Survival Foods

:: Introduction ::

When it comes to survival (and I know that if you're like me, usually the word survival brings up images in my mind of the outdoors, the tin-foiled hat people, and preppers), there are some proactive steps you can take to make that situation less stressful. One of those is anticipating food needs.

I'm not a prepper myself, but I have taken precautionary steps to prepare for certain situations. Depending on what region of the country, or the world, you live in, there may be different steps you can take.

I live in the southwestern United States, which is (geographically speaking) a desert / semi-arid to arid, very low to 0 humidity area. It's very hot in the summer, and very cold in the winter.

Baker California, where Alien Fresh Jerky is located and where I work, is about 2.5 hours from Los Angeles, and about 1 hour from Las Vegas (by car, at an average of 65 mph). Breaking down or getting stuck in this town, or anywhere between Baker and an urban center, without motorized transportation, could turn deadly if not properly prepared, in a disaster situation. 

:: An Emergency / Disaster Situation ::

At this point, I want to clarify disaster to mean anything from flash-flooding and earthquakes (which are very common where I live, except earthquakes which happen more often in the Los Angeles area than in Baker), to flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.

:: Emergency Go-Pack ::

There are many survival specialists, from former Navy SEAL Cade Courtley (www.sealsurvival.com), to adventurers like Bear Grylls (www.beargrylls.com).

Cade talks about having a go-pack, essentially a backpack or small bag that can easily be carried, packed with the essentials to survive the initial 72-hours after a disaster.

In the case of Hurricane Katrina and Super-Storm Sandy, the disaster lasted for several weeks.

:: Top 10 Foods ::

The following 10 foods are recommended by www.secretsofsurvival.com, a website dedicated to survival in case of disaster:

1. Canned Alaskan Wild Salmon
2. Dried Beans
3. Brown Rice
4. Bulk Nuts
5. Peanut Butter
6. Trail Mix
7. Energy Bars and Chocolate Bars
8. Beef Jerky
9. Coffee / Instant Coffee
10. Sea Vegetables / Powdered Super-Greens

:: About Beef Jerky ::

1 pack of 4oz of beef jerky has about 39g of Protein, it's got around 1200mg of sodium (salt), depending on the seasoning and flavoring it's also got sugar, a low amount of fats, and about 360 calories, and will typically keep for a decent amount of time if properly stored.

According to an article by WebMD (link here: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/protein), the recommended daily intake of protein for an adult is between 46 and 71 grams (in otherwords, between a little bit over 1 bag to 2 bags of 4oz of beef jerky).

Having an extra 3 to 6 bags of beef jerky either in the car's glove compartment box, in the pantry at home, or in a desk drawer at the office, could make a significant difference when and if a survival situation does arise, no doubt in my mind.

This is why I personally keep several bags of jerky in the car, at home, and of course, in the office. Beef jerky would keep for about a year without refrigeration (unopened, of course), as long as it's out of direct sunlight, and preferably in a cool and dry place.

Dried (dehydrated) fruits and nuts are also excellent sources of protein, sugar, and energy, both for emergencies as well as outdoor adventures.

Other items I also keep in my go-pack / survival pack include:

• A 3-Liter water reservoir bag (like this one from amazon.com)
• 4 Bags of Beef Jerky
• Survival knife
• 1-set of working gloves
• A handgun / pistol with several clips (hollow-point defense ammunition)
• Flashlight
• 3 glow sticks
• A compass
• A personal First Aid Kit
• Copies of important documents (driver license, passport, a printed piece of paper with other information such as blood type, allergies, medical information, etc) in a weather proof bag (ziplock freezer bag)
• A BIC lighter, as well as weatherproof matches
• An emergency back-up battery pack that can recharge my cell phone
• An emergency 3-gallons of drinking water in each location (office and home)
• An emergency 10-gallons of fuel (2 x 5-gallon containers)
• All of this among other things (except the 3-gallons of water and the 10-gallons of fuel) inside a solar-panel equipped back-pack (like this one)

Keep in mind that this emergency go-pack / survival pack is meant to get me through about 72-hours of an emergency situation. For any sustained amount of time longer than 72 hours, there has to be a more thought-out plan, involving much more items, etc.

Googling 'survival kit' or '72-hour survival kit' will get you a phone book amount of links to products with the basic items for building your own go-pack / survival pack.

:: Summary ::

The first 72-hours of any disaster situation are critical. For more information, here is a great link. I wish you the best of luck.

- Martin R.