ZetaTalk: Starvation

[Gerard Zwaan]

Note: written Dec, 2002

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In many parts of the world, diet is restricted to what the community can grow for themselves, or catch, or kill in the forests or grasslands. There may be berries in the summer, but not in winter, fresh vegetables in the summer, in season, but only dried roots in the winter, essentially dehydrated for preservation. Meat may arrive only occasionally, after a successful hunt, and be cause for celebration. Where the community is close to fishing, rivers or lakes or perhaps the seashore, a steady diet of fish can be expected in some manner. Modern man has grown accustomed to the super market, where fresh produce from around the world is in abundance, available. If not fresh, he has come to expect frozen foods of great variety, or dried, so that his diet is without seasons and can span the world. Bored with simply doing away with the seasons, modern man experiments with recipes from different cultures - Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Indian. What will this modern man find he has to EAT, after the shift, when the super markets are looted and no new distributions on the way? We will address this by population type, as the results vary:

• Those in the cities, who have lost of never had experience with gardening and herdskeeping, or fishing in the wild which requires skill, will have the rudest shock. First, they will be isolated in their cities by the destruction around them, such that they cannot easily travel to the country side. Second, food will run out in the cities, such that the starving survivors look about them, and even at each other, hungrily. Most will starve, getting weaker and sicker until death overtakes them. Those who give in to the urge to cannibalize will soon die also, simply because the food source will run out. Thus, growing food in the cities is not a valid subject, as such an activity won't exist.

• Those in the suburbs, who have land about them and are perhaps conjoining the countryside, will at first deplete their personal stores, the local food markets, and then begin roaming into the countryside. The family pets will get killed and roasted, and that fat so much desired to be shed will be used just to keep the body going for many months. Eventually, suburban families will need to learn to forage, turning over logs in the woods to look for grubs and worms, and attempting to fish in streams or rivers. Catching small mammals such as rats, which eat just about anything, will also be a food source children may catch, in their desperation, and may even eat raw if the parents are dulled by madness. Earthworms can eat sewage, and rotting material, but this is not a voluminous production, so should not be expected to feed a community from their own sewage. Thus, survival in the suburbs, or growing food, will become a foraging practice by those able.

• Those in the country, who farm, or are familiar with gardening and hunting practices, will take a different tack from the start. The farmer with cattle will soon find that his cattle are getting thin, staggering about from hunger, and will eat the herd to thin it out. Thus, the farmers in the area will finally conclude that certain animals are more useful than others, in the Aftertime. Chickens eat bugs, forage for themselves, and come home to lay their eggs if given a safe and private roost. Ducks likewise eat whatever grows in or around ponds, which will be numerous in the drizzle, and don't require a dry spot to roost. Goats, which eat anything, and pigs which root in the ground for whatever might be edible, can likewise be kept within limits if the surrounding country can sustain them. Some vegetation will struggle along, weeds which are hardy, and plants that grow in the gloom or dim light normally. If the group had not researched and anticipated this environment, but find themselves without seed or seedlings for dim light gardens, then they will be chewing on weeds for an alternative to grubs and whatever they can catch to roast over a small evening fire. Farmers are naturally resourceful, being at the lower rungs of the ladder in all supposedly civilized cultures, and will adapt. If a particular weed grows well, proves to be edible, the farmer will husband this, grow it, protect it from wildlife, and sell it. Thus, growing food in the country is possible, depending upon the adaptability of the farmers in the area.

• Coastal survivors will have access to harvest from the oceans. Fish will flourish in the oceans, so survival communities on coastlines should relay upon this are a first resource. Those communities may tire of fish, so experiment with seaweed recipes for variety, and go inland to trade with other communities who will value dried or preserved fish. Inland, fish in the native ponds and riverways will likewise survive, but not in numbers greater than the environment can sustain. What do these fish eat? Algae, duck weed, bugs that live on slime in the waterways. All this is dependent somewhat on sunlight, as the base is vegetation in the waterways. Thus, native fish may actually be in reduced numbers if in gloomy areas, and be considered a prize when caught. For those farmers turning to aquaculture, where plants can be grown in human sewage, and then fed to the fish or livestock, this will prove to be a renewable resource that adds to the food banks. Here again, the key is light, as to turn sewage into food, one needs plants that require at least some light.

