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Two Letters Re: My Preparedness Plans Just Took an Unexpected Turn
James,
I found a vendor that sells gluten-free flours in #10 cans for long term
storage. See
this PDF. Look bottom of page 3 and top of 4. (Also flour in bags that
are not packed for long term
storage.)
This company make a lot of the baking mixes that are repacked and sold under
a different label by the long term storage food companies. So prices are good,
but you will pay shipping. (I have no affiliation, but did buy from them and
have been happy with the products.) God Bless! - Lyn H.
Dear Jim,
This is in reference to the posters with diabetes in their families.
I am diabetic, Type 1, which means Insulin Dependent by definition. I am
also a survivalist. These positions are not mutually
exclusive, but my options for survival are quite limited. Why? Diabetic
test strips
last around two years if
they're kept cool and dry. Insulin must be refrigerated but not ever
frozen or shaken, and lasts at most 18 months. Oxygen destroys it. Shaking
destroys
it. What does this mean? You're dependent on civilization to survive,
and can only last 18 months without supplies. Meds to reduce your odds
of a
nasty side
effect (coma, embolism, stroke, heart attack, blindness, ketone acidosis)
are worth retaining and using.
If civilization falls too far to produce insulin, you're screwed. No
really. There is no happy way around this. The upshot is, insulin is
produced in
many places, and there are some methods which are quite surprising, such
as genetically
engineered safflower plants by a firm in Calgary, Canada. I don't have
access to the seeds yet, but I want them, badly.
To retain access to insulin, you must live near places which stock and
store the medicine. This pretty well prevents the Deep Boonies lifestyle,
and means
you'll have to deal with societal collapse in the burbs or city, or at
least close to them. It means dealing with the horde, and retaining contact
with
those groups or persons who still have access to the medicine needed
to live. You don't have the option of moving away unless you can let
yourself
or your
child die painfully, which happens less than 12 hours after the insulin
in your system is gone. That may happen regardless, but you'd best organize
your plans around staying close to the medicine. And that means staying
in
the cities
and suburbs and dealing with the people there.
Think carefully and plan accordingly
and learn to deal with unpleasant people. We don't know just how bad things
will get. It might only be the Great Depression 2..Its predecessor was survivable
but unpleasant. A good hidden safe is far more valuable to you than a main
battle
rifle. Good luck. We both need it. Best, - InyoKern
JWR Replies: To extend your logic, the safest place for a
diabetic to live would be in close proximity to a pharmaceutical manufacturer
that
produces insulin. And. ideally, it would be one that is in a swine producing
region.
