Excellent series of recommendations.  I used to have two dozen of the 5 
gallon water jugs used in water coolers in a basement in another house.  
When I moved I offered it to people in the church I happened to be 
attending a the time along with all the food storage stuff I had there 
(tons of wheat).  People came from all over who were in desperate 
straits and took it all quickly.  I didn't want to move all that stuff 
cross country.

In any case, one area that is more difficult to get stocked up on is 
prescription medications.  If you can afford the cost of buying in 
advance (most insurances won't pay for that), you have to get your 
doctor to write your prescription appropriately.  The next time I see 
mine, I need to get a prescription written up that is in very short 
supply (has been for a long time) so that I can get several months in 
advance instead of calling pharmacies all over the place.

Fuel is another issue when it comes to running your auto for a while.

There used to be a day when farmers would distill their own fuel but the 
oil companies of the time used their considerable clout to press 
prohibition legislation in order to shut those farmers down and force 
them to buy their much more expensive fuel.  Distillation still might be 
a viable option for whose states/counties that still don't have this on 
the books as illegal.

Steve

Lynnet Bannion wrote:
> On Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:04:10 -0600, Gail Ross & Lawrence Roberts 
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>>
>> In all instances I have been able to find the recommended food 
>> planning is definitely non-paleo, being heavily reliant on grains and 
>> legumes. Is anyone aware of a site with something of a paleo 
>> perspective?
>
> One advantage of grains and legumes is that they can be stored for years
> at room temperature, and cooked as needed.  In general, meat requires
> refrigeration.  In case of a severe natural (or unnatural) disaster, you
> couldn't count on electric service.  Fresh vegetables would also spoil
> without refrigeration in more than a few days.
>
> Supposing a pandemic flu, you would not be able to go out to the 
> stores, and
> if there, they might not have any food, or any food you would care to 
> eat.
>
> However, there are foods you can easily have, and steps you could take 
> to prepare.
>
> * Dried fruits and dried vegetables keep at room temp. You can dry 
> them yourselves.
>
> * Nuts keep pretty well, especially in a cool place.  Rotate your stock.
>
> * Jerky and pemmican are good keepers in a cool place.  You can really 
> live on this stuff.  It either takes a lot of time, or a lot of 
> expense to stock yourself up with it.
>
> * You could can a wide variety of foods using a pressure canner.  This 
> includes meat items such as poultry and ground meat, stews and soups.  
> Take the trouble to learn how to do it properly to avoid botulism, of 
> course.  High-acid fruits and tomatoes can be done with a water-bath 
> canner, but if you're serious about preparing paleo food storage, 
> you'll need a pressure canner.
>
> I'm serious about this: If you have a freezer full of meat, you need 
> to have some canning jars stored, and enough lids, and a pressure 
> canner.  With a marathon work session, you could save hundreds of 
> dollars of worth of meat that would otherwise spoil if your power was 
> out more than a day or two. Get a good book on canning, contact your 
> extension service, and practice a little bit first.  You'll have to
> figure out a non-electric way to use the pressure canner, of course.  
> Gas stove,
> wood stove, heavy-duty propane camp stove, something like that. You 
> will need some
> way of cooking anyway, if your electricity is out.
>
> * You could build yourself a root cellar.  That can be outside your 
> house dug into the yard, or in a corner of your basement protected 
> from any sources of heat, and ventilated to the outside air.  You can 
> keep roots and hardier vegetables (such as cabbage) there. There are 
> good books out on this subject.
>
> * Grow a garden.  Those fresh vegetables keep best on the hoof.  Plant 
> fruit trees while you're at it, and berry bushes.  It's surprising how 
> much food you can grow on a small plot of ground.  And if you're stuck 
> at home in quarantine, you'll have time to weed and harvest your goodies.
>
> * Speaking of "on the hoof", keep chickens or rabbits (many cities 
> allow a few hens or bunnies in your back yard).  If you live in the 
> country, you are really set.
> The hens will give you eggs OR chicken.
>
> * If you're really into non-refrigerated meat storage, you could make 
> smoked ham, sausage, bacon, etc. (read up on this maneuver).  You can 
> render your own lard. Needs to be kept in a cool spot (how about that 
> root cellar?). Instead of pig, you could do the same with venison, 
> jerking the muscle meat, making sausage with whatever you can and 
> smoking it well, etc.  There are websites dedicated to such studies.
>
> Study up on what our immediate ancestors did: great-grandparents and 
> before.  Many of them put away food all summer, butchered in the fall, 
> and lived on what they produced year round.  They didn't even have 
> electricity or refrigeration. They'd go to the store for flour, 
> coffee, and salt. Since we don't need flour or coffee, and salt keeps 
> FOREVER, we should be able to do it as well.
>
> * Be sure to store some water, in food-grade buckets or jerrycans, or 
> glass jars.  Many natural disasters result in disruption or 
> contamination of public water supplies.  You'll need about a gallon 
> per person per day for drinking, cooking, and just a bit of washing 
> up. Rotate your stock.  You would be wise to have a couple of weeks 
> supply.  If you have well water, and your elecricity is out, so is 
> your well.  A major electrical outage, and domestic water is out too.  
> If you plan to keep flushing the toilet, you'll need more.  An 
> alternative is white plastic bucket and sawdust, with a toilet seat.  
> Works pretty well (see the book "Humanure"), and could certainly get 
> you through a few weeks of disruption.
>
> Be prepared with anti-diarrheals and anti-inflammatories for the flu, 
> soothing medicinal teas, whatever simple remedies you can have on 
> hand.  I don't put much credence in Tamiflu or similar stuff.  A real 
> pandemic would roll right through Tamiflu, having built up immunity to 
> the stuff.  Be prepared with easy-to-prepare and nourishing meals in 
> case several family members are sick.
>
> If you live in colder climates, have plenty of blankets, quilts, 
> towels, etc.  Power outage means your forced-air or hot-water heat 
> also doesn't work. Candles, battery powered lights, or wind-up lights, 
> or shake-lights, and battery-powered radios are a good addition to 
> your emergency cache.  Find a way to charge your cell phone that 
> doesn't depend on a wall outlet.
>
> Hoping we don't need to use this information.
> Best regards,
>
>     Lynnet
>