This post makes me think of an articel i read yesterday,l while buying vitamins at my local GNC store. they had a free magazine giveout so i took one. thier was an articel about weightlifitng and what you shuold be doing for noursihment. lots if info i never really knew!
you should be taking in, everyday 1 gram of protien per body lb. calories are also a big necessity, becuase without them, yuor body will start too look its muscles as a source of energy to burn. yuo want to stop or delay that. so protien and calroes are jsut as important as food being canned for survival*

If you raised goats, rabbits, and chickens, you could probably eat meat, eggs, and milk, and then forage for dandilions or wild plants that you can eat.

I think that someone found a can of spam that was left over from like world war II, and said it was still good.

Run away slaves used to hunt by lantern light, and were able to get small animals like rabbits, possum, raccoons, and such to freeze in the light of a lantern. Then they could be hit over the head or have sack thrown over them.

If slaves could survive, like that, I guess it can still be possible to live like that.

Probably it would be better to forage at night while the nocturnal animals are awake.

It would be better to eat some tubers and bugs and try to find animals for meat, than to just sample any plant that is nearby. If you don't know what you are eatting, plant wise, you can die. If it has white, umbrella shaped flowers, like queen anne's lace, and a red root, it might be hemlock.

Some plants will give you diarrhea, so you'd be better off not just trying any plants.

Basically I think go for nuts, roots, familiar berries, bugs, and meat.
Don't sample leaves, mushrooms, and plants unless you know what it is.

I think actually you can eat most any bug you find. If it has smell to it, it wouldn't be good, like a stink bug. But you'd know from the smell if it is going to be any good or not.

I've never even tried a bug or a worm, but they have more protein than beef, I hear.

A man on television was eatting worms and said they really didn't taste like much if you swallowed them really fast. You can do that if you are really hungry enough.

I was looking around in my yard one day just to see if I could find any worms. I didn't plan to eat any, just to see if I could find any, and they are pretty hard to find. I'd have more luck going for squirrels or eating all the stray dogs in the neighborhood.

I would agree with Doc Holiday about not messing with any can that has a bulge. If you have any like that handle it very carefully and do not, do not, DO NOT puncture it. The contents are under pressure, very toxic and have a very nasty smell that will linger for a long time.

We tend to pick out low sodium or no sodium can goods if available. I don't know if this has any effect on the storage time or not. I have tried to keep a good rotation but will not dispose of anything outdated unless it is obviously bad. If things get to bad dates on cans will be the least of my concerns. Just for a test I had a can of string beans last week that expired in 2006, no problems.

I think it is a good idea to learn the art of growing your own vegetables and then canning them for preservation. I canned for the first time two years ago, making my own spaghetti sauce....it is THE best!! And it had many uses besides putting it on pasta......I made pizzas with with..salsa....put it on salads...and I believe it is healthier because it had no preservatives or chemicals in it. The shelf life is two years.

I'm hoping for a good growing season this year (my tomatos didnt do so well last year).

Canned goods are great for survival, ideally grow and can your own, however I go to the grocery store and buy the huge industrial sized cans of goods and stockpile them , there dirt cheap and would provide much needed food in a bad situation.. especially the beginning when society is in shambles and all the unprepared are raiding gardens, stealing and killing livestock ect.. remember the unprepared are going to be starving and doing absolutely anything for food.. If you have food its a great bargaining chip and or you means to outlast them.

For my canned goods I don't rotate through them.. however I keep them double there stated shelf life ( canned goods are usually good far longer than there stated shelf life) and then toss them or mark them as non human consumption.. even spoiled food can be fed to animals and or used as compost... or in a bad situation get the really hungy people out of you hair..

Other staples besides canned goods are dry goods like rice, whole wheat, and dried beans etc.. they last for decades and are dirt cheap.. load up on them and store them in sealed containers with desiccant to absorb moisture. Dry good s and canned goods and you'll be set.

I just learned that coffee absorbes moisture.
put in a nylon stocking and hung up in your storage it will absorbe all the moisture for quite a while and keep your foods dry.

hehe, now I'm glad I didn't get rid of my bitter coffee yet

I'm glad to see this thread. I'm in the same position. back in 2007 when everyone was screaming "canned goods and shotguns!" that's exactly what I did. Stocked up on canned goods.

Now, everything is expiring, and I'm finding it hard not to get aggravated.

i just threw out the canned fruit... the cans deteriorated. The soups look like they'll be next, and probably any canned tomato products.

Most of the dry stuff I vacuumed sealed and seem to be fine.

Thanks for all the tips on the thread, I appreciate it alot.

Originally posted by GypsK
I just learned that coffee absorbes moisture.

Buy your coffee in bean form and grid it yourself, will last alot longer. Or, try growing your own, difficult to do, but can be done in any climate if you take real good care of your plants.