Is Recession Preparing a New Breed of Survivalist? [Survival Today - an On going Thread #2]

May 05th,2008

[nw_arizona_granny]

Yahoo ran an interesting article this morning indicating a rise in the number of survivalist communities cropping up around the country. I have been wondering myself how much of the recent energy crisis is causing people to do things like stockpile food and water, grow their own vegetables, etc. Could it be that there are many people out there stockpiling and their increased buying has caused food prices to increase? It’s an interesting theory, but I believe increased food prices have more to do with rising fuel prices as cost-to-market costs have increased and grocers are simply passing those increases along to the consumer. A recent stroll through the camping section of Wal-Mart did give me pause - what kinds of things are prudent to have on hand in the event of a worldwide shortage of food and/or fuel? Survivalist in Training

I’ve been interested in survival stories since I was a kid, which is funny considering I grew up in a city. Maybe that’s why the idea of living off the land appealed to me. My grandfather and I frequently took camping trips along the Blue Ridge Parkway and around the Smoky Mountains. Looking back, some of the best times we had were when we stayed at campgrounds without electricity hookups, because it forced us to use what we had to get by. My grandfather was well-prepared with a camp stove and lanterns (which ran off propane), and when the sun went to bed we usually did along with it. We played cards for entertainment, and in the absence of televisions, games, etc. we shared many great conversations. Survivalist in the Neighborhood

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Granny can you add Eagle50AE to your ping list for this thread? Thank you!

[DelaWhere]

Oh boy, Eagle50AE  You have opened a big can of worms here...

First off, let me welcome you on behalf of nw_arizona_granny and the whole group.  You are more than welcome here and we hope you will participate freely.

Now to your inquiry:

::: Everyone should save some Non-GMO organic seed, as they're locking the OP seed up in vaults in Norway. One vault is on a remote island and the other is built into the side of a mountain.

In the last couple of decades since gene splicing came into being, geneticists have gone crazy trying different things.  Some have taken the gene that causes flourescence in a jellyfish and spliced it to proteins so they can track the use of that protein in mamals.  Others like Monsanto have patented their process and the result in seeds.  (Remember Monsanto?  The company that brought us 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T -both herbicides and the combination of them became 'Agent Orange'  The dioxin contamination from their Tennessee plants during the Viet Nam war are thought to be the source of problems many veterans and Vietnamese have had - even to subsequent generations. - More about them later)

One of their gene spliced processes results in the tolerance to Round-Up (a Monsanto herbicide).  The selling point is that it can be sprayed on young crops to kill the weeds but the desired crop continues to grow, reducing the need to cultivate.  They have applied this technology to corn, soybeans, and rape (now called canola) as well as others.  This would be fine, except that as pollen moves around freely, that gene has spread and been found in other people's crops.  Monsanto, in their greed, have been going on other people's farms and taking samples - If they find their gene in your field (even if it came from the wind, or a bird dropped a seed) they are suing the farmers for infringement of their patent and the courts have been granting it - regardless if it was intentional or not.  Makes no difference how it got there - it is there so pay our royalty and please Judge add punative damages. Thank you!

Another result of their gene splicing is to put a recessive gene for sterility into plants, then cross them, giving you a hybrid seed but since there are two recessives in that seed, it is dominant - the result is a seed that you can plant and grow, but if you save the seed from it to plant for the next year, it is sterile.

This is very much like mules.  You can breed horses with horses, and donkeys with donkeys and all is well, but if you breed donkeys to horses you have a mule - you cannot breed mules to mules, because the result of that cross is all sterile animals.

What this does for Monsanto is that you must always come to them for seed.  Year after year.

The prospects of all this GMO or Genetically Modified Organisms has caused some real fears for what would happen to the original line bred, diverse varieties of seeds.  If genetic modification gets out of hand, and spreads an undesirable or even catastrophic damage to all available seeds, where do we go to get back the original seeds?   This is what led to the creation of several vaults for seed safekeeping. 

Norway is one of the countries that has really gotten behind the seed vault program and they have fully funded $9 Million the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.  It is underground, fortified, temperature and humidity regulated optimal seed storage and has been called the 'Doomsday Seed Vault' and the 'Noah's Ark of Seeds'  They are trying to store seed stock from all over the world and all the varieties they can locate.


