Anyone who sinks enormous amounts of savings to buy years' and years' worth of perishing food is not making a good investment. It only lasts so long....
I’ve been reading a book, When Money Dies, written in 1975. It isn’t just about the economic collapse of the Wiemar Republic, but includes Hungary and Austria as well. If you can find a copy, and there is a more recent reprint available, you should read it. Paying billions of Marks for a loaf of bread says a very great deal about the wisdom having priorities straight.
White rice lasts for a very long time when properly stored. Beans, when properly stored, too, lasts a long time. Using these two items together boosts the available protein your body will absorb, but better yet they are a terrific base for adding seasonal vegetables, and meat, fish, and poultry in small amounts. Buying canned beef, chicken, fish, and ham (the last from Denmark is available at WalMart) can last longer than their ‘Use By’ date.
Having room for a vegetable garden makes sense, and a few hens (no rooster!) for eggs does too! Along with a hunting license and a fishing license, you’ll rarely be hungry and there are many places in America where you would thrive.
In France they use “intensive horticultural techniques” because house lots are small and every inch counts. Using the former flower and decorative planting beds is common as is composting for enriching the soil.
If you want to know more just mail me.
My father was eating C-Rations during the Korean War that were can twenty years prior...he lived. I had C-Rations in 1980 that were canned in the early sixties; I am doing fine. It depends what you buy and how it is stored. Rice last damn near an eternity if it is properly stored. I’ll let the preppers continue, but expecting food to last ten or fifteen years is not unreasonable.