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+---- Thread: Urban Food in SHTF (/showthread.php?tid=823)
Urban Food in SHTF - Tartar Horde - 16 January 2012
Dear Preppers,
In many threads discussing a SHTF scenario there is the assumption that there would be a mass migration to the countryside of the urban population as the food reserves run down. This hypothesis i think is mainly down to the belief that the countryside is full of food just waiting to be harvested. Anyone with a good knowledge of hunting/trapping etc would be honest enough to tell you that this is not reality in any way shape or form, let me explain from my viewpoint why!
Todays cities provide masses of food for a wide variety of animals, who find it easier to get that food than in the countryside. The urban populations of animals like Rabbitts, Birds, and to some extent Roe Deer are denser in cities than in the wild due to the availability and diversity of foods available to them. Another factor is the complete lack of predation by Humans, we are not allowed to kill/harvest inside cities. This desensatizes them to humans whom they do not see as a threat. eg urban rabbitts will let you get pretty close before they bolt! try that in the countryside and see the difference!
Nearly all cities have good availability and variety of fruit trees/bushes, and there are miles of railway tracks and roads that are off limits to us but have great foraging/trapping oportunities. Other food sources are not so obviouse in cities but can provide a glut of food if you know how to harvest them. Every city has Parks and public places that have water features, ranging from humble fish ponds to lakes, and these are nearly always stocked with Fish and have a good range of waterfowl. Also, many parks have animal enclosures. We should also remember that these animals are all fed the best food to keep them healthy and so provide good nutrition levels, think about all those people that feed the Carp/Goldfish in the local fish pond, and how eager the fish are to take it from your hands! These are the conventional foods availble in cities but I believe you think assymetrically when it comes to surviving and I would draw your attention to the large amounts of Dogs/Cats/Horses etc in urban settings, and these are all legitimate food sources when your children face starvation
In a SHTF situation, and the subsequent breakdown of an effective police force anyone who has the knowledge can provide a steady supply of food to compliment their preparation supplies. I would suggest that you all recce your cities and make note of whats available, you may be surprised! I welcome debate and who like to hear your ideas on this subject. I may talk about methods and techniques if it does not offend anyones sensibilities.
Kind regards
Tartar Horde
RE: Urban Food in SHTF - bigpaul - 16 January 2012
I do not believe that "Hordes" of city dwellers will head for the countryside. most of your city dwellers are scared of the countryside, have never been there and would not have a clue if they ever got there. most city dwellers do not know where there food comes from nor do they care, as long as its in the supermarket when they go shopping thats all they worry about. after TSHTF most of your sheeple will expect NAY DEMAND that the govt comes to their rescue and it will be a long time before they realise their on their own. thats when the panic and the rioting will start.
RE: Urban Food in SHTF - NorthernRaider - 16 January 2012
I dont think for one second the millions of sheeple are fleeing the cities because they think there is food out in the countryside, they will start to leave after the cities food is used up, that is generally accepted to start after 3 days, because thats what the government tells us. IE the UK has three days of food reserves in the system and no reserves. Once the food has gone the sheeple will notice more the impact of no electricity such as no power to the house, no lights, no refrigerations, no water cos its pummped in all uk cities, no gas cos its pumped in uk cities and no central heating because of no power to run the ignitors or enouigh gas pressure. Then the sewage will start backing up and when the household water tanks run dry the toilets will stop flushing. No street lights means even less law and order and hunger will break any attempts at curfews. Most essestial public workers also have long since moved out to the burbs so no cops, medics, engineers etc. Plenty of rabbits, rats, cats , dogs and even deer in many cities, but whilst you are hunting them the rest of the city will be hunting you. The wildlife in the cities will probably not last a week at best. The average city dwelling twit wont be able to tell a fruit tree from a telegraph pole but they will know its wood and wood burns, the fruit trees will soon come down to heat the shivering herds of sheeple for a few days more. There will be plenty of fat well fed rodents, but imagine what they have gotten fat on, and what diseases and parasites they will have. Once the sewage syatems fail the rivers and water ways will soon see people shitting in the water ten yards from where someone is washing bloodied clothing or bandage not far from where a fool is getting a drink from.
Forgot to menmtion exactly how many calories will urban hunters spend to gather ever declining numbers of flying, crawling or wriggling calorie supplies ? You cant leave traps cos other humans will soon find them, so its the hunt, and you can last long on pigeon or rat without major vitamin suppliments, and as i said before everyone else will be watching you hunt and just waiting to stab, shoot or drop and old microwave oven onto your head to get your meagre rations.
And sorry again I forgot that rats are highly inteligent critters they only stay in the cities and sewers as long as we are so wasteful with our waste food, once that supply stops the rats will do what they did in Stalingrad in 43 and bugger off.
