Okay - after seeing TR's post #315, I went back and reviewed for posts about the current topic "food and cooking". Unfortunately this has been one of our weakest subjects. The only substantive comments have been from Mugwump (#297) with the Nuclear War Survival Skills link and TR's comments (#300) about stoves and food. The subject has also been touched on lightly in posts both here and in other threads. We need to add some more meat (no pun intended) to this topic before moving on to the next subject.
Historically starvation (aggravated by the lack of sanitation [next subject] and the breakdown of medical services) has been the major cause of death in the aftermath of disaster or civil disturbance/war, especially where large percentages of the population have been displaced, or normal food production and distribution chains have been disrupted for extended periods of time. We tend to take food for granted and make assumptions about acquiring/storing it based on American societal experiences dealing with short-term supply disruptions, e.g. hurricanes, blizzards, or other natural disasters where resources from outside the affected area can be mobilized to provide relief relatively quickly. Unfortunately, in a true emergency involving significant portions of the country/world the majority of these assumptions may prove unrealistic or even fatal for the unprepared.
Consider that the average household shops for groceries three to five times a month and may visit convenience stores for incidentals to supplement the basics several times a week. The average grocery store only maintains a three to five day supply of high demand consumables. Vendors deliver perishables e.g. bread, milk, meats, and produce several times a week. Semi-trucks usually arrive at least weekly with the nonperishables. Stop these deliveries, food runs out, and people get hungry. A preparedness expert was once quoted as saying that the savage is only three missed meals away. Recent experience in New Orleans suggests that his assessment might have been optimistic.
Long-term disruptions of the food supply (on the order of nuclear war or – God forbid - pandemic) require a completely different approach if survival is to even be possible. With this preamble in mind, over the next week I will make several contributions to this thread. My goal is not to tell you what or how but to discuss why and provide some food for thought.
FWIW - Peregrino