What will you be eating when the SHTF? What about if you run out of food?

Greetings all,

What will you be eating when the SHTF? What will you eat if you run out of food? I know this subject has been covered a few times. However, I wanted to bring it up once more to discuss food that could be "enjoyed" in an extreme situation where no other food can be located. I stumbled on the following and thought others would enjoy.

1) Tree Bark

A classic meal of human desperation, tree bark has become a must-have meal during periods of scarcity. But you don’t have to eat it al dente the way termites and beavers do. Inhabitants of the Lapland in Finland, for example, are known to make bread with ground tree bark during cruel winter months, and several Native American groups use tree bark as a dietary supplement. In fact, the Adirondack Mountains derive their name from a derisive term for the Algonquin Indians that means “tree eaters”.

Not all bark is equally edible, so you’ll have to experiment with your neighborhood flora. Some popular favorites include aspen, birch, willow, maple, and pine -trees common in cities and forests alike. So sharpen your teeth and dig in!

How to Prepare

For the choicest strips of bark, be sure to go for the nutritious, tender inner layer known as the cambium. (Eating the outer bark would be no more pleasant than chomping into your bookshelf.) If some resin or gum oozes out as you pry off the main course, be sure to lap it up for quick energy. Here are a few fun ways to serve tree bark:

Raw. Shred finely and chew thoroughly.

Slice it into strips and boil it to make a rustic pasta. Top with sap, dandelion greens, or insect parts (see entry #2). Alternatively, you can add the noodles to a stew.

Dry and grind into flour. The ground bark is pretty versatile and can be mixed with water into a breakfast gruel, baked into bread, added to soup for extra body, or even guzzled straight like a Pixy Stick.

2) Bugs

With more than 10 quintillion of these creepy crawlies infesting the planet, bugs are a virtually limitless source of protein and flavor. Bug eating exists in nearly every culture; in fact, approximately 10 percent of the protein consumed around the world comes from bugs! There are grasshopper tacos, steamed ant eggs, and even fried tarantulas. In the United States, the FDA permits a limited number of insect parts in commercial foods, such as five fly maggots per pound of pizza sauce. While most of our big eating in this country is unintentional, it doesn’t have to be.

How to Prepare

In general, avoid brightly colored bugs, which tend to be poisonous, and always be sure to remove any shells, wings, or other textural offenses. Also, cook them before eating to kill off the inevitable parasites. Beyond that, each bug has its own qualities to consider. Here are a few of the more traditional cooking methods.

Crickets and grasshoppers: First, pluck off the barbed legs, because they can chafe your digestive tract. Then, roast the body for a snack that’s both crunchy and nutritious.

Ants: Boil for six minutes to neutralize the formic acid of the stingers. After that, inhale them by the handful.

Caterpillars: They can give you a mouthful of tiny hairs, like licking a kiwi, so bite off the heads and then squeeze the insides into a pot. Boil and serve warm.

Worms: The dirt from the insides must be removed before they can be eaten. This can be done by starving them for one day, or squeezing out the dirt by hand.

3) Leather

Transforming your wardrobe into your pantry is simple. Shoes, jackets, and biker pants make meals both fashionable and filling. In fact, in every era, leather has been enjoyed by the starving masses. Indomitable explorers, stranded pirates, famine-stricken peasants, and even emaciated prisoners have downed a shoe or two. Just two years ago, when Chinese miners in Beijing were trapped underground for nearly a week, they survived on nothing but pieces of paper and a leather belt.

How to Prepare

Before cooking, rinse and dice the (preferably undyed) leather, then pound the pieces between stones to tenderize. For a satisfying soup, you can boil the leather until relatively tender, then add seasonings such as dried worms and nettles. Leather can also be chopped up and roasted to make nutritious chips. And remember to drink plenty of water; leather’s generally as dry as a bone.


4) Dirt
No matter how bad the economy gets, there will always be enough dirt to go around. Soil can provide essential minerals. Think of it as a no-budget replacement for your expensive multivitamin supplements. In fact, dirt eating, known as geophagy, is so prevalent in some parts of the world that scientists and anthropologists think that nutritional deficits may bring on the craving. Even in the modern United States, reports persist that poor and rural Southerners still indulge in select soils by the spoonful, a custom that may have been brought over from West Africa.

How to Prepare

The secret to good dirt eating is simply to choose wisely. Soil that is rich in clay tastes the best, and it can be enhanced by adding salt and vinegar. When you find a good source, save some in a plastic bag so you can snack on it all day long. Of course, if you’re looking to enjoy the original mud pie, garnishing the meal with a few worms never hurts.