Monsanto and Biotech are buying up as many seed companies as they can, and replacing the natural open pollinated seed with GMO seed and thousands of heirlooms are becoming extinct! ::::

I think that the Biotech was meant to be Seminis. 

In addition to Monsanto's own seed production facilities, they have bought -

Holden's Foundations Seeds
Corn States Hybrid Service
and in 2005 they bought Seminis - the world's largest seed producer.

You probably never knew that you were buying their seeds because they do not market them under their name.  But, have you ever gotten seed from:

Johnny’s
Territorial
Fedco
Nichol’s
Rupp
Osborne
Snow
Stokes
Major supermarkets
Hardware stores

You got Seminis seeds...

It is estimated that Seminis controls 40 percent of the U.S. vegetable seed market and 20 percent of the world market—supplying the genetics for 55 percent of the lettuce on U.S. supermarket shelves, 75 percent of the tomatoes, and 85 percent of the peppers, with strong holdings in beans, cucumbers, squash, melons, broccoli, cabbage, spinach and peas. The company’s biggest revenue source comes from tomato and peppers seeds, followed by cucumbers and beans.

Company	2006 seed sales US $ millions
1. Monsanto (US)	$4,028
2. Dupont (US)	$2,781
3. Syngenta (Switzerland)	$1,743
4. Groupe Limagrain (France)	$1,035
5. Land O' Lakes (US)	$756
6. KWS AG (Germany)	$615
7. Bayer Crop Science (Germany)	$430
8. Delta & Pine Land (US) (acquisition by Monsanto pending)	$418
9. Sakata (Japan)	$401
10. DLF-Trifolium (Denmark)	$352

Source: ETC GroupWhat disturbs many is the track record that Monsanto has -

They were major or sole producers either from innovation or purchase of:

DDT
2,4,D
2,4,5-T
saccharin
aspertame
BST (bovine growth hormone)
PCB's
Celebrex

Monsanto has been very politically active - plus:
Former Monsanto employees currently hold positions in US government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Supreme Court.
These include Clarence Thomas, Michael Taylor, Ann Veneman, Linda Fisher, Michael Friedman, William D. Ruckelshaus, and Mickey Kantor.


Whew...

So, what can you do...  SAVE OP SEEDS  (Open pollenated - non hybrid - non GMO)

Keep some for future years squirreled away just in case...
Ya' never know...

The Oregon State University Extension Service offers a publication on collecting, storing and testing seeds for germination at no charge, entitled "Collecting and Storing Seeds from Your Garden." You can download this publication off the web right away or send for it by mail from OSU by following the instructions below.

Although seed saving is not always feasible with all types of vegetables, collecting your own seed can be an exercise in self-sufficiency and a lesson in plant biology.

Do not save seed from hybrid varieties if you want plants like the parents. Seeds from hybrid varieties produce a mix of offspring, many of which may be inferior to the parent. Seed from vine crops is often quite variable also - squashes, cucumbers, melons and pumpkins often cross-pollinate with other genetically compatible varieties. Unless pollination has been strictly controlled, strange hybrids often result in the next generation.

Among the vegetable seeds most easily saved are non-hybrid tomato, pepper, bean and pea seeds. Collect seeds from the fully mature, ripe fruit of these plants.

To save tomato seeds, squeeze the seeds from a fully ripe fruit onto a paper towel or piece of screen. Leave the seeds at room temperature until they are thoroughly dry.

Pepper seeds can be collected by selecting a mature pepper, preferably one turning red, and allow it to turn completely red before extracting the seed. Pepper seeds can be dried as described above for tomato seeds.

To collect bean, pea and other legume seeds, leave the pods on the plant until they are "rattle dry." Keep an eye on the pods, as some varieties split and scatter the seeds when dry. Pick the dried pods and place them in a well-ventilated area at room temperature. When the pods are completely dry, remove the seeds.

To store seeds, put each type in a labeled and dated envelope. Store the seed packets in a jar. Moisture may cause the seeds to deteriorate more quickly. To keep the seeds dry, fill a small cloth bag with about one-half cup dried powdered milk. Place the dry milk packet inside the jar beneath the seed packets. Close the jar tightly and refrigerate until planting time.

For more information on Collecting and Storing Seeds from Your Garden, FS 220, visit our on-line catalog. Our publications and video catalog at: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog shows which publications are available on the Web and which can be ordered as printed publications.

