Alternative Food Sources

[General Pain]

When all the MREs have been eaten ...what then....

1 - Cockroaches
2 - Algee-vats
3 - Soylent-green
4 - hunting/farming
5 - rats/vermin

any other ideas ?

[Mohoender]

The most obvious

Filtered urine in replacement of water.

[headquarters]

there are many places in the world were insects are considered a natural supplement or even a delicacy.

In T2K old prejudices against this source of protein would have to be dropped many places .

eating cockroaches and even breeding them in farms as livestock would be a necessity .It is absolutely viable as a food source .the habitat needs to be sealed off -of course - and heated to a certain temperature. As for feed -anything goes .The more energy rich the better the "heads" will fatten , but the good things about roaches is that many kinds are omnivores-meaning that refuse,potato peels,fresh cut grass and those dead people we discussed burying earlier will all be eligible for feed.

The roaches are ground up to flour after -so the disgusting bit can be tones down a bit -until you serve it up as porridge

Seriously -people are trying to save the planet and make a profit from marketing insects as food.We already eat about 1 kg or 2 pounds every year in fragments in the ketchup,in the bread ,in the condiments,the jam,the sodapop -in everything we have pretty much .

For the most part its healthy .

Roaches need a good soak in acidic fluids like vinegar or orangejuice before they are roasted dry and then ground up .very protein rich .

[headquarters]

rats are a good source of protein as well .They are omnivores and eat whatever they can .They also breed easily .

depending on feed availability ,the rats can be used to counter famine in small communities.

caution must be taken of course , to contain the rats and in handling plastic aprons and rubber gloves ,hair nets etc shoul be used to minimize risk of transferring fleas and lice or deseases.Also processing to food neeeds to be carefully done .


rats should be kept in as clean as possible enviroments , fed mostly greens like fruit,vegetables and fresh grass etc -or peelings of these .In a pinch other fodder like fresh carcasses etc can be used.

The rats can be drowned ,hung to dry , scorched to get the hairs and fleas etc off before beying flayed and cut into pieces.

It will keep less well than cockroach flour and needs to be eaten a short time after preparation - like most meat .

I read that it tastes wonderful - like a tasty chicken.

I include mice here too - also easy to breed and feed .

[TiggerCCW UK]

Regarding what people will eat in an emergency. I know a few guys who used to carry dog food as emergency rations in the hills. There's always a risk that if you carry something you like you'll just eat it and you'll not have it if the worst happens. The guys reckoned that they'd never just tuck into a can of pedigree chum because they were peckish, but that it would keep them going if the worst happened.

[O'Borg]

Originally Posted by TiggerCCW UK

Regarding what people will eat in an emergency. I know a few guys who used to carry dog food as emergency rations in the hills. There's always a risk that if you carry something you like you'll just eat it and you'll not have it if the worst happens. The guys reckoned that they'd never just tuck into a can of pedigree chum because they were peckish, but that it would keep them going if the worst happened.

This seems appropriate : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu-LPzVRPh8

Reading this thread and seeing it immediately above the "Zombies" thread on the page made me chuckle this morning

[Mohoender]

Originally Posted by TiggerCCW UK

I know a few guys who used to carry dog food as emergency rations in the hills.

I have tried it once by mistake. My mother had let some in the fridge mixed with pasta and, of course, nothing that could clearly identify it. It was on sunday night and there was nothing else to eat. I added salt and pepper, eated it, and that was fairly good. Taste similar to Corned-beef.

[Targan]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

I have tried it once by mistake. My mother had let some in the fridge mixed with pasta and, of course, nothing that could clearly identify it. It was on sunday night and there was nothing else to eat. I added salt and pepper, eated it, and that was fairly good. Taste similar to Corned-beef.

Oh dude, that must be the OTHER kind of French cuisine!

[headquarters]

Originally Posted by Targan

Oh dude, that must be the OTHER kind of French cuisine!

I think that these must once have been sort of an emergency food for poor people that were to destitute to have any lifestock in France and otherplaces .After all -the competetion for the protein is one of the defining factors in human history .The less powerful the person , the less protein available .The competition for snails and frogs were percievably less intens than trying to wrestle farmland and livestock from the military or economic elite .

imho-as always

[Mohoender]

Originally Posted by Targan

Oh dude, that must be the OTHER kind of French cuisine!

LOL. don't trust a frenchman who wants to cook you something after an apocalypse.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

I have tried it once by mistake. My mother had let some in the fridge mixed with pasta and, of course, nothing that could clearly identify it. It was on sunday night and there was nothing else to eat. I added salt and pepper, eated it, and that was fairly good. Taste similar to Corned-beef.

