"The two most important days in your life were the day you were born and the day you find out why."
Mark Twain
April 16th, 2020- Still in lock-down. . .
Let's just say this shelter-in-place pandemic and a power outage has lasted far longer than anyone expected. You are standing at the kitchen sink when you look out the window.
Lethargic, staggering and weak, an ordinary guy is spied at the edge of the woods. You cautiously move out of the back door and slowly head toward him. You call out to the stranger. He motions for you and takes a few more steps but falls a few yards from you. Mr. X reaches out, he is happy to see someone. You run to him and ask him the usual questions. Are you Ok? What is your name? He says his name is Bob, no, he wasn't poisoned. Bob explains that he has plenty of clean filtered water and he has not been attacked. No accidents, no wounds, no fever, or visible signs of illness. It has been several months since the crisis began and the lights went out, but a trace back to this guys cabin in the woods you discover that he has beans, rice and dried food stored up to last for 20 years. What has happened to mysterious Bob?
April 16th, 2020- Still in lock-down. . .
Let's just say this shelter-in-place pandemic and a power outage has lasted far longer than anyone expected. You are standing at the kitchen sink when you look out the window.
Lethargic, staggering and weak, an ordinary guy is spied at the edge of the woods. You cautiously move out of the back door and slowly head toward him. You call out to the stranger. He motions for you and takes a few more steps but falls a few yards from you. Mr. X reaches out, he is happy to see someone. You run to him and ask him the usual questions. Are you Ok? What is your name? He says his name is Bob, no, he wasn't poisoned. Bob explains that he has plenty of clean filtered water and he has not been attacked. No accidents, no wounds, no fever, or visible signs of illness. It has been several months since the crisis began and the lights went out, but a trace back to this guys cabin in the woods you discover that he has beans, rice and dried food stored up to last for 20 years. What has happened to mysterious Bob?
*************
You may remember from your high school history class the story of Lewis and Clark and their expedition into the north west territories. A few chapters into the story we are introduced to a young Shoshone Indian girl, Sacajawea (roughly translated as Little Bird). Sacajawea had been captured during a raid by a group of Siouan people, as a 10 year old. Over the next few years she was bought and sold several times as a slave ending up in what is now Washburn, North Dakota. Then at the age of she 14 she became the third and youngest wife of a French Fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau. Here's where the troop of explorers and young Sacajawea's paths intersect.
During this time Lewis and Clark's Corp of Discovery as the government had labeled the expedition, were making their way deep into the uncharted territories of various tribes of Indians stopping in North Dakota. Clark thought it a good idea to take a translator with them on the next leg of their journey and put up posters to announce the hire. The French fur trader who spoke many dialects saw dollar signs and applied for the position. Sacajawea, 16 now accompanied her husband to the interview. Clark was more impressed by the fur traders young wife. She seemed a better candidate because when warring tribes saw a woman traveling with a group of men it was considered a sign of peacefulness and not a threat. So Clark persuaded Charbonneau to let Sacajawea guide the band of explorers into the wilderness because she also processed the ability to establish cultural contacts with native populations easily. Sacajawea was exceptionally bright and particularly stubborn, she picked up the dialects of the tribes she had lived with. The French fur trader had made a name for himself in the territory as a shyster when trading and game playing. Clark handsomely compensated Charbonneau for his wife's contribution to the expedition.
Old Indian Grandfather gathered up all the troops buffalo and bear tallow candles. The troop had made these candles in anticipation of their their arduous expedition. Slowly he melted the tallow candles over the fire in the cooks iron pot. When the smelly tallow was completely melted he used a tin cup to scoop out a cupful for each of the 18 men and Sacajawea and instructed them to drink it down quickly. Not one of them gagged or choked on the greasy beverage due to the fact the body knew what it needed to survive. By the following morning everyone was once again eager to hit the trail and explore what lies ahead.
So what did the modern day survivalist Bob, Sacajawea and the men of the Lewis and Clark Corp of Discovery expedition have in common?
