Here’s something very important that no one had mentioned yet. During a SHTF event, whether its just you individually or society as a whole, the body is placed under a LOT of mental stress. If you are forced to provide for yourself, now you can add a LOT of physical stress. Growing food, raising livestock, foraging, and all related activities takes a LOT of energy. That means that your calorie intake must be greater to compensate for the additional stresses. If you are looking to add “off the shelf” emergency foods to your storage, please take the time to read the daily calorie count they provide. Most list 1200 – 1500 calories. In a long-term stressful environment thats a slow starvation diet and your health will deteriorate. One MRE meal is over 3,000 calories. There’s a reason for that. Combat is mentally and physically stressful!
Dried beans and white rice, when stored properly, have a shelf-life of about 30 years. Right now both are CHEAP when you buy in bulk. Organic red winter wheat is a great choice for long-term storage, but you will need a grain mill…. a good one! And, if you are not Conan the Barbarian I would suggest one you can motorize.
While I am mentioning all those carbs, don’t overlook our body’s need for fat… and lots of it under stress. EVOO, coconut oil for instance. But the shelf-life is a lot shorter. Save those meat drippings. Eat the fat on that steak or opossum, or whatever you catch, kill, or run over.