In the event of financial restrictions imposed by a digital id, it may become difficult to buy food, so there are things you can do to prepare -
However, even in such a situation where your savings have been frozen, and your currency deactivated, and when you have nothing stored, you can still trade your skills and labor for food, especially if you are working for a food provider. Everyone has skills, or can offer the labor of their hands in exchange for food. But in the event of a general food crisis, when there is nothing to trade for, then storing food is important.
Digital ID will provide governments with tremendous power to restrict access to information, expression, employment, travel, currency, trade. This control will be applied by imposing immediate restrictions based on personal compliance with mandates. Food shortages and higher prices may also be used as a means of behavioral control. Those who don't wish to comply need to prepare in advance.
The easiest way to prepare for a general food shortage, or an individual food restriction is to store food in advance. Its a valuable backup to tide you over until other means of obtaining food are found. It will save you an enormous amount of stress and worry. We will look at -
You may have an idea that survival is about living off the land, using bush craft skills to forage or catch your next meal, but if you can store food in advance, you can save yourself much of that effort and uncertainty. Storing foods in advance is very cheap, and means that basic staples are already taken care of.
I myself have chosen to store rice, beans, pasta, salt, oil. I have about 10 barrels of rice, each of 30 kg, and the same for beans. I live in a market town that is in the heart of rural Africa, so can supplement my diet with fresh produce. I just want to cover the basics.
Such stocks of food are actually a very good investment. In the event of a food crisis food prices may rise considerably, and you can trade what you do not need - in fact it will be the only real currency - tradable in exchange for more perishable foods such as fresh meats, vegetables and fruits etc. Non-perishable foods are infact more tradable than precious metals or crypto-currency.
The main enemies of food storage are water, oxygen, insects and mice. To store food long term, and hence preserve its tradable value, I used the following -
However, the good news is you don't need nitrogen or the agricultural bags if your rice is already in sealed bags. You can purchase rice in 5, 10kg bags and these are already hermetically sealed, so you can just put them in the barrel and job done. The advantage of 5kg bags is that you only open one at a time, so the rest remain sealed until you need them.
If kept in sealed bags, then your rice will easily last 10 years. If your rice does not come packaged in sealed bags, then you will have to use strong bags that you can seal air-tight. TIP: For very long-term food storage, I would not use brown rice because it might begin to go rancid from its oil content after awhile (~ 1+ years).
Note: After many years, beans lose their ability to soften while rehydrating in water. Using and rotating your storage is always a good idea, thus minimizing issues like this. TIP! For old beans, you will need to leave them to soak overnight (8-12 hours), then cook as normal. If you have electricity, then a rice cooker or pressure cooker is very useful. We have this one.
To achieve 2000 KCal per day from rice and beans you need 300g of rice and 150g of beans per day. This means that a 50 kg barrel of rice will last approximately half a year. This will be supplemented by any fresh foods you can grow, and food you can obtain through trading skills for labor, and food collected for your food bank. This food will provide a staple diet that will tide you through bad times, and reduce the worry and uncertainty you would otherwise experience.
Assuming a 3 year period of restrictions, you will need 6 barrels of rice and 3 barrels of beans per person - a small price to pay for ensuring the life of yourself or your child. And also an investment, since non-perishable food will be in high demand and highly tradable. 2000Kcal per day is what an athlete needs. For sedentary life, you only need about 1000 - 1200 kCal, so you will have plenty of spare rice and beans to trade with.
You will need strong, insect proof, water proof and air-tight barrels for long term storage. My absolute favorite barrels are these - Barrels. They are made from thick strong plastic, with airtight lids. They are so strong that you can stand on them, or stack them on top of each other. I bought 6 of these to store my rice and beans, and additional ones to store maise, pasta, salt, sugar, oats, lentils, washing powder, toothpaste and soap bars. Each one stores 50 kg, so each barrel can contain enough rice for one year!. They are super useful for storing other things as well.
Bags need to be strong since they will carry weights of upto 30kg, so ordinary bin bags will not do. I recommend these - Bags. They are strong enough to store your grains, and can be inserted inside of the barrels, filled with grain and tied off to provide an extra layer of protection for your food. If you run out of barrels, then these strong bags will provide a reasonable alternative, until barrels are available.