If you haven't guessed it by now, the moral of this lesson is that fat is required by the human body for many of it's functions. In the two examples above, although they had plenty to eat the missing ingredient was a limited amount of dietary fat. The human body needs a certain amount of fat daily. Bob stored beans, rice and freeze dried food. Although, beans and rice compliment each other by making a complete protein, it lacks nutritional fat. Lewis and Clark and their expedition had plenty of meat but antelope and goat are almost fat free.
Your body cannot make certain essential fatty acids and needs to get it from outside sources. If dietary fats are not supplemented the body cannot process vitamins A, D, E, and K, creating a host of health problems. Also, fat in your diet is very important for proper brain functions and are crucial for maintaining good eye health.
Fats add a lot of flavor to food, and is a ready source of energy contributing 4,000 calories per pound. Since a gram of fat is 9 calories, a 2,000-calorie daily diet could include 500 to 600 calories of fat, or 55 to 66 grams daily. Especially if we are in a survival situation. Another benefit of dietary fat to the body is that it provides a blanket around vital organs thus shielding them from trauma and cold.
Dietary fats are the third main class of macro-nutrients needed in human nutrition. Fat also helps to ward away the second killer of a crisis, appetite fatigue.
"Appetite fatigue has a nasty way of sneaking up on you stealing away with your desire to eat. This beast drives children and adults into crankiness and malnutrition. . ." Pg. 51 of How to Survive When the Power is Out". Fat is comfort food, it satisfies the cravings.
During the SHTF that we now find ourselves
Bob and the Lewis and Clark Corp of Discovery Group were suffering from were the same infliction, a deficiency of nutritional dietary fats. We see it often in vegans who don't know what they are doing, nutritionally speaking and those who sustain themselves on the media hyped fat free products. By the way, fat free products only help the corporate bottom line because they have a longer shelf life.
Generally, it seems everyone here had plenty to eat but the fat content was missing. The truth about fat-click here Of course, these two examples were extreme cases. But fats are every often overlooked. If you plan on living out of a survival garden you will need fats. The world has been in a corona crisis for a while now, real world food shortages will start showing up next year in earnest, will you know where your dietary fat will come from? See below.
For more information;
Why save and use lard. . .
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During this time Lewis and Clark's Corp of Discovery as the government had labeled the expedition, were making their way deep into the uncharted territories of various tribes of Indians stopping in North Dakota. Clark thought it a good idea to take a translator with them on the next leg of their journey and put up posters to announce the hire. The French fur trader who spoke many dialects saw dollar signs and applied for the position. Sacajawea, 16 now accompanied her husband to the interview. Clark was more impressed by the fur traders young wife. She seemed a better candidate because when warring tribes saw a woman traveling with a group of men it was considered a sign of peacefulness and not a threat. So Clark persuaded Charbonneau to let Sacajawea guide the band of explorers into the wilderness because she also processed the ability to establish cultural contacts with native populations easily. Sacajawea was exceptionally bright and particularly stubborn, she picked up the dialects of the tribes she had lived with. The French fur trader had made a name for himself in the territory as a shyster when trading and game playing. Clark handsomely compensated Charbonneau for his wife's contribution to the expedition.
As the weeks melted into months Sacajawea endeared herself to the men of this historic adventure, often being called “little sister or Janey." The men looked after her, in turn Sacajawea patched their jackets and tanned hides to make many pairs of moccasins to protect their feet after their boots had worn out. She cooked delicious meals and treated their wounds with herbs and earth. There always seemed to be plenty of plants, lean antelope and mountain goats in this uncharted wilderness to fill their bellies.
It was during one particular meet and greet at an Indian village the explorers had stayed with, they picked up an old Indian grandfather. Grandfather Indian was curious about the mission and the men welcomed him to travel along with them. Several days of traveling with his news friends, Grandfather Indian noticed many of the men seemed to becoming weaker and faltering to keep up with the evening chores. These men were young, normally strong adventuring types, why should they seem weak now?
