EMP is the great bogey man, but it is all speculation. A 90% mortality rate is beyond reason—sheer fear-mongering.
As for prepping, there is plenty of food in temperate areas. However, most Americans would starve before they eat it, or poison themselves before they figure out what was safe. 2000 calories is not a subsistance ration. Two-thirds of the world lives on half that. It’s not optimal, but it is doable.
Poeple will band together, and the skill sets of modern people are pretty amazing. EMP only affects electronic circuits. That leaves a substantial amount of infrastructure—think diesel and non-electronic ignition gasoline. There are plenty of us who can fix, rebuild or even build machines from damn near anything.
I believe in individuality and freedom, but I also understand that me and my family will be more secure with a number of like-minded individuals. God, Family, Country—in that order. If the country falls, then we go back to the town as the primary social organization. Hell, kinda sounds good to me.
One size does NOT fit all. Every person will have their subsistence ration, and no-one else can tell them what it is. Anyone trying to draw hard and fast rules is just kidding themselves.
/johnny
You should look into your view, is is an inaccurate view with inaccurate information.
Vegetables have about 200 calories or less per pound. Seafood, poultry and meat anywhere between 400 to 800 calories per pound.
Just GOOGLE "Calorie Counts of Foods Per Pound" for greater detai.
A subsistence diet would probably require 3 to 4 pounds of food per person, a 2,000 calorie diet perhaps 4 to 6 pounds.
Assuming consumption of 4 pounds a day, a population of 300,000,000 will consume 600,000 tons of food per day.
That is a lot of porcupines, deer, dogs, fish, birds, bugs, worms, cattails, kudzu roots and palm hearts for people to forage every day. And the next day. And the next day.....
Especially when they live in cities.
"As of 2011, about 250 million Americans live in or around urban areas. That means more than three-quarters of the U.S. population shares just about three percent of the U.S. land area."
Ref: "American Cities On The Rebound"
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-cities-on-the-rebound/