RE: Urban Food in SHTF - Scythe13 - 16 January 2012
I think you've raised an interesting point there Tartar Horde.
The animals in the cities will be much more easily caught. And you are right, people are moving away from cities more and more, pre SHTF. After a SHTF situation there will be such civil unrest that people will try to evacuate cities in search of areas of peace with no gangs. The city density will be a large issue though! I could imagine moving back towards a city a few months after a crash. You would have better vantage points and the alike. But I agree with NR about animals being in cities because of how wasteful we are with food. Once we stop wasting food, only animals that eat dead bodies will remain in the city.
The thought of fish in the ponds was one I didn't consider. I'm not a fan of fih anyway, which is probably why I never thought about them. But the city would be a great place for fruit trees. Only issue there is whether the fruit is in season. If it's not in season, we should be okay, because people probably won't be cutting the trees down as much as NR expects. I thiknk people will be looking for things like pallets and other stuff. Paper, cardboard, that kind of thing.
A city would become like a wasteland if the expected gang violence and the alike was to escalate to a point where buildings were being burned down and that kind of thing. In that state there would be no use for a city other than as a communial graveyard.
RE: Urban Food in SHTF - Tartar Horde - 16 January 2012
I would like to draw the distinction between hunting and trapping/netting. Northern Raider is right to bring up the issue of calories spent hunting during dwindling food resources. That is why trapping/netting should be your main focus, traps/nets work 24 hours a day, hunting only works while your a holding a weapon. It is far more efficient to trap than hunt and you can spread your efforts, whilst hunting you can only be in one place at a time. Having your trap etc discovered is a real possibility, but with a little bit of experience you can hide them as to be nearly invisible. I see the lack of street lights a blessing as ALL my activities would be at night, and with NV gear the night time is your friend wink wink. Northern Raiders concerns about sewage etc are serious concerns, but i'd like to think any prepper worth his salt would try to negate this. For those preppers who can't get out the cities Urban food may be the difference between life and death
RE: Urban Food in SHTF - Scythe13 - 16 January 2012
(16 January 2012, 12:43)Tartar Horde Wrote: For those preppers who can't get out the cities Urban food may be the difference between life and death
I'd put this as gospel.
There may come times when you simply can't leave. If the area you were in got too dangerous, to go outside, you could be trapped for a few days, maybe even a few weeks. I think you would need to hunker down and pretty much hide. Leaving only at night, and you'd have to move to a new location. It may be as short a distance as 4-5 blocks down the road. You'd need to set traps on the night you travelled to your new location, then check those traps twice a night. You need enough food to safely travel silently.
But I'd stick with having my beautiful EDC and GHB's near by.
Thinking about it. I'll probably start putting cache's into place, just in case of that!
RE: Urban Food in SHTF - Tartar Horde - 16 January 2012
Whille things are good and we have a wide range of supplies, it can be hard to think about eating things that are not on your everyday diet. It would be good to hear all your views on things you would consider eating if food was short. I would like to hear anyones opinion on things they have eaten, and what they thought about it.
RE: Urban Food in SHTF - NorthernRaider - 16 January 2012
Me, I will eat anything, not fazed by things like that, heck I would even eat a McDonalds if I was really desperate, but only after I have finsihed eating roadkill and going through bins first.
RE: Urban Food in SHTF - Scythe13 - 16 January 2012
(16 January 2012, 13:05)Tartar Horde Wrote: Whille things are good and we have a wide range of supplies, it can be hard to think about eating things that are not on your everyday diet. It would be good to hear all your views on things you would consider eating if food was short.
When it comes to food, I'm REALLY bad. Just ask AlyBear. I'll try most things, but I HATE fish!!! I remember being on a desert island and it got to a point where I actually liked the taste of tuna. Many of you are probably laughing at that, but I honestly HATE the taste of fish. Now that I have other options again, the taste of tuna, even when prepared the same way, makes me vomit. I can't even eat meat off the bone!!! It makes me want to spew. I'm not a vegetarian. I just don't like eating anything off the bone. Maybe it was a traumatic thing from childhood, I can't remember. But when it comes to everyday food, I'm really picky!!!
But that experience taught me that if I was hungry enough, I would end up eating most things, just to stay alive.
Weird things I've eaten include, ants, snake, crocodile, scorpion, spider, meal worms, fly burgers (shockingly nice), buffalo, and probably a few other things I've forgotten about. But there are things I wouldn't consider eating until I was in a SHTF scenario.
RE: Urban Food in SHTF - NorthernRaider - 16 January 2012
Mmmmm Buffalo testicles