Rice cookers use less energy that ordinary stove cooking because they contain the heat and use pressure to cook the food much more quickly, so you save on energy. What I like most though is the automation. I just put the rice in, and 20 minutes later it is finished to perfection. Here is a cheap one - you dont need anything fancy, just the basics - Rice Cooker
I have been living in rural Africa for 4 years, and have found these items to be very useful -
In the instance of a power outage, being able to make a fire for cooking and for keeping clean is absolutely essential. The hand axe has a flattened head on the upper side, so you can apply a hammer. This greatly helps with splitting wood, so that the wood burns more readily. Kerosine is very useful in a power outage as a fire igniter.
Buy your food supplies where ever it is cheapest, nearest and properly packaged. Food wholesalers are located in every city, and sell to retailers, so they can be cheaper than retail prices, and you can buy in bulk. It is useful to open an account with a wholesaler, because, in the event of a food shortage you will be able to get food before retailers buy it up. For the same reason you should identify farm sources - not because it is convenient now, but because it would become vital later on in the event that wholesalers or retailers are sold out. Knowing where the farms are, and being known to them will be life-saving knowledge. So ring around farms and visit them. Become known to them. Get near to the source of food.
Any grains purchased from a supermarket or wholesaler will come pre packaged. However, they should still be stored in storage bags and placed inside the barrels to ensure their preservation. Preserved food is currency, but perished food is not.
Bulk grains can be bought online and delivered to your door.
I have identified the cheapest possible online deals. The prices here are so low that they match the prices that people pay in the poorest countries of Africa, and sometimes even cheaper than that -
I have listed soya bean meal (animal) 25kg above, because it is a tiny fraction of the price of human food, but does not differ in nutritional content. If your budget is limited, then consider what will keep you alive. A 25kg bag will last you a year. Compared to having to gather food in the wild, this is just as palatable.
I have listed mixed seeds (bird) 20kg above, because it is a tiny fraction of the price of human food, but does not differ in nutritional content. When seeds are baked over a fire, they are very palatable. A 20kg bag will last you a year, and will be just as healthy as if you had gathered seeds from nature yourself. Roasted seed combined with milk makes a tasty and nutritious breakfast.
Just one of these provides soup every day for 200 days, and adds variety and flavour to rice, bean or lentil dishes
These tend to have very high concentrated nutrient content, are long lasting, and low weight. They are expensive, so only used when you need to be mobile, and when circumstances prevent cooking. Its worth having one of these packages for emergencies such as bugging out. These are NOT meant for every day meals. They are for emergencies.
I want to finish out this section with a story about how God instructed Ezekiel to prepare. Here are the instructions that God gave to Ezekiel for surviving a long (430 day) siege. We can use this information to survive food shortages arising from digital restrictions (not being able to buy or sell), or from famines resulting from shortages or from containment.
“Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side. 10 Weigh out twenty shekels[b] of food to eat each day and eat it at set times. 11 Also measure out a sixth of a hin[c] of water and drink it at set times. 12 Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.” 13 The Lord said, “In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.” Ezekiel 4 v 9
Here is a break-down of God's instructions -
All of these grains can be stored in barrels as listed above. The grains were to keep Ezekiel alive for 430 days. 1kg of food will last 4 days, so 107 kg will last 430 days. 230g will be quite filling. The reason for this storage and rationing of food is to represent the coming shortages -
16 He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair, 17 for food and water will be scarce. They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of[d] their sin.
The time period of 430 days may be important as a critical survival period. It occurs again in Revelations as 1290 days = 3 x 430 days. To be safe, enough for 1290 days is required - = 300kg . This could be stored in 50kg barrels x 6 (6 small barrels - that's all it takes to secure a life).
Storage of food will be important if digital restrictions prevent you from buying or selling essential supplies, or even from holding valid currency. It is important to remember that you only have to survive for 1290 days. And any surplus of food is a valuable and tradable currency, especially during any general shortage.
As an Amazon Associate, I may make a commission on products sold, which helps fund Howbad.info, ensuring it can stay online.