[DelaWhere]

>>>I am told I am crazy and that Monsanto is ok. Nothing to see here, move along. Thanks!<<<

Maybe they should learn a bit more about pristine Monsanto...

I have a post below that details a couple of the details...

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Harry Reid: Federal Action Trumps States’ Rights on Energy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2192227/posts?page=1

[DelaWhere]

Yep - just keep the paper towel moist - If you want to be more precise, you can put 100 seeds on there and know if it is 71 or 78% germination... LOL

For me the 10 works fine. All you need to see is the sprout coming out - don’t need to raise the whole plant...

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Excellent post, thank you very much. E50, I did not welcome you, my bad. Welcome to the thread. Granny and Del have better manners than I do.

[MHGinTN]

A variation I sometimes have for supper is a bowl of oatmeal with a large dollop of peanut butter, lightly salted. A real rib sticker.

[DelaWhere]

>>>The yousendit links expire in a week, too, so no telling if it was 100 downloads or 7 days whichever came first. :)
<<<

Ok, you know me and my hair-brained ideas.....

How about we build a webpage for Granny’s thread...

Then we could put all those files in one place and not have to keep redoing the uploads.

I do have a website that I don’t really use and much bandwidth that I pay for goes unused...

Would that be of interest? Would we need Jim Robinson’s approval for copyright purposes? Don’t know, just asking...

[netmilsmom]

I want a dehydrator!

[DelaWhere]

>>>>A variation I sometimes have for supper is a bowl of oatmeal with a large dollop of peanut butter, lightly salted. A real rib sticker.<<<<

Thank you for bringing up oats!

You are right a real rib sticker!

Today I received my order for (as Wneighbor calls them) Nekkid oats - a variety of hull-less oats. Am going to be trying some later and will be planting the rest - so far looks good.

[MHGinTN]

Oats may be God’s third most perfect food for humans.

[DelaWhere]

>>>I want a dehydrator!<<<

Howdy...

That is a really good item to have... they really can make some great food.

Best advice is to really look around - yard sales sometimes have them really reasonable or estate auctions. If you are going to buy one, now before the season may be the time to get a bargain.

[DelaWhere]

LOL If the other two are honey and goat milk, I’d be happy!

[netmilsmom]

I’m looking to do Upside down strawberries and tomatoes this summer.

I’ll teach my girls the joy of fruit leather and powdered spaghetti sauce. (geez, I nearly forgot about that!)

[MHGinTN]

You got one right. The other is the potato, in all the various forms, especially the sweet potato and yam.

[DelaWhere]

>>>Dehydrated Okra<<<

Love fried Okra, but I am only good for a bit of stewed...

I am sure you know what I mean... LOL

Just a quick thought, I wonder if you ran dehydrated okra through the blender, if it would work as a thickner for sauces, soups, stews???

I dry tomatoes to just about crisp and then blend them - then I add it to soups, sauces, even salad dressings.

[DelaWhere]

>>>Money during and after the crisis<<<

I keep hearing people talk about holding silver and gold...

I guess my question to them is -

How much gold do you think it would take to buy some of my eggs, chicken, bread, vegetables.....

Show up with a side of bacon, a nice ham or something - anything I would have use for and we can strike up a deal... That South African Gold Double Krugerand just doesn’t strike me as anything I need or want... LOL

[DelaWhere]

>>You got one right. The other is the potato, in all the various forms, especially the sweet potato and yam.<<

But I would sure miss that cheese, ice cream, and yogurt and and ...

But yes particularly those great tasting sweet potatoes. I have one daughter who would rather have a basket of sweet potatoes than a barrel of chocolate.

[netmilsmom]

We are buying silver coins. There are businesses sprouting up (including those associated with the Lakota Nation) that will take them and give you spot price.

While I agree that barter with food is better for immediate needs, if we need something big, the silver we are stocking will buy it.

[DelaWhere]

>>>I’m looking to do Upside down strawberries and tomatoes this summer.<<<

I have not tried the upside down tomatoes - I have seen it, but just haven’t tried it.

On strawberries, if you have limited space and want quite a few, I would suggest the hanging pouches... They can be hung on a wall or fence or even a post. There are about 6 pouches vertically on a poly strip. you fill the pockets with potting soil and plant your berries. Easy and you get more in the same amount of space than you would with the single upside down ones. I’ve had a bit of experience on strawberries as you may have seen in some of the pictures in prior posts.