Food stockpile in case corona virus comes nearby


(charlie3) #1

If the corona virus gets going in my area I want the option of just staying home til it blows over. I live alone, in retirement mode, so easy option. There is no treatment, seniors (like me) are supposedly more vulnerable.

Before changing from SAD, to low carb whole food, I always kept weeks or a month of edible calories on hand just in case. SAD foods, especially oatmeal, would be comsumed before shelf life issues. Today I buy only whole foods so stocking is more complicated. I can pick up extra olive oil. I keep salmon and ground chuck in the freezer so I could max out on those. Heavy cream and eggs have a long shelf life in the frig so extra shouldn’t be a problem. I eat a large salad daily. I can store enough salad ingredients for 8-10 days. (Are there any ways besides salad dressing the olive oil can be used?) After the veggies run out I go carnivore. Is there anything I’m overlooking?


Keto disaster preparedness
#2

Peanut butter. I know it’s not super low carb, but if I ever needed to be in a survival situation it would be the item I would want. I know thats not what you are looking for. Lol. But it is the truth.

Tuna would be a good item.


(Susan) #3

I would stock up on canned meats, and some frozen vegetables like broccoli, green beans, frozen avocado chunks, meats as you said you have, even luncheon meats you could freeze, I have frozen and used butter, and cream cheese too (although they do last for a while in the fridge as well).

I would make sure you are stocked up on Kleenex, toilet paper, dish soap, body soap, shampoo, conditioner, cleaning supplies --these are all things I got prepared with when I knew that I could not shop for over a month -because my hubby had brain surgery Dec 16 and didn’t drive until Jan 10 so a few days before when I was doing my last shopping, I stocked up like crazy on all that stuff.

I had 12 dozen eggs and ran out, but there were 6 of us here, if you are on your own, then of course you use way less of all these things. I hope that you won’t be house bound, but if you are properly prepared, you should be fine. I would make sure you have enough coffee, tea, coconut oil, etc if you use those things as well =).


(charlie3) #4

Thanks, you mentioned a few things I overlooked. I suspect the CDC is understating the corona risks (and I’m in the higher risk groups). Chinese new year is absolutely the worst possible timing for this and the Chinese are being cavalier. Time will tell.


(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #5

I live in China. The Chinese people are not being cavalier. We’ve had 14 reported cases and no deaths in my city, and still the city is a ghost town. I’ll not comment on what the authorities are doing. Honestly I don’t have enough information to judge. But people are taking this seriously. I’m under 65, so not worried for myself. I don’t want to pass it to vulnerable people however. We’ll see what happens when the new year is over and people have to go back to work. Honestly, I’m more concerned about panic than I am the virus itself.


(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #6

Also, 12-60,000 people die from the flu in the United States alone every year. The deaths are usually from the same vulnerable population as this disease, and from the same cause, pneumonia. And while coronavirus does not have a treatment, the dangerous complications do. Just like with the flu, supportive care is real medical treatment that saves lives. I’m not saying there is no reason for concern. I’m saying there are far more dangerous things we live with every day. If people can prevent coronavirus from becoming the annual plague that the flu is, that would be fantastic.

But as someone who lives in a city with literally one in a million chance of getting a sickness statistically unlikely to cause more than a sniffle, I do wonder what the economic repercussions of shutting down an economy are. Are people more important than money. Absolutely. But when you lose your house because people are afraid, that’s real too. But here I am, buying drinking water every time I go to the store just in case there isn’t any next time I go and being thankful I’m fat adapted in case I need to fast.

But what do I know? Maybe everyone overcharging for face masks and vegetables will bolster the economy once the pestilence has passed.

March 19 edit to add… The facts haven’t changed, but they’ve become clearer. Sure, this is still comparable to the flu, but maybe to the 1919 flu. I hope not. I guess we’ll see in the fall. And do our best to keep others safe in the meantime.


#7

not sure if you like it but dried meat like jerky. dried salami logs and more.
just a thought for longer term storage
also stock that freezer just a bit more :slight_smile: never a bad call!


(Ellen ) #8

I’ve also thought about this in the sense of natural disaster’s. We still have PTSD from Sandy, supposedly a 100 year storm, but hurricanes are becoming more common here. I buy so many fresh foods this past 8 months I’ve wondered what to store to be ready for another storm. Good question you raise.


(Katie) #9

I big item to consider is water.

Your local water department might be contaminated… either stock pile a gallon of water per day or get a really decent filter system that can remove virus.

From experience living way out in the desert for months at a time, I can tell you that a gallon a day (on average) for all your needs is very realistic. No showers, but washing with sponge. Dishes cleaning, hand washing clothes, hair, cooking, and drinking.

The really excellent filter system I use is a berkey…but it won’t remove virus…for that I have a MSR guardian system.


(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #10

Yeah, I have a LifeStraw and some water purification chemicals in my go-bag, just in case. Water is the big thing.

Oh, and a container of pink salt. To make fasting easier if I have to do that.


#11

Every year, we end up with that one doozy of a snow storm (or ice storm). We’ll be snowed in for days at a time, lose power due to downed power lines. Had a couple transformers blow up nearby also.
Because of that, we’ve stockpiled batteries, flashlights, gasoline. While our freezers are currently full of beef, its no good if it becomes thawed during a power outage, so…I pressure can a LOT of beef every year to keep on hand----just in case. Canned meats are an absolute must in our house. Tuna, salmon, vienna sausages, dried beef sausages or jerky, kippers, corned beef…whatever. That is the stuff I’d go for, along with a few jars of ghee. I don’t eat the canned soups and such, but the rest of my family does- so I have a pretty hefty supply of those, along with canned beans, canned milk. powdered eggs, powdered milk, etc.
Our area had the “500 year rain” a couple years ago, washed out over 100 roads and bridges, and cut us off from town for quite some time- and we had no power for several days. (Fortunately, we didn’t have our freezers very full at that time, so we didn’t lose alot of the beef.) It happened on Father’s Day, so they refer to it as the Father’s Day flood around here. (I think there are still videos of it on YouTube.)


