company there and did most of his work during the sunny summer. She then got a temp job in Honolulu that provided housing for them each winter. I haven't heard form them in some time, but last I heard they were still spending summers in Talkeetna. They may both be retired now and living off rental income from houses they built in that small Alaska tourist town.

 

[Mary Stetler]

Have you considered wild rice @Mary Stetler? I once considered planting some in our water , but I feared it would become invasive here. It is wonderful waterfowl sustenance, and I think there is only one source for the seed but you might be able to find some in the wild. We could live off the land if we absolutely had to do so, but it would not be pleasant. The Natives here have done so for melennia.

I did look into it and put some in but it did not seem to like our area. I put watercress near it and that did not do well either.
Not sure why. We have a slow flowing ditch from the neighbor's pond to our creek but of course in weather like last spring it is no longer slow flowing for a time. I may try again. Our Indians up north produce it and sell it. We have grasses that produce millet etc I could harvest for the chickens.
This year we have a bumper crop of pineapple weed--almost makes me wish for winter to have a steaming cup of its tea.

 

[Axel Slingerland]

I don't think I could live off the land even if I was 20 or 30 years younger, but I absolutely could live off the grid with the right gear. As a computer geek I need a good solid roof over my head, and power is available from many sources. But at 69 years old, and with middle of the road health, I think I better keep my apartment. Or find a house... That's what I really would like. I love listening to kids play. But the constant running from one end of the building to the other, back and forth, all day long drives me crazy.

 

[Jacob Petersheim]

It is amazing just how bad the "chocolate" sold to us retail is, with very few exceptions. US products are so poor that relatively little is imported by Europe, and even then much of it can't be labeled or advertised as chocolate because it contains so little of the real thing. Yet even their domestic-use products (better than their export products) still fall far short of providing the potential health benefits of cacao products.

Nearly all of this stuff is ultraprocessed and contains a ton of sugars, non-cacao fats, highly-processed dairy, and processed emulsifiers. Even things like "cacao content" labeling appears to ensure very little in terms of health benefits/hazards. And that's before considering how much heavy metal contamination there is.

Imagine how bad everything else is if we can't get good chocolate?

 

[Yvonne Smith]

We buy the plain raw cocoa on Amazon, and use that when making chocolate ice cream in the Creami, or for chocolate fiber cake or protein drinks. Amazon does have some raw cocoa bars, but they are pretty expensive.
I have been reading that a lot of the food that we have here in the US is not allowed in Europe and many other countries. Putting peanut oil in vaccines is probably what has caused so many people now days to have peanut allergy.
Back when we were kids, we all ate PBJ sandwiches and no one ever was allergic to it. Now we have little kids that are allergic to a lot of foods even when they are little, and it is probably due to what is put in the vaccinations they are given as babies.
I am glad that I didn’t have to do that with my kids, but when they were in school, there was a law that they had to have vaccinations before being allowed in the school. At least they were older by then, and not babies.

 

[Jacob Petersheim]

We buy the plain raw cocoa on Amazon, and use that when making chocolate ice cream in the Creami, or for chocolate fiber cake or protein drinks.

Sounds a lot like what the Doctor I watched try to analyze chocolate bars from the US and Switzerland does herself.

 

[Don Alaska]

I did look into it and put some in but it did not seem to like our area. I put watercress near it and that did not do well either.
Not sure why. We have a slow flowing ditch from the neighbor's pond to our creek but of course in weather like last spring it is no longer slow flowing for a time. I may try again. Our Indians up north produce it and sell it. We have grasses that produce millet etc I could harvest for the chickens.
This year we have a bumper crop of pineapple weed--almost makes me wish for winter to have a steaming cup of its tea.

I can grow watercress, but nobody in my family but me enjoys it. I requires very clean running water. How about buckwheat?

 

[Don Alaska]

It is amazing just how bad the "chocolate" sold to us retail is, with very few exceptions. US products are so poor that relatively little is imported by Europe, and even then much of it can't be labeled or advertised as chocolate because it contains so little of the real thing. Yet even their domestic-use products (better than their export products) still fall far short of providing the potential health benefits of cacao products.

Nearly all of this stuff is ultraprocessed and contains a ton of sugars, non-cacao fats, highly-processed dairy, and processed emulsifiers. Even things like "cacao content" labeling appears to ensure very little in terms of health benefits/hazards. And that's before considering how much heavy metal contamination there is.

Imagine how bad everything else is if we can't get good chocolate?

There is currently a severe cacao shortage due to crop failures in Africa. I have a stash of pure cacao powder, but I haven't tried to use it for anything yet.