Having had dogs all my life, you know I've tried dog food and treats on more than one occasion. Dry dog food actually makes a good munchie -- Pedigree is the best!

[Mohoender]

Originally Posted by headquarters

I think that these must once have been sort of an emergency food for poor people that were to destitute to have any lifestock in France and otherplaces .
imho-as always

I have tried to confirm that but so far, no clue. I can only guess that frogs had been a fancy meal since, at least the 16th century (idea taken from an unreliable source: Alexandre Dumas).

Nothing on the snail

Rats have been eaten during the siege of Paris in 1870-1871 along with dogs and cats. Those who could afford it, however, had access to more exotic type of foods: antelope, camel and elephant.

[Marc]

Snails (cargol) is a very appreciated food here in Catalonia. The grandmother of my wife, an outstanding cook, is the family expert in this matter. I've eaten snails in two or three occasions and I must recognize that I do not feel the same passion than seems to feel some of my companion of table before this typical dish. I think that the most difficult and important thing is the correct cleaning of the snails.

The procedure implies left the snails fasting for a week, with the purpose to force them to eliminate all the impurities. Take into account that snails are not bought, but caught in some familiar expedition after a rainy day (my favourite part). So, the snails could have been eaten plants not recommended for human consumption. A safer method implies catching the snail and feeding them for a week with known vegetables before beginning the fasting process.

Then, the snails are put in cold water with salt and vinegar, to force them to purge all the slime. The process is repeated as times as needed until all the slime is eliminated.

The flesh of the snail is somewhat insipid, and the final result depends of each own recipe, that normally implies the boiling of the snails (with their shells).

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Marc

The flesh of the snail is somewhat insipid, and the final result depends of each own recipe, that normally implies the boiling of the snails (with their shells).

Sticky like peanut butter, but nowhere near as tasty...

[Mohoender]

Marc, unlike you, I could eat snails by the ton. However, I agree that the final result depends of the recipe. One main difference nowadays, in France, is that we have to buy them. Catching them is now forbidden (some people still do but less than before). The last time I came out to get some was a little over 25 years. The downside of having to buy them is that they are mostly frozen snails which is a process that makes them watery and gives them a rubber-like texture. As a result, finding good snails is increasingly difficult.

An other possible use of snails (especially as kid) is snail race.

Then another type of food in my area is wild mushrooms. That would be fun to imagine that in a T2K scenario as people are actively defending their mushroom secret spots. That level of secrecy goes so high that in my wife's school, four years old kids refused to reveal the location. Actually, my wife's parents had brought my 4 years old daughter to get mushrooms last fall and she refuses to reveal their secret location. Actually, a local novelist has writen a book were people are getting killed over that issue.

[jturfitt]

When I was in the Phillipines in 77 & 78 rats were used as food in the countryside. They held rat drives around the grain fields every year. Beaters would surround three sides of the field while a group would would down the field. As the rats ran out they would kill them with clubs. They only used the grain fed rats from the fields, not rats that had fed on garbage.

[Targan]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

Then another type of food in my area is wild mushrooms.

Hmm. Best to know what you are doing. If you don't you might end up with a good meal, a surprise psychadelic experience or a nasty case of death.

[jester]

Mushrooms,

Well I once saw on one of the documentaries that alot of old fortifications from the Maginot Line and the Atlantic Wall have been converted into mushroom growing facilities.

Further, I knoww several places where one can order the spore plugs to drill and insert into wooden logs oak is preferable to grow your own mushrooms, as well as another type that one would grow in boxes, of old straw and horse manure. You can get get several batches about three if I recall with eath batch getting less and less productive until you have to replenish your boxes and add some new spores.

So with that said, I can see in the T2K world where people start growing mushrooms in their basements and dugouts and old caves, mines and even bunkers.

[Webstral]

Varmint surprise.

Webstral

P.S. I've grown fond of dandelion greens, too. They aren't available all year long, but I hear they can be canned like other greens. (Obviously, "canned" is generic term for container preserving) Canning reduces the nutritional value, but better reduced value than no value.

[Mohoender]

Originally Posted by Targan

Hmm. Best to know what you are doing. If you don't you might end up with a good meal, a surprise psychadelic experience or a nasty case of death.

You are right but people around here know. Moreover, they don't pick mushrooms they don't know. In T2K, you can use some slaves for tasting if you like.

The psychadelic experience would be fun to some and you forgot two things: an absolutely disgusting meal leaving you with a bad taste in mouth and just a few days of sickness without even the surprising psychadelic experience.

The worse with mushrooms is that they are tricky. Aminata Phalloides (the most deadly of all) is very similar to an edible type. Hopefully, it has some very distinctive features. Among them a ring. Saddly it is a delicacy to snails and slugs. Finally, snails are getting their revenge. Without that ring it is easily confused with the other one.