(Windmill Tilter) #12

In the unlikely event that the Corona virus turns into a global epidemic, remaining on a ketogenic diet probably won’t be a high priority. It’s a luxury not a necessity. A pretty cheap and simple hedge would be to buy a 50lb bag of rice, 50lb of dry beans, and a 5 gallon pail of lard. This is 300,000 calories, plenty of protein, and isn’t that different than what half the world eats anyway. It’s still miles better than SAD.

Assuming you have a couple lbs of fat left on you, this should comfortably buy you 6 months worth of food for about $100. If it turns out you don’t need it, donate the rice & beans, and use the lard for frying for the next year.

If you don’t already have a reverse osmosis water filter, this is a great excuse to buy one. Mine cost about $200, and it was incredibly simple to install. I think everybody should have one of these. Flint Michigan is the tip of the iceburg; water quality in the US is a problem nearly everywhere. It always baffles me when I see people dropping $500/month a Whole Foods for grass fed beef and organic products, but they drink tap water. Use this as an excuse to make a big health upgrade.

I’m not suggesting that any of this is necessary, just that if it’ll help you sleep better at night, it’s a pretty cheap way to have a “plan b”, (and a shameless plug for RO filters…) :yum:


(charlie3) #13

Corona virus sounds more disruptive than the typical flu season. Regardless it’s worth thinking about how to stockpile. For this situation I’m not providing for water or power failure. I stopped buying cheese, nuts and peanut butter because of snack abuse. The only snackable item I keep any more is eggs and I end up eating a few every day. I have canned meat in the house because I stopped eating it. So far it seems like the simplest thing is to plan for a few weeks of carnivore from eggs and frozen.


(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #14

A typical year sees deaths from the flu at 2500 a month in the US. That is spreading the deaths out over the year, and not confined to flu season. There have been under 60 reported deaths from this virus worldwide in the past month. Let’s assume tenfold underreporting. So worldwide deaths at 600 vs. 2500 in one country with a population density significantly lower than the epicenter of the currnent outbreak. How is that more disruptive?

Having something that triggers thinking about emergency planning ahead of time is a good thing regardless.

All I’m saying is Keep Calm and Vaccinate.


#15

that is what all the tv science shows spout til one day it is true
fun joke but hey, when will it go down? maybe sooner or way in the future?


#16

yup be a sheeple without our own thoughts to be who you are, what ya think ya think and if not interfering with others in any way but to be for you and how you see things happening, cant be right at all?? ugh
let others do their personal thing as long as it doesn’t hurt others, so in good form this is good form them. some say keep calm and vaccinate, others say prepare for the worst and do just that LOL all good


(Windmill Tilter) #17

The Chinese response to contain the virus has been pretty amazing. I don’t know if anything like it has ever occurred. Quarantining whole cities with a combined population of 50 million is kind of unprecedented. It’s not a particularly lethal virus, and the Chinese are doing everything possible, so I don’t think it will wind up being that bad.

That said, I think it’s reasonably likely something worse will happen in my lifetime. It’s probably not coincidence that the only level 4 lab in China with samples of the corona virus prior to the outbreak happens to be in Wuhan (where the outbreak originated). Ironically, since it’s the only level 4 lab in all of China, it’s also the only place where research can be done on creating a vaccine. There’s an “oops” story out there that we’re probably not going to hear.

In it’s current form, it’s not a particularly lethal virus (3% for coronvirus vs 10% for SARS), but the Chinese response has been breathtaking. Cities the size of Chicago are under quarantine, and the pictures of the streets are like ghost towns. Given how benign the virus is and the overwhelming response by the government has been, my guess is that they’re concerned that there is a very real possibility that the virus will mutate to a more lethal, or more easily transmissible form. Since the lab in Wuhan is one of the most advanced research facilities in the world, if they’re freaking out enough to cancel New Years, it’s worth keeping an eye on.

That said, this will probably all blow over in a few months and it will be contained, but I don’t take for granted that something more serious won’t happen over the next few decades. There are just too many labs out there with access to these kinds of viruses, and the science is getting easier, and easier to do for more an more countries. China alone intends to increase the number of level 4 labs from 1 to 7 by 2025. Accidents happen.

I’m not a prepper by any stretch, but I don’t think it’s irrational to have a plan B.


(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #18

Okay, I know I am the one who brought up vaccinations. But we are treading on dangerous ground here. Since I am the one who started it, I’ll try and end it too. We have different views on this. Let’s bring it back around to preparing for times when you can’t buy groceries and how to do that the best way for keto. Where ever you stand on a particular outbreak or other emergency planning, it is good to think ahead.

Sorry, @charlie3 for derailing your thread.


(Bob M) #19

The protein isn’t complete, or if it complete, it’s terrible. And this comes from someone who ate brown rice and beans for decades.

I think rice and beans can tide you over, but if you can get canned meats, even such like SPAM, the protein will be way better than what’s in rice+beans.


(Bob M) #20

One of the problems of using epi evidence to study vaccines is the “healthy user” effect:

This is BEFORE the “CDC Researchers Study Healthy User Bias” underlined part of the article.

If there is a vaccine for the corona virus, let’s hope they actually use RCTs to test effectiveness.