 

[Don Alaska]

We buy the plain raw cocoa on Amazon, and use that when making chocolate ice cream in the Creami, or for chocolate fiber cake or protein drinks. Amazon does have some raw cocoa bars, but they are pretty expensive.
I have been reading that a lot of the food that we have here in the US is not allowed in Europe and many other countries. Putting peanut oil in vaccines is probably what has caused so many people now days to have peanut allergy.
Back when we were kids, we all ate PBJ sandwiches and no one ever was allergic to it. Now we have little kids that are allergic to a lot of foods even when they are little, and it is probably due to what is put in the vaccinations they are given as babies.
I am glad that I didn’t have to do that with my kids, but when they were in school, there was a law that they had to have vaccinations before being allowed in the school. At least they were older by then, and not babies.

The kids were older and there were fewer vaccines.

 

[Axel Slingerland]

Ever since I was in the Army stationed in Germany I have bought very little US made choklit. I kind of got hooked on the better Swiss and Belgian stuff. The only things I buy that ha US choklit are Mochas and the occasional choklit chip cookies. In the words of the hero of cookiedom, Cookie Monster... "Me like cookies..."

Even then I prefer Oatmeal cookies.

 

[Marie Mallory]

It is not possible to grow enough food for the increasing population on decreasing farmland without finding ways to increase production.

Can any of us grow enough food to feed all our neighbors in our little garden areas? That includes meat as well as everything else.

Your mentioning meat reminds me of a video I watched yesterday, about meat industry destroying out waters, rivers, oceans and aquifers. Not to speak of farming fish in our oceans.

 

[Marie Mallory]

At the same time though, there is a balance to be struck.

Right now the US exports massive amounts of food. I'm not suggesting exports are bad, but at what levels? Wringing the last drop out of lands probably isn't healthy for the lands themselves, much less those consuming foods pushed for maximum production over everything else besides "shipability."

So we end up with periodic dustbowls, ponded animal waste, loss of crop diversity, high levels of pesticides and herbicides, and year-round tomatoes that have no flavor.

Sure, there is more to it than that. It's nice to have some sort of blueberries in the store in January. But ag trade (in both directions) does seem to come with a lot of negatives.

This is true. And growing the feeds for these animals is also unhealthy for lots of reasons for us and the animals we eat.
I can remember a film years ago about McDonalds hambergers pushing Africans out into the deserts for their fertile pastures to raise cattle. Many Africans died.

 

[Mary Stetler]

v can grow watercress, but nobody in my family but me enjoys it. I requires very clean running water. How about buckwheat?

Yes, I have grown buckwheat and tried to grow barley but the chickens ran out and ate all the seed in an hour! Hulling buckwheat is not my favorite sport. The chickens did not like my seed oats but something else did. Millet grows wild in some places and is very harvestable. I generally just reseeded that but it would be a great overwinter chicken feed. Ground it makes a good muffin if you mix it with something else.
I used to take my kids around and saw wild grocery stores along the country roads everywhere but if tshtf, there are so many people now, I don't think we could survive on what is palatable with the competition.
Must say, the cattails this week were great but are mostly over with the heat. Other parts are edible, in a pinch, but we took what we liked.
At this age, not sure I would make it starting with nothing but my knives and cheating with my fire starter. But I have taught my youngest what I know and she now teaches me.
Without laptops and tv and phones, there would be plenty of spare time to plan and get things done.

 

[Don Alaska]

Yes, I have grown buckwheat and tried to grow barley but the chickens ran out and ate all the seed in an hour! Hulling buckwheat is not my favorite sport. The chickens did not like my seed oats but something else did. Millet grows wild in some places and is very harvestable. I generally just reseeded that but it would be a great overwinter chicken feed. Ground it makes a good muffin if you mix it with something else.
I used to take my kids around and saw wild grocery stores along the country roads everywhere but if tshtf, there are so many people now, I don't think we could survive on what is palatable with the competition.
Must say, the cattails this week were great but are mostly over with the heat. Other parts are edible, in a pinch, but we took what we liked.
At this age, not sure I would make it starting with nothing but my knives and cheating with my fire starter. But I have taught my youngest what I know and she now teaches me.
Without laptops and tv and phones, there would be plenty of spare time to plan and get things done.

I have tried growing other grains here, but barley and rye didn't do well although they are grown in other parts of the state. I am sure that those of us who have done it before could do it again if we had to. You mentioned cheating with a firestarter. I do that too sometimes, but I still have the skill to do it otherwise. My son in Nebraska was at a gathering where a bonfire was planned. They were going to call it off due to rain, as they said they couldn't get a fire going. My son said, "Watch me" and started a fire in the rain with little trouble. After you have started a fire at -40 on 8 feet of snow, starting a fire in mere rain is a piece of cake.