Post-Fukushima: What food/supply items are you stocking up on?

Concerned about the global airborne and seaborne radiation coming out of Fukushima? If you have bought some foods or non-food supplies to tide you over until the Fukushima reactors cool down (stop boiling), please share those lists here.

Some people have bought iodine tablets, boron capsules, and similar radioprotective supplements. I can't speak to that, but here are macrobiotic (MB) staple foods I have stocked up on. Your local independent food co-op will have the best prices, but if there is no such animal near you in North America, try Eden Foods online, which is the global leader in food testing for radionuclides:


www.edenfoods.com...

1. Radioprotective MB foods include live miso (does not include dried miso nor miso in plastic packages) and kelp seaweeds that are high in iodine. Suppliers of Atlantic coast seaweeds have plenty in stock, some pre-Fukushima.

2. Grains are easy to store, and much cheaper to buy in bulk. Any grains you buy in bulk now were grown last year, before the Fukushima (F) meltdowns/meltthroughs occurred. See 6 below for instructions on how to store grain.

3. I can't recommend any dairy products, except long-cured cheeses produced before F. At Trader Joe's market in the USA, some imported feta cheese from Greece has the production date stamped on it (thank you!).

4. Even now, many canned products are pre-F, ditto many dry pastas.

5. Organic unrefined vegetable oils in glass bottles. Some of these will have production dates stamped on the container. "Unrefined" oils are the healthiest oils...according to current US law the packaging must use the word "unrefined" on it somewhere, otherwise the oil is refined, no matter how organic or whatever it is.

6. In addition to grains in bulk, other things to buy in bulk quantity and store include seeds (think sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds, especially) and nuts. Save and clean out glass bottles from earlier food purchases in order to have enough storage containers. To discourage insect invasions, add 1 or 2 dried bay leaves inside the top of each container before it is sealed. Store in a dark and relatively cool place. I know, those magazine photos of dry goods stored in clear glass containers on kitchen countertops are beautiful, but in truth the B vitamins in dry goods are severely damaged by light and heat.

7. Beans store beautifully as well, and can also be bought in bulk. Heirloom beans (not hybridized) are your best nutrition value. I try to limit sack size to 25 pounds as much as possible. Buy the sack size that works for you. We bought a lidded trash can to store our extra purchased grains; we keep the can in the utility room of a covered garage. Tea tree oil is smeared around the inside of the can lid to discourage investigation by critters.

8. MB diets do not recommend coffee, but I did buy grain coffee (Roma is 1 good brand) and pre-F teabags. Again, if you need to buy tea now, the only website I know of currently which does radionuclide testing of its food products is Eden Foods (see link at top of this page).

9. Condiments: Buy MB-quality tamari sauce, shoyu (soy) sauce and brown rice vinegar from trusted sources or with a pre-F pedigree. Consider buying some of those little glass jars of black bean sauce, manufactured in Taiwan or Hong Kong, sold in Chinatown shops or shops which sell Asian foods. Again, black bean sauce is long-cured, plus it stores well over a long period. If you cannot find the prepared sauce, buy the small packets of "preserved" black beans (actually a variety of soybean) that you will find in plastic sacks in the produce section in any Chinatown grocery store. Buy some MB-quality fermented pickles and sauerkraut. After opening the pickles, I store them chopped into 2-inch sections, under a small film of oil in a small jar (this is also a great way of preserving pesto...it keeps for weeks after opening, if you store it that way).

In the above text, I have referred to products sold in North America, because that is where I am located. I know that many of the ATS audience is based in the UK, so here is a link for MB grocery stores in London:

www.macrobiotics.co.uk...

10. Tofu -- Being a fresh product with little shelf life, tofu presents a challenge. My solution is to buy cases of Mori-Nu brand organic silken tofu, which comes in individual aseptic cartons (12.3 oz size). This product is listed as being the "firm" type of tofu, but don't let that worry you: First of all, firm is the only variety of organic tofu sold by Mori-Nu. Second, it's still your basic silken tofu, so how "firm" can it get when they start with silken tofu? Believe me, this product being the "firm" style is totally not an issue. Yes, the aseptic package is lined with aluminum, and with plastic also, no doubt, but it's better than no tofu for a year, isn't it?