Source

I can see eating trees and bugs, but dirt and leather? really? I can see how it would fill one up to get rid of that hungry feeling, but would hold no nutritional value at all, not to mention dirt and leather would probably make you sick.

reply to post by Canadas finest


How would dirt make you sick? I don't think you would want to eat a bunch of it, but a little would provide some nutrients and minerals.

There are many cases where people have died with protein sources all around them, they were just too dumb or too squeamish to take advantage.

I agree about the dirt and leather. But eating dirt is not unheard of:

Source

Boy I will be honest here.If the only thing you can think of eating is tree bark and bugs,life is going to be short for you after the SHTF.

You know how many BILLIONS of people have survived in the world without the convenience of a store or prepackaged food?

Domesticated dog is a delicacy in a large part of the world.

Wild animals run rampant almost everywhere.

Most are nocturnal so civilized people do not even know they exist.

Squirrel,raccoons,rats a person can skin and eat almost anything if they are hungry enough.

Wild grains and greens are in abundance it one knows where to look.

Even tubers and other roots can be eaten, again if you know where to look.

As long as I am alive I plan on eating well.

Simple, I will hunt for game and grow veggies.

I haven't realized people actually have had to eat dirt, But my eyes did open a bit. But still the leather tho? Thats a bit much.

reply to post by Topsy_Cret


Although I'd be eating other things in times of extreme desperation, I truly enjoyed the tone of the article. I did learn the benefits of eating dirt from your post, but.... I'd rather go for grass first :p

So dirty leather would be like a bonus? I think I'd rather eat my neighbors than bugs dirt or leather!!!! And I do have quite a few plump ones around me!!! J/K. I will just shoot tree rat rabbit the usual small game that lives around me until the bullets run out, then those fish in the koi pond out back are fair game.

If worse come to worse, you could always eat stupid people

After all, stupid people will be the first ones to die

reply to post by Oneolddude



I defiantly would attempt to hunt and grow a garden when the SHTF. This article was to point out what you CAN eat if food cannot be located/grown

My luck ain't that good. I'll assume that I'm not one of the 500,000,000 that are expected to survive the upcoming downsizing of the population.

Less than a 1 in 10 chance that you'll survive? Likely I'll be one of the 9, even if I see it coming.

reply to post by Oneolddude

Ever read the book or watch the movie The Road?

I've had roasted grasshoppers and other bugs in my travels. They're actually really tasty. The trick is to roast them in oil and throw some salt on em. Of course, if you had cooking oil and salt you probably would have something better than bugs lying around to cook. Believe it or not, crickets and grasshoppers can make a great snack food.

reply to post by Topsy_Cret


I'm going to buy me loads upon loads of Twinkies and Marshmallow Peeps and stock them for when TSHTF.

Twinkies never expire and Peeps are indestructible.

So....I either die from the apocalypse or a sugar coma. If it's the 'beetus then at least I'll go out happy!

reply to post by MeSoCorny


Thats a pretty good idea, I love both those items. Sugar coma would be very expected. But im sure you can combine peeps and Twinkies with the things in the OP to make a edible meal. I know it would make dirt cookies taste better

If TSHTF you should not be eating your shoes and leather clothing. When it runs out, how are you going to clothe yourself? Especially the shoes, harder to make. There may have also been additives to the processing of the leather that could shorten your lifespan. I have no idea about this though, I don't know how they process leathers.

Learn to trap little animals. Fish. Hunt. Birds would be tasty.

There are many weeds that are nutritious and tasty, dandelions are fully edible, even the root can be dried and ground, and made into a beverage. It's a diuretic though, so can't drink too much, you'll dehydrate. Chicory root would be better for this. Lots of other weeds and herbs grow wild everywhere.

People should get books on edible foraging, don't eat the mushrooms unless you know exactly which ones are edible (or fun). Educate yourself on what is growing in your area. I would think what grows in the dirt, would be healthier than the dirt.

Hm! There are probably lots of edible leaves and things to be found in the woods. But I will have to look into which ones are safe to eat for an extended period of time. Might want to keep a large stock of seasoning at least. In the summer there will be lots of berries around.

An idea that is completely sickening now is to go look for livestock that I can kill or, if dead, isn´t decomposing. I will help myself to any crops I should stumble upon aswell. Yes, I will be stealing to survive. As will everyone else I´m sure..

Dogs, Cats, raccoons, squirrels, deer, whatever happens to be in my way.
There are a lot of people that throw out good food as well so I will probably eat trash and whatever fruits and veggies nature just happens to be hiding.

I prefer fish so I will probably be doing a hell of a lot of fishing if SHTF.
I am assuming everyone will be migrating to warmer climates when SHTF, I will be migrating to the tits freezing cold of the north instead.

reply to post by Topsy_Cret


hopefully,by the time I resort to this,my garden will be ready