I found that picture on wiki Targan.

[Mohoender]

One piece of advice with death cap. Think twice before following the call advice on that sign. There is no antidote to this day and if you don't die, you'll end up as a mushroom in a wheel chair . I don't think there is any healthy survivor to date.

You are right Jest. They can grow in most humid caves with a fresh temperature (Champignon de Paris, I don't know the english name). Some wild species exist and the funny thing is that they look like amanita. I love mushrooms.

[jester]

Another thing is algae and kelp. Both are used as food already for specialty products. But, in the T2K world, I can see algae being harvested and raised in ponds. I also once saw a recipe for moss jelly or jam. So that is also a possibilitty.

[Marc]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

Marc, unlike you, I could eat snails by the ton. However, I agree that the final result depends of the recipe. One main difference nowadays, in France, is that we have to buy them. Catching them is now forbidden (some people still do but less than before). The last time I came out to get some was a little over 25 years. The downside of having to buy them is that they are mostly frozen snails which is a process that makes them watery and gives them a rubber-like texture. As a result, finding good snails is increasingly difficult.

An other possible use of snails (especially as kid) is snail race.

Then another type of food in my area is wild mushrooms. That would be fun to imagine that in a T2K scenario as people are actively defending their mushroom secret spots. That level of secrecy goes so high that in my wife's school, four years old kids refused to reveal the location. Actually, my wife's parents had brought my 4 years old daughter to get mushrooms last fall and she refuses to reveal their secret location. Actually, a local novelist has writen a book were people are getting killed over that issue.

In Catalonia the search of mushrooms is a true passion, too. And, as you say, the people who practice it know very well what they are doing. The "secret places", the myriad of proverbs, the traditional equipment (walking stick, wicker basket and small knife) and familiar techniques have deserved a weekly TV program in a good humorous tone in one of the catalan channels. The title "Caçadors de Bolets", literally "Mushroom hunters" .

[Mohoender]

Originally Posted by Marc

In Catalonia the search of mushrooms is a true passion, too. And, as you say, the people who practice it know very well what they are doing. The "secret places", the myriad of proverbs, the traditional equipment (walking stick, wicker basket and small knife) and familiar techniques have deserved a weekly TV program in a good humorous tone in one of the catalan channels. The title "Caçadors de Bolets", literally "Mushroom hunters" .

Funny, I have the feeling that it would translate differently in french to "Chasseur de Bolets". Is Bolet a type of mushroom in Catalan (as in french)?

[General Pain]

Originally Posted by Targan

Hmm. Best to know what you are doing. If you don't you might end up with a good meal, a surprise psychadelic experience or a nasty case of death.

I like those odds

[Marc]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

Funny, I have the feeling that it would translate differently in french to "Chasseur de Bolets". Is Bolet a type of mushroom in Catalan (as in french)?

"Bolet" ("seta" in Spanish) is the Catalan term for mushroom. "Caçador", "Chasseur" or hunter is not the proper term to define someone who picks mushrooms, but it fits better in the epic of the program . Basically in each program a camera follows the steps of a different group of "Mushroom Hunters" (a group of friends or a family, picked due to their passion and knowledge about mushrooms) with an ironic voice talking about their shames and glories and accurately describing the properties of each type of mushroom they found. Different film soundtracks help to create ominous atmospheres when the found mushroom has any harmful properties (BSO from "Jaws" is recurrently used).

[Mohoender]

Very interesting.

We use the same term of hunter than you do. However, the Bolet is a special type of mushroom (not the generic name). Hé hé, we are getting Off-topic here.

That one:

[General Pain]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

One piece of advice with death cap. Think twice before following the call advice on that sign. There is no antidote to this day and if you don't die, you'll end up as a mushroom in a wheel chair . I don't think there is any healthy survivor to date.

You are right Jest. They can grow in most humid caves with a fresh temperature (Champignon de Paris, I don't know the english name). Some wild species exist and the funny thing is that they look like amanita. I love mushrooms.

a little trick when "identifing" plants in let's say french wikipedia - use the Latin name and we can google it for proper translation

[Mohoender]

Right General.

Champignon de paris = Agaricus bisporus

[General Pain]

I'm going to my faovrite restaurant in Oslo - http://www.brasseriefrance.no/

the "beef tartar" is to die for - and they have snails mmmmmm

...I must admit I have made a name for myself there because I ordered the large beef tartar for desert and my little brother ordered 500g of Moules maison sauce crème et safran - It's actually a good way of beeing remembered positivly in a restaurant without giving an extreme big tip - Just order something unexpected for desert hehe