SOME BACKGROUND
* One of my favourite stories is that of some 18th century Australian explorers who starved to death in the Australian outback/desert - it has recently been revealed from Aboriginal stories that the local Aboriginals were wary of these strangers & hid from sight, whilst watching them over a period of weeks. The Aboriginies could not understand why the Europeans didn't eat any of the wild foods available to them - & they starved to death when their supplies of flour & sugar etc were finished...they starved to death in a land of not exactly plenty, but a land capable of sustaining them - if they had only known how.
And so today, I watch my neighbors returning from the supermarket, complaining of the price of everything, unaware of the foods that surround us, even in this urban environment there is sustenence - not a lot, to be sure, but there is food there, you just have to be able to recognize it:
* There are wild plants, often termed "weeds" with great nutritional & medicinal properties everywhere - even in urban "wastelands".
* In the sea & on the shore is a wealth of seafood fish, shellfish, seaweeds - tho beware of fecal or chemical contamination.
* Otherwise, of course, there are various ways of "growing your own" at home - container gardening on the patio, growing nutritious sprouts in jars in the kitchen, making your own beer, even raising insects for food.
* In addition there are dumpsters [or "skips"] out the back of the supermarkets, filled every evening with "date expired" food - still perfectly edible.
The people who dumpster-dive for these foods are called "fregans". I know of a couple in Australia who have named their daughter "Free" - because she has been raised on foods entirely sourced for free.
Above all, I am advocating self-reliance . Think, plan, act for yourself & those dear to you. Don't be a wage & supermarket slave, a fashion victim.
When the shit hits the fan, & the store shelves are empty, please don't starve to death in the midst of incredible edibles!
And so today, I watch my neighbors returning from the supermarket, complaining of the price of everything, unaware of the foods that surround us, even in this urban environment there is sustenence - not a lot, to be sure, but there is food there, you just have to be able to recognize it:
* There are wild plants, often termed "weeds" with great nutritional & medicinal properties everywhere - even in urban "wastelands".
* In the sea & on the shore is a wealth of seafood fish, shellfish, seaweeds - tho beware of fecal or chemical contamination.
* Otherwise, of course, there are various ways of "growing your own" at home - container gardening on the patio, growing nutritious sprouts in jars in the kitchen, making your own beer, even raising insects for food.
* In addition there are dumpsters [or "skips"] out the back of the supermarkets, filled every evening with "date expired" food - still perfectly edible.
The people who dumpster-dive for these foods are called "fregans". I know of a couple in Australia who have named their daughter "Free" - because she has been raised on foods entirely sourced for free.
Above all, I am advocating self-reliance . Think, plan, act for yourself & those dear to you. Don't be a wage & supermarket slave, a fashion victim.
When the shit hits the fan, & the store shelves are empty, please don't starve to death in the midst of incredible edibles!