That 75 o F keeping temp for canned goods is quite vulnerable to a/c failure and power failure in hot parts of the country.
After Hurricane "Ike" in 2008, my neighbors and I were without power for 16 days. After "Alicia" in 1983, my apartment was dark for about three days, but the people across the street were without power for a week. And that was on a major thoroughfare. Interior temperatures ran to 82-85 o daily, declining to about 80 at night.
s Not too good for French wine, either ..... but I don't think California, or Texas, wines would "mind" as much.
That 75 o F keeping temp for canned goods is quite vulnerable to a/c failure and power failure in hot parts of the country.
As you can see from this well-researched chart for MRE storage, the effect on shelf life is modest until temps ar much higher:
MRE Storage Life Chart
Temp Months of Storage
120 1
110 5
100 22
90 55
80 76
70 100
60 130
So a week spent at 100F is like 5 weeks (out of 8 years) spent at 70F. Canned food will be proportional, and may have a much longer shelf life.
Wine is different. One heat exposure can cause pressure inside that expels wine or gas around the cork. A return to seller temp then sucks air back into the bottle, so the oxygen can oxidize the wine.
True. But what that means is that as the temp is higher the "indefinite" life span begins to shorten. And the "shortening" process is only occurring during the periods of increased temps. IOW, where I am, it is 3-4 months a year. So, while mine may not be indefinite, it is still going to be pretty long.
And while it is interesting in an academic sense to talk about 15-20 years, realistically after say 5 years, there are so many other variables to screw you, I really think it is pointless for a middle aged adult to be looking any further down the road than that.
If we descend into a level of chaos which requires that level of self sufficiency for more than 5 years, you better worry a lot more about disease, illness, accident or getting shot by someone, than feeding yourself.
Most people don't think about how they will get needed medications for extended periods. Many don't realize the longer term implications of going off medications that they take for granted. My heart arrhythmia will not affect my life span, but if I stop taking the meds, my odds for heart attack and stroke go way up. I maintain a 2 year supply of the meds, much past that is difficult because of age degradation. In a SHTF scenario, do you think I devote much concern to more than 5 years down the road?