The troop of travelers had considered themselves very lucky to have plenty of roots, berries and antelope and mountain goat to eat. Their bellies were always full, Sacajawea was an excellent cook. One night in particular, however, it was unusual for the men to refuse their super opting to just go to bed instead.
That next morning the men and Sacajawea didn't move out of their bedrolls. No one wanted breakfast. Grandfather Indian became concerned, he gave this situation some thought and decided it was a depleted nutritional condition since they had not been exposed to bad water or other illnesses. The wise old guy had seen this before and jumped into action to heal the group.
So what did the modern day survivalist Bob, Sacajawea and the men of the Lewis and Clark Corp of Discovery expedition have in common?
If you haven't guessed it by now, the moral of this lesson is that fat is required by the human body for many of it's functions. In the two examples above, although they had plenty to eat the missing ingredient was a limited amount of dietary fat. The human body needs a certain amount of fat daily. Bob stored beans, rice and freeze dried food. Although, beans and rice compliment each other by making a complete protein, it lacks nutritional fat. Lewis and Clark and their expedition had plenty of meat but antelope and goat are almost fat free.
Your body cannot make certain essential fatty acids and needs to get it from outside sources. If dietary fats are not supplemented the body cannot process vitamins A, D, E, and K, creating a host of health problems. Also, fat in your diet is very important for proper brain functions and are crucial for maintaining good eye health.
Fats add a lot of flavor to food, and is a ready source of energy contributing 4,000 calories per pound. Since a gram of fat is 9 calories, a 2,000-calorie daily diet could include 500 to 600 calories of fat, or 55 to 66 grams daily. Especially if we are in a survival situation. Another benefit of dietary fat to the body is that it provides a blanket around vital organs thus shielding them from trauma and cold.
Dietary fats are the third main class of macro-nutrients needed in human nutrition. Fat also helps to ward away the second killer of a crisis, appetite fatigue.
"Appetite fatigue has a nasty way of sneaking up on you stealing away with your desire to eat. This beast drives children and adults into crankiness and malnutrition. . ." Pg. 51 of How to Survive When the Power is Out". Fat is comfort food, it satisfies the cravings.
During the SHTF that we now find ourselves
You can stock pile beans, rice, pasta, and oatmeal for the really bad times, but the more important fat products are seldom considered because western diets generally are loaded with fat! Fast food fats create a different problem in the body, getting into that subject is beyond the scope of this article and I'm sure you aware how shitty that crap is for your health. When chips and pizza become unavailable, the real family crisis begins. And of course, fats and oils have a short shelf life if not properly rendered, they will go rancid easily at room temperature.
What grandfather Indian knew
Grandfather Indian was a wise fellow. He had certain instincts from walking softly on this earth. He knew that lard and tallow can be frozen for up to 6 months. Packaged well, I have had lard in my freezer for two years. Although, it may seem a little darker and frosty it cooked up well and didn't have any nasty flavors. Grandfather Indian also knows the value of nuts and seeds for their natural heart healthy fats and that freezing them for up to 6 months didn't affect their nutrient/fat content.
Too bad grandfather Indian didn't have access to modern oils like coconut oil. That semi-solid white stuff sitting next to popcorn in most grocery stores, can be frozen up to 6 months. Although, I have had some in the freezer for more than a year+ and it is still good if kept in a tightly sealed plastic jar. Butter is an excellent fat source and can be frozen up to a year+ too.
Organic or free ranged chicken fat makes some awesomely, delicious sugar cookies! Just render the fat from a healthy chicken into an oil and use as you would any oil or fat you would normally use to make cookies.
To put a sharp point on this
Generally, it seems everyone here had plenty to eat but the fat content was missing. The truth about fat-click here Of course, these two examples were extreme cases. But fats are every often overlooked. If you plan on living out of a survival garden you will need fats. The world has been in a corona crisis for a while now, real world food shortages will start showing up next year in earnest, will you know where your dietary fat will come from? See below.
For more information;
Why save and use lard. . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeZHrcI2BNU Schmaltz chicken fat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q75AkXgVpFo Goose fat for bush craft maintenance