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Source: ZetaTalk: Starvation

[Ocean Rider]

The Zetas say that many volcanoes will erupt, MANY!! That will cover the Earth with ash, gases and not able to have sunlight, so how can we survive to that? The water, the fields will be contaminated, nothing will grow without sunlight, from what I read it will take years???? Not even talking about the hazards of power plants, will they get destroyed like Fukushima?? They are near the water and with the water rising, with earthquakes, tsunamis, high winds and God only knows what... most likely it will happen the same like in Japan.. or worse, so... again, how can we survive to that?

Just wondering....

Thank you!

[1g6urmjh28e4q]

 

The zeta message is that preparing for the shift is the method that will allow survival. Our family has moved to a rural place and growing food plants. This is a process and starting is the key. The pictures that I had of what it would entail are different from the reality of actually making it wotk. Preparing and growing gardens have a learning curve that involve changes in how to proceed. Each location has advantages and seasonal issues, adapting to the opportunities in your area take time to develop your unique successful outcomes. The advice from the Zetatalk to move to your safe location and get calloused hands, is the most important issue of this challenge.

[39ochn68x3t1c]

To Ocean Rider, and everyone: Phytoremediation is the removal of metal / radiation from the soil.  I just googled it for lead, found an excellent research paper:

http://www.civil.northwestern.edu/EHE/HTML_KAG/Kimweb/MEOP/INDEX.HTM

Also, in the table below, mentions Mustard, sunflower, corn which along with beans and hemp, remove radiation from soil. ferns, like the ones that grow in the forest remove aresenic. I personally have been collecting seeds as above, and plan to clean my gardens if possible before growing in them. once the plants are growing I will salt the ground with clay to continue to remove toxins from the rain water. Also baking soda is the only substance that I've found that will bind with uranium, making it inert and it will sweeten the soil, like lime. Additionally, you dont want to eat these plants, nor feed them to the wildlife if possible. They should be treated like hazardous materials and disposed of safely.

Hyperaccumulators of Lead

There are at least 400 known metal hyperaccumulators in the world; however, a limited number of these are Pb2+ hyperaccumulators.  The hyperaccumulation of lead is rare due to the limited free lead (Pb2+) available in soil for absorption.  As previously mentioned, lead is �molecularly sticky� in that is forms Pb complexes with organic matter, sorbs on clay and oxide particles, and precipitates as carbonates, hydroxides, and phosphates (McBride, 1994).  Since lead bonds strongly with soil minerals and organic matter, it is difficult for plants to extract it from the soil and into its roots.  Once lead is absorbed by the plant, it complexes with plants nutrients limiting its ability to be translocated to the harvestable shoots.

 Table 4.2.  Selected Lead Accumulating Plants

Scientific Name	Common Name
Armeria maritima	Seapink thrift
Ambrosia artemisiifolia	Ragweed
Brassica juncea	Indian mustard
Brassica napus	Rape, Rutabaga, Turnip
Brassica oleracea	Flowering/ornamental kale & cabbage, Broccoli
Festuca ovina	Blue/sheep fescue
Helianthus annuus	Sunflower
Thlaspi rotundifolium	Pennycress
Triticum aestivum	Wheat (scout)
Zea mays	Corn

From current research, there is evidence that various plant species have the ability to absorb Pb2+ into the roots and translocate it from the roots to the shoots.  Table 4.2 lists some of the lead accumulating plants found by phytoremediation researchers.  The background concentration of lead in plant tissue is 10 mg/g; therefore the hyperaccumulation of lead is defined as >1000 mg/g.  Vegetation growing in extremely Pb contaminated sites often have less than 50 ppm Pb in the shoots (Cummingham et al., 1995).  Research has shown that even the best Pb2+ accumulating plants could hardly accumulate a shoot Pb2+ concentration greater than 0.1% in their shoots when grown in Pb2+ contaminated soils without the addition of any amendments (Huang et al., 1997a).  The most frequently cited Pb2+ hyperaccumulator is the cultivar Thalspi rotundifolium (L.) Gaud.-Beaup which can obtain a shoