Can You Survive Without Meat When The SHTF?, by Ken Gallender
I’d
like
to
start
this
article
with
saying
that
I
am
not
a
tree
hugger.
I
love
meat,
eggs,
cheese
and
fish.
I’m
not
trying
to
convince
anyone
to
quit
hunting
and
fishing.
I
have
been
an
outdoorsman
my
entire
life.
I
drive
and
use
4×4
trucks
and
ATVs
every
week.
I
just
want
to
impart
what
has
profoundly
changed
my
life.
I
have
given
a
lot
of
thought
to
how
we
would
survive
and
provide
the
protein
requirements
for
my
family
if
suddenly
we
were
faced
with
the
prospect
of
having
no
supermarket
or
source
of
meat
and
dairy
products.
I
keep
fish
traps,
gill
nets,
minnow
seines,
etc.
as
a
silent
means
of
catching
fish
and
crayfish
(“freshwater
lobster”).
I
also
keep
traps
for
small
game.
I
recently
learned,
quite
accidentally,
that
you
can
not
only
survive,
but
actually
thrive
in
the
absence
of
meat,
dairy,
and
fish.
I
learned
that
with
the
exception
of
vitamin
B-12
you
can
eat
just
one
food
and
sustain
yourself
for
a
lifetime.
That
food
is
the
sweet
potato.
You
only
get
B-12
from
the
bacteria
in
your
food,
it
is
not
found
in
the
meat
and
dairy
products,
only
the
bacteria
consumed
by
the
animals
and
winds
up
in
the
meat
and
dairy.
Cheese
is
full
of
bacteria.
To
get
the
vitamin
D
your
body
needs
is
easy.
Go
stand
in
the
sun
with
your
face
and
arms
exposed
10
or
15
minutes
a
week.
You
can
get
all
you
need
taking
a
short
stroll
every
day.
As
I
entered
middle
age,
I
became
obese
and
no
matter
what
I
tried,
I
was
unable
to
drop
the
weight
in
any
meaningful
amount.
I
developed
high
blood
pressure
and
Type
2
diabetes.
My
ankles
would
swell
to
the
size
of
softballs
after
a
day
at
my
desk.
My
knees
hurt
and
my
activity
was
severely
limited.
I
was
80
lbs.
overweight.
I
started
researching
my
diabetes
and
I
discovered
a
video
of
Dr.
John
McDougall
and
watched
his
video
on
YouTube
titled
Stop
Eating
Poison.
I
watched
in
disbelief
at
what
he
said
and
it
was
directly
opposite
of
what
my
doctors
advised,
and
everything
I
have
heard
and
read
for
the
past
30
years.
I
have
spent
years
not
eating
anything
that
had
a
carbohydrate
in
it.
I
ate
huge
amounts
of
chicken,
eggs,
cheese,
green
vegetables,
etc.
I
never
lost
weight.
I
started
intermittent
fasting
where
I
consumed
nothing
other
than
unsweetened
coffee
and
tea,
three
days
in
a
row
each
week.
I
once
went
on
a
7-day
fast
and
guess
what,
I
was
still
80
lbs.
overweight.
Sure,
I
would
lose
4
or
5
pounds
here
and
there,
but
nothing
substantial.
According
to
Dr.
McDougall,
you
can
obtain
all
the
protein,
and
more,
that
you
need
eating
rice,
potatoes,
corn
and
legumes
(beans).
He
recommends
avoiding
all
processed
oils
(olive,
corn,
peanut,
etc.).
It
turns
out
that
the
oil
blocks
the
insulin
from
doing
its
job.
I
thought
about
what
he
said
and
decided
to
give
it
a
try
as
I
had
nothing
to
lose.
I
now
eat
no
meat,
dairy,
eggs,
cheese,
or
processed
oils.
I
started
on
March
30,
2021
eating
exactly
as
he
suggested.
In
less
than
six
months,
I
have
lost
60
lbs.,
no
longer
need
medications
of
any
kind,
my
ankles
no
longer
swell
and
my
aches
and
pains
from
getting
older
(age
67)
are
all
but
gone.
I
can
actually
look
over
my
shoulder
and
check
for
oncoming
traffic
and
no
longer
depend
on
the
truck
mirrors.
When
I
reach
my
desired
goal
of
175
pounds,
I
plan
to
add
nuts
and
avocados
to
stop
the
weight
drop
and
thus
maintain
my
weight.
I
eat
all
the
potatoes,
rice,
beans,
corn,
pasta,
bread
(with
limited
or
no
fat),
and
fruits
that
I
desire.
Sure,
I
sometimes
miss
the
grilled
meat
and
fried
fish
and
I
may
partake
of
them
from
time
to
time
in
the
future.
The
meat
will
only
be
on
occasion
(Thanksgiving,
Christmas,
etc.).
The
key
to
this
is
that
you
are
never
hungry.
I
live
on
a
tract
of
land
in
the
middle
of
the
city
limits.
My
city
has
a
huge
population
of
welfare
hippos
and
a
thriving
drug
culture.
I
realized
that
it
would
be
impossible
for
me
to
keep
livestock
and
chickens
in
a
true
Stuff
Hits
the
Fan
(SHTF)
scenario.
Three
days
after
the
shelves
become
empty,
my
animals
would
disappear.
If
I
had
to
evacuate
to
a
safer
area,
I
can
carry
large
quantities
of
rice,
beans,
pasta,
flour,
etc.
Carrying
and
caring
for
animals
would
be
a
different
story
altogether.
It
would
also
be
better
to
not
have
roosters
crowing
in
your
yard,
while
people
are
running
around
starving.
A
good
book
is
The
China
Study
by
T.
Colin
Campbell.
It
is
an
excellent
read
concerning
primarily
starch-based
diets.
If
you
need
additional
calories,
you
can
buy
lard
that
keeps
and
stores
well.
Lard
added
to
any
dish
will
vastly
multiply
the
calories
of
the
dish.
The
first
question
most
of
you
are
now
thinking
is,
“I
don’t
think
I
could
give
up
meat,
dairy,
eggs,
and
cheese”.
Just
try
it
for
one
week.
It
is
easier
than
you
think.
If
you
are
suffering
from
the
effects
of
the
American
“Western”
diet,
this
is
your
opportunity
to
get
well.
There
is
nothing
I
like
better
than
meat
cooked
in
my
smoker,
fried
catfish,
French
fries,
etc.
But
in
a
SHTF
scenario
I
can
live
and
thrive
without
it.
Food
Storage
Everyone
has
their
way
of
storing
food.
Pre-packaged
freeze-dried
food
is
an
easy
but
expensive
way
to
store
food.
I
find
that
using
food-grade
5-gallon
buckets
with
sealable
screw
lids
are
the
best
for
me.
They
are
air
and
watertight
and
easy
to
seal.
You
can
also
easily
check
the
contents
to
make
sure
that
there
is
no
spoilage.
They
can
be
stacked
[up
to
four
high,
without
damaging
the
lids],
and
the
size
and
weight
are
manageable.
The
large
food
grade
barrels
with
gasketed
lids
are
a
good
option,
but
try
moving
one
that
is
full
of
dry
corn,
wheat,
or
rice.
They
are
unwieldly
even
with
a
hand
truck.
You
would
need
a
tractor
with
a
front
bucket
to
even
get
them
into
a
truck
or
trailer.
Now
imagine
trying
to
catch
and
load
up
your
animals.
My
two
dogs
are
a
handful,
but
at
least
they
will
readily
hop
in
the
truck.
You
also
have
to
carry
food
and
water
for
the
animals
and
have
food
readily
available
at
your
destination.
Planned
Barter
and
Reality
We
all
romanticize
about
bartering
and
growing
our
gardens
and
harvesting
eggs
after
the
collapse.
If
you
think
this
is
going
to
happen
you
are
delusional.
Pick
any
major
us
city
(New
Orleans,
Chicago,
Baltimore,
St
Louis,
Memphis,
etc.)
and
visit
the
local
WalMart
and
hang
out
for
a
couple
of
hours.
After
the
two
hours
is
up,
you
need
to
think
what
your
world
is
going
to
look
like
after
these
people
miss
their
9th
meal.
As
soon
as
they
realize
they
can’t
eat
big-screen
televisions,
Louis
Vuitton
handbags,
and
Nike
tennis
shoes;
they
will
hear
your
rooster
crowing
and
smell
the
smoker
cooking.
We
also
romanticize
about
taking
our
bug-out
bags
and
trusty
rifle
and
heading
to
the
woods.
Guess
what,
you
aren’t
the
only
one
with
that
idea.
It
won’t
take
long
for
virtually
every
deer,
rabbit,
and
squirrel
to
disappear.
You
can’t
carry
enough
food
in
a
backpack
to
last
more
than
a
week
or
so.
Who
in
your
immediate
family
is
capable
of
carrying
a
loaded
backpack
more
than
100
yards?
For
the
cost
of
preserving
a
pound
of
meat,
you
can
store
50lbs
of
rice.
Rice
is
11%
protein.
Your
body
doesn’t
care
if
it
the
protein
is
from
a
cow
or
a
grain
of
rice.
What
about
calcium?
You
can
get
calcium
from
the
same
place
that
the
cow
gets
theirs.
It
is
in
the
plants
we
eat.
Plants
pull
it
from
the
soil
and
store
it.
When
you
eat
the
plants,
you
get
the
calcium.
Just
like
me,
I’m
certain
that
you
are
having
a
hard
time
wrapping
your
head
around
the
fact
that
you
can
live
quite
well
in
the
absence
of
eating
meat,
dairy,
eggs,
and
fish.
But
in
a
SHTF
scenario,
you
have
to
think
of
staying
alive
and
healthy.
If
you
are
60
lbs
overweight,
do
you
think
you
can
put
up
much
of
a
fight?
Try
crawling
under
your
truck
to
work
on
it,
try
getting
up
after
you’ve
been
on
your
knees
changing
a
flat.
I
want
to
stress,
I
love
meat,
cheese,
eggs,
bacon
and
fish.
But
I
also
love
recovering
my
health
and
vitality.
Much
of
my
youth
was
spent
on
my
grand
parent’s
farm.
We
had
cows,
chickens
and
a
huge
garden.
I
probably
still
sweat
bacon
grease.
But
in
a
SHTF
scenario,
I
can
quietly
feed
my
family
and
should
the
need
arise,
evacuate
with
enough
food
to
sustain
us
at
our
destination.
With
beans,
rice,
and
dried
potatoes,
you
can
store
a
huge
amount
for
very
little
cost.
SurvivalBlog
has
many
articles
that
you
access
to
learn
how
to
store
food
so
I
will
not
go
into
detail
on
how
to
do
it.
Good
luck,
and
pass
the
potatoes.
About
The
Author
Ken
Gallender
is
the
author
of
the
Jernigans
War
novel
series.