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arbilad
03-12-2010, 03:48 PM
I hijacked another thread with this discussion, so I thought that we should continue it here.
Do we have any prophetic guidance for what we put in our food storage? There is this Harold B Lee quote:


President Harold B. Lee has wisely counseled that ?perhaps if we think not in terms of a year?s supply of what we ordinarily would use, and think more in terms of what it would take to keep us alive in case we didn?t have anything else to eat, that last would be very easy to put in storage for a year ? just enough to keep us alive if we didn?t have anything else to eat. We wouldn?t get fat on it, but we would live; and if you think in terms of that kind of annual storage rather than a whole year?s supply of everything that you are accustomed to eat which, in most cases, is utterly impossible for the average family, I think we will come nearer to what President Clark advised us way back in 1937.? (Welfare conference address, October 1, 1966.)

Obviously this advice has been modified since to add 3 months of food that you would normally eat. But for the longer term storage items the advice has never been rescinded. I do not think that times were so much worse in 1966 (and 1974 when Pres. Benson repeated this in conference) that what was utterly impossible in most cases is now easily achievable. In fact, I think that economic times now are worse than they were then.
As further evidence for my "rice and beans" theory of longer term storage foods, here is a quote from the providentliving.org website:


The following suggested amounts are for an adult.

U.S. Standard

Quantity
for One Month Recommended
Products Long-Term
Storage Life
25 lbs. Wheat, white rice, corn, and other grains 30+ years
5 lbs. Dry beans 30+ years
You may also want to add other items to your longer-term storage such as sugar, nonfat dry milk, salt, baking soda, and cooking oil. To meet nutritional needs, also store foods containing Vitamin C and other essential nutrients.

I guess what I'm saying is, for the vast majority of people, rice and beans is much better advice than freeze dried or MREs. It comes down to not so much a matter of taste. I would love a year's worth of freeze dried foods. But I know that I would not have my year's supply if I had focused on obtaining freeze dried. If you have to learn to cook with food like that, you won't really be sorry. Your health will be better, for one thing. And you will save a lot of money over buying TV dinners and lunchables.
That's my position. Not denigrating anyone who has a year's worth of freeze dried. I'm just saying that, as Pres. Lee said, it is utterly impossible for most people to get anything other than the bare minimum necessary to sustain life. Any advice that keeps someone from obedience to the commandment is bad advice.

Noahs ARK
03-12-2010, 04:32 PM
I guess what I'm saying is, for the vast majority of people, rice and beans is much better advice than freeze dried or MREs.

I agree - anyone starting out with food storage should begin with the very basics...the food that will keep them alive.

Sheesh - I started out with boxes of mac & cheese and canned fruit/veggies cuz it's all I could afford. Figured if we were hungry, we wouldn't mind eating it 24/7.

Just in the past few years I've been able to add "fun" stuff to my storage. Flavored milk powder, gatorade, fruit juices, jams & jellies, chocolate chips, canned nuts, maple syrup, brown sugar, dehydrated meats & canned bacon, candy. The stuff that will help with food fatigue.

Sometimes I wonder if the reason some of the members don't start their storage is because it's so overwhelming to think about trying to store everything you use on a daily basis. It's impossible, I think.

Now I'm trying to fine-tune my paper products. Not just TP and papertowels, but paper plates, napkins, kleenex, disposable utensils, cups & aluminum pans - stuff like that. If there's a water shortage, I don't want to worry about washing lots of dishes. I'm trying to buy paper products that can be burned vs thrown out, so no plastic plates or cups.

Oh - when I was at the doctor the other day I made a point to ask him about vitamins, Motrin, Tylenol and products that have an expiration date. He said not to worry about it if the bottle hasn't been opened up. That's good to know!

I absolutely love preparing. Besides the obvious, I wonder why I love it so much.

signseeker
03-12-2010, 05:06 PM
See, stuff like jams and jellies is now my "basic" since I started canning. Hope I'll have enough bread to keep up!

I'm growing dry beans (can also pick them green if you want) this year for the first time. I think having a rotating seed plan is good. I always feel like I'm way behind...

The phrase "a land of milk and honey" in the scriptures may just have more meaning to us 21st Century people as time goes on... You can do a lot of things if you have milk animals and access to honey. Sometimes it blows my mind how far-removed from real life we are. (I just back from Wally World. Do you think Nephi could've encouraged his bro's to get along better with some Big Cup Reese's?)

mgriffith
03-12-2010, 07:17 PM
Storing up the basics is, of course, the best way to start. The next problem is how much to store for these items. There are several different recommendations, some are way different than others.

The church recommendations are the bare minimums to sustain your life over a year. After all, 325 lbs of wheat per person for a year means you eat a large handful of wheat once a day for a whole year. Not very appetizing! No wonder they recommend to try to store as much of your everyday foods as you can.

Mark