Could You Really Survive the Apocalypse by Eating Freeze-Dried Food?

IO9 ^ | Mar 23, 2012 | Keith Veronese

[DogByte6RER]

Could you really survive the apocalypse by eating freeze-dried food?

Is it really a good idea to store freeze dried food for a long-term survival situation? It may be an attractive proposition for the survivalist in you, but you probably didn't bargain on what exactly the process of freeze drying involves — and its price.

HOW TO CARRY A TON OF FOOD ON YOUR BACK

The process of freeze drying plays with the properties of water within food. When freeze drying, a cooked portion of food is flash frozen under a vacuum. At low pressure, all but 2-5% of the water in the food sublimes, moving quickly from a solid to gas form. The evaporation of water in this process allows the food to maintain its shape and decrease the weight by up to 90% -a big plus for those who need to "bug out" in a hurry due to a disaster.

You can even freeze dry ice cream.

SHELF LIFE OF FREEZE DRIED FOOD

Freeze dried foods last a little bit longer than dehydrated ones. Most freeze dried foods that you buy are sealed under nitrogen in resilient packaging, allowing for anywhere from a two to twenty-five year shelf life. Freeze dried fruits are on the lower end of the shelf life spectrum, lasting a little over two years.

Once the seal on a package of freeze dried food is broken, the shelf life clock is ticking, with most palatable for six months. There's a rapid falloff in shelf life if it's stored in a humid area.

POST-APOCALYPTIC EATING IS EXPENSIVE

Freeze dried foods are rather expensive - $1 to $2 per serving of a side dish like macaroni and cheese and $3 for a serving of ground beef. These are bulk prices - individually packed entrees cost $6 to $8 a piece.

One is easily looking at $10 to $15 dollars a day per person to sustain a diet of freeze dried food. Remember, this is food you might end up eating for hundreds of meals if a breakdown of society never comes.

Dehydrating food yourself is a slightly cheaper alternative, but requires a large amount of work and is far more susceptible to contamination.

THE WATER PROBLEM

In addition to price, another problem rears its head with freeze-dried foods. Freeze dried food must be reconstituted in order to be eaten, necessitating a large (and clean) water supply in order to dine — and that's on top of the clean water you need for drinking.

Clean water will likely be in short supply in a post-apocalyptic survival scenario. Water can be boiled or stored in advance, while bleach and iodine are useful in killing pathogens like Giardia lamblia in fresh water. But that's a lot of work to decontaminate your water, and you might want to use that water for drinking rather than reconstituting up your freeze-dried ice cream.

Making matters worse is the fact that eating freeze dried food without reconstitution could hypothetically cause you to dehydrate.

THE VERDICT: THE POST-APOCALYPSE WILL NOT BE FREEZE-DRIED

Surviving a long-term disruption in the food supply with freeze dried food would take enormous planning, a considerable amount of money, and one variable - a good, steady water supply. So it's probably not a good long-term solution after civilization falls.

If, however, you are concerned about preparing yourself for a small disruption in the food supply due to a hurricane or other natural distaster, storing some freeze dried food in the house might be a good idea. 72-hour food kits are sold on Amazon and in some big box stores.

In the meantime, don't forget about the canned food lying in your pantry. Canned goods are hefty, but they are safe for several years and, in the case of vegetables like corn and green beans, also contain a water supply. It might not taste good, but in a pinch, asparagus water could keep you alive.

[Uncle Ike]

If you have the space available, digging a root cellar would be an alternative to other, expensive, methods of food preservation - especially if, when you plan your ‘survival garden’, you put in a lot of ‘root crops’ (ie. taters, onions, turnips, and the like), which under the right conditions, store for long periods of time with little or no prep.....

[Secret Agent Man]

Was this problem just on the newer ones or the older ones too? I had thought they were seeing it in the newer (last 2-3 years) models. Especially the ones that are plastic not metal.

[Secret Agent Man]

Also, was it the seals that had the problem or the filter elements? I thought I had also heard about the newer filter elements breaking down, and that Berkey had ‘went back’ to whoever made them or however they made them prior to that newer batch of filtering elements.

[bgill]

I wish but the water level is too high. Even before Hussein’s reign, I wanted a tornato shelter but it’s just impossible here.

I’ve posted this before. Many years ago, granny had grandpa clean out their root cellar. He got down there and started sampling the home canned blackberry juice. Uh huh, you guessed it. He called the neighbor over and they had a rip roaring time getting drunk on it. Granny wasn’t pleased.

[Uncle Ike]

Yeah - every geographical area has its own challenges..

(LOL for your absolutely believable family anecdote - thanks... ;))

[passionfruit]

I love the system that Dorothy Ainsworth set up. She wrote about it here: http://www.dorothyainsworth.com/wind/windmills.html

[Ellendra]

I think it was the newer ones, but exactly how new is anybody’s guess. The company wasn’t too good at addressing the problem. Last I heard people were still finding bad ones.

I believe it was supposed to be the glue that held the seals that was breaking down. But again, there’s different stories going around.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

My plan is not to live only on freeze-dried food, but to use it to supplement whatever else I am fortunate enough to use for food.

I think it’s a good idea to have a one-year supply for one’s entire family so that you can get through one growing season. WTSHTF, you will need a bug-out location to head to and you should have what you need to have the best opportunity to provide for your own sustainable food production.

No one ever said it would be easy or that everyone who prepares will endure. But prepping and trying sure beats starving or being murdered and robbed by those who have not prepped and who are counting on being able to take your supplies.

[culper jr]

Apparently not everyone is familiar with NM climate. I had a 450 foot well that could not be considered dry because it recovered 11 gallons in 5 days. This was on my first home purchase in NM. Where I grew up you could hit water with a shovel.