We in America are ruined. We have so many decisions at the grocery store that it is beyond the imagination that food won’t be there. Though there are several|many right here in the US who go to bed hungry on a regular basis, the true food shortages which have sparked riots in other nations have so far escaped the States. It is foolish to think we are immune forever.

Wendell Berry discussed in his book ‘The Unsettling of America’ 31 years ago that food was too necessary to be used as a weapon. People have ignored that idea for thirty years because – WE have food on the grocery shelves and it can’t be that bad.

Society looked the other way as dairy farmers struggled to hang on to herds of a pair hundred cows and maintain their lifestyle. It looked the other way again when small hog farmers were buried under 9 cent hogs, a price that meant ham alone brought twice what the entire pig cost. Some farmers gave hogs away as it might cost them to sell or keep them.

This eliminated many alternatives for our food. While we see now that with oil those who have it can, will, and do dictate the price folks don’t see the flashing neon sign that our food supply is in an identical scenario. Indeed, customers are for the most part so oblivious of it that they continue to get on cost, generating revenue for the few of company entities that hold the majority of our survival food storage.

Archer Daniels Midland – ADM – bills itself as’supermarket to the world’ and had a 67% increase in profits while Cargill – resented by little farmers around the world – had an 86% profit increase.

Most patrons haven’t a clue what some ingredients in their products truly are.
for example, sorbitol is a hydrogenated sugar alcohol derived from corn, which is used in sugarless gums and candy, as well as being an ingredient in polyurethane.

As one of the biggest processors of oil seed, ADM produces soybean powder and meal for human and animal use. Extracted from that’s a crude oil used not only for edible oils, plant oils and lecithin, but also for commercial oil, biodiesel, and polymers.

Cargill – enjoying record profits – has its hands in baked products, cereals, drinks from alcohol to soft drinks to fruit drinks, candy and chocolate, dairy, health and organic ( think sports drinks, vitamins ), meat and poultry, pharmaceuticals, prepared foods ( seasonings, jams/jellies, side and main dish mixes, puddings, sauces and masses more ) and snack foods. You won’t see ‘Cargill’ on grocery store shelves overtly labeled just like you will not see the other majority players, but it is’s there and much of what you eat comes from them.

Rest assured when it comes to maintaining those record profits that they are going to have that in mind before those too poor to buy their foods. Cotton farmers in India, pushed out by Monsanto cotton, have committed suicide at the chance of losing their livelihood, and farmers in numerous other nations do not even desire them as neighbors. If it comes to their finances or yours – theirs will take precedence. Monsanto and Cargill each own 50% of a corporation that markets genetically engineered foods globally.

Monsanto eagerly pushes farmers into courtrooms where a small farmer has no possibility of winning, whether or not they’ve ever planted their seed. One farmer was held accountable for planting their genetic altered seed on land he didn’t even own – which made no difference in the courtroom. Comprehensive power corrupts totally is an appropriate adage to describe what’s happening.

With these companies holding the vast majority of our food supplywhat occurs when they raise prices and demand more profits? We will do without fuel – but we will not do without food. Sadly, the headlights are approaching and Yank consumers don’t have any idea to move off the road.

Corporate America exists for one thing – Cash. They would give a token amount for charities but profit comes before anything. Lower costs drive the ‘reasons’ for GMO products, which the general public do not want to eat and farmers do not want near their fields.

If your checkbook is drained and they are showing record profits do you suspect they’ll barter with you as little farmers will? Do you believe they are going to feel sorry and say’here’s groceries until you get on your feet? Not going to occur – it cuts into their profit. Farmers have seen it – consumers don’t and are unaware of it.

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The types of emergencies that people should prepare for can include things like having no electricity for days because of a power outage. It can mean being prepared if there is a flood or a hurricane. Emergencies might also involve tornadoes, forest fires and sudden blizzards on a highway. But the fact remains that emergencies might also involve a house fire, a tire going flat while four-by-four driving in the mountains, or becoming lost on a camping trip. There are fifteen pieces of survival gear that will help a person in almost any emergency situation.

You never planned to get lost, the first time it happened. But that should have taught you to always have a map on hand of where you’re going, and make sure people know where you intend to be, at what time. If you don’t check in, they’ll know when to start to worry and where to look. A GPS receiver would help to have on hand, but you should also have a compass in your survival gear with your map. Keep a flashlight on hand. If you end up staying out after the sun sets, you’ll need light to keep from falling and hurting yourself. Emergency food rations will become important too, as time passes between your emergency and the last time you had a full meal.

What about extra clothing? You might think that what you have on is perfectly fine for a day of adventure. However, if there is an emergency, you might need the extra clothing. Even deserts get amazingly cold late at night and wearing layers is a good thing. You can use clothes for other purposes too, if the need arises. You have to stay warm and dry as much as possible. Rain gear can protect you from the wind as well as the rain, and can double as an insulating blanket or a shelter in a pinch. Sunglasses too are part of survival gear. How many times have you tried to see into the distance, in the direction of the sun, and found yourself blinded by the light reflecting off snow, water or fog? You have to be able to see clearly because your rescue could be right over that next hill.

First aid kits are important to include, especially ones that are compact but serve many purposes. Bandages, antiseptic salves and creams, and ways of treating burns, cuts and allergic reactions could be crucial at certain moments. A multi purpose tool is a good thing to have in our survival gear, as it might help us pry open food containers, build a shelter or an all important fire. The material to start a fire is also essential in survival gear. This could include waterproof matches, a lighter or a rod that one can purchase cheaply that can be scraped to shoot sparks onto a pile of dry grass or bark.

Surprisingly, it is easy to find ways to disinfect water so that it’s safe for drinking. If we can start a fire, we can boil the water underneath a piece of plastic or other solid container, and drink the condensation. There are also disinfection chemicals we can pack in our survival gear in case we haven’t been able to start a fire yet. Having a whistle is also important in case of an emergency. We might not be able to move but rescuers are looking for us and can’t hear us shouting. A shrill whistle sound would be sure to get their attention.

Packing a tarp or space blanket that can double as a survival shelter is important when we’re packing our survival gear. Parachute cord is also helpful but so would twenty five feet of rope. And the fourteenth item to add when we are packing our survival gear should be insect repellant. Bug spray can be used as fuel for fire if necessary, but being able to fend off infected ticks and biting insects is a plus all of its own.

The fifteenth and most important thing to pack into a kit full of survival gear is something a person can’t pack at all. That’s their will to survive. All of the above fourteen items are worthless if a person doesn’t have that will to live. Sometimes emergencies happen out of the blue. Having survival gear packed and ready for any situation that might arise will save a person’s life. But having the will to think smart, think ahead and be prepared is the most important survival tool of all.

When choosing survival knives for the survival gear catalog, consider the quality and functionality and not just how it looks.

Anyone who has ever spent quality time in the outdoors will understand that his survival knife is one of his best friends and the most closely guarded of his survival gear. Like a good friend, his survival knife should always be faithful.

How to Choose Survival Knives

The best survival knives are versatile in a variety of things. Common sense tells us that bulk and weight may be something to consider with any survival gear.

Many experienced survivalist believe that the ideal survival knife blade length is somewhere between four and six inches. This size blade offers good mix of control and size. Larger blades may be overkill and merely adds to the weight of the survival gear that you are carrying.

If a larger survival blade is needed then you would probably be better off packing a machete, axe, hatchet, or tomahawk.. In any case, you would be wise to carry a regular sized survival knife.

In addition to a survival knife with about a 5-inch blade, I like to carry a multi-tool (my favorite is the Leatherman) that has a smaller folding blade. This blade comes in handy for finer detail work that would be too cumbersome for the large knife.

If you DO need a larger blade knife of some sort, it could be helpful by adding an ax or a hatchet to your pack.

Survival Knives Different Blade Types

There are two main types of knife blades that the survivor need concern himself with, namely smooth and serrated. Serrated survival knife blades do well at cutting synthetic materials, clothing, and flesh. For self defense and paramedics, etc, serrated edges are a good choice.

A drawback to serrated cutting edges is that they are difficult to sharpen properly in the field. This is certainly a major drawback in a survival situation where maintaining a keen edge during hard use is vitally important. In addition, serrated knives do not have an efficient blade for chopping and carving.

For most survival situations, a plain smooth edged blade is the blade of choice. Such a blade is useful for cutting, carving, and chopping. Though it may not slice through nylon webbing, clothing, or flesh as efficiently as a serrated blade, the straight bladed knives will still make short work of these materials.

The added advantage of the regular blade is that you can sharpen your survival knife on a rock or piece of concrete whereas the serrated blade generally needs a special sharpening device and technique.

On the back of many survival knives are a saw meant for sawing through metal or wood. In too many cases, as in the Rambo type knives, these saws typically do not perform well. If you require a small saw in your survival gear you would do well to add a tool specifically designed for this rather than use your knife for this purpose.

The Thickness of Knife Blade

The best survival knife will have a blade thickness of between 5/32 and 8/32 of an inch. Thinner blades becomes too flexible and with thicker blades, it is more difficult to do the finer work.

It is important that the tip of the knife maintains its strength, as this is a likely area the knife is likely to fail.

Survival Knives Material Types

High quality survival knives uses two main types of steel

* Stainless Steel knife blades work especially well in wet environments because they are rust resistant. They require less care than the carbon steel knives. Drawbacks to using stainless steel in knives is that they tend to be more expensive, are more difficult to sharpen, and may not hold an edge as well.
* Carbon Steel knife blades will rust if not used regularly or coated. Many feel carbon bladed knives hold an edge better than their stainless steel counterparts.

Tang Survival Knives
When you are looking at a survival knife, with a good knife,the steel running all the way to the end of the handle.  This kind of construction is known in the knife world as “full tang” or “narrow tang”.You want the metal part of your knife to be called narrow tang or full tang.

* Full tang survival knives are made so that the blade merges into the handle. Usually two slabs of material are attached to both sides of the metal.
* Narrow tang survival knives is where the steel is narrower and is surrounded completedly by the handle.  A handle is then attached over the narrower piece of the knife.

Cheap survival knives are often made so that the metal blade is separate from the handle. The weak point on these badly made knives is where the blade and handle are bolted and glued together. Avoid a cheap knife, but it is best to get full tang or narrow tang models.

Survival knives, there are thousands on the market and many are good quality products and are sold in military surplus stores. When choosing the best survival knife for your needs you make certain you do not skimp.  Just remember, once in the field the knife you carry with you will be the only survival knife you have on hand. Pick a survival knife that you can rely on, is well made, is strong enough for rough field use, will serve you well for years to come, and is the best you can afford.In the end, your life may depend on it.