F) Even public utilities may have land they would be willing to rent (or lend?) to the cause of public gardening space: See this absolutely heartening true story here, in which one public utility even forked out $65,000 to make organic cultivation of their acreage available for public gardening space:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/04/HOF712P4KG.DTL
G) And what about rooftop gardens, even in the cities? Russia survived in this exact way, alongside tilling the land. City-dwellers can grow food on their balconies, in their windows, and also in their apartments and hallways under artificial lighting, even if that is not the most ideal circumstance. And while this will not yield enough to eat for any long period of time, we’ve also got to start supplementing somewhere. Supplement a bit here, a bit there and we’ll have more than we may think.
And guess what? If we are able to feed the entire world now, there is no reason to think that there is a food shortage world-wide. The notion may be founded in fear rather than fact. The only question concerns money to buy such meat and produce, and for its transportation, that’s all. Certainly the supply is there, if farmers are actually paid to rot left-over produce by the acreage! The question then becomes how to make those monies available to buy and transport that abundant surplus during an economic crash: Ideas, anyone? Please post below!
STOCKING THE CUPBOARDS:
(For those of you living in small apartments, don’t forget that under your bed is forgotten storage space! Just put a dust ruffle under the bed and tada! Nobody will ever see what’s underneath. Store canned food, water, and grains under your bed so long as they are kept in air-tight jars or Tupperware to assure that no bugs can get to them. There you go!) Now! is the time we can start stocking our cupboards with staples. Even starving artists and students can buy just one extra spagghetti bag and one extra canned item per week, storing them in a cupboard (marked and stacked by dates, to assure use before spoiling).
Spagghetti and other grains can last as long as three years on the shelves. For gluten-free pasta, try the very tasty and good-textured Tinkyada product.
Rice and beans can last just as long, and form a complete protein when mixed together. They should last about five years in the freezer. Buy it in large 25-lb bags at Costco or from your health food store grocer very inexpensively, especially when they are on sale. Lundberg Farms also wholesales organic and nutri-farmed rice to the public in bulk, in many different varieties: www.lundberg.comCornmeal can be stashed to make cornbread and is very inexpensive.Grains such as quinoa, and the seed amaranth are highly nutritious, gluten-free, last long, are inexpensive and are good alternatives to rice, since rice crops are becoming more expensive.
(Tacos, chile with cornbread, anybody? That‘s not too bad a survival menu, is it! Cornbread can also substitute for taco shells if there is a shortage. Just serve the toppings on the soft cornbread and serve with a knife and fork. And…enjoy!)
Remember that we can survive for a few weeks without food, but only a few days without water. Obtain liquids from canned foods, preferably from lead-free cans:
V-8 juice can be stacked as a nutritious drink or used for soup stocks, alike. It would make a great base for chile, as only one example.
Canned tomatoes are good for making your own spagghetti sauce. Add homegrown zucchini and onions, garlic and basil to the tomatoes and you’ve got a nutritious yet tasty sauce going!
Veggie broth and chicken broth can be bought fairly inexpensively at Trader Joe’s or your local grocery store.
Juices such as enzyme-rich papaya juice (which helps digestion and would be soothing during stomach upset epidemics) are available fairly inexpensively from Trader Joe’s.
Hot dried chile peppers or cayenne make good preservatives for spagghetti sauce and chile alike. No self-respecting bug would ever go near a habanero pepper, that is almost a guarantee!
Water can be stored in your garage or under your bed. But since it will taste stale after a while, and due to the PVC’s in plastic containers being known carcinogens, it is best used for dishwashing and flushing the toilet if stored for any long period of time. Keep rotating your backstash of water and it should taste fine, while minimizing PVC-leaching from its storage containers. Use any dumped-out older water to flush your toilet or wash your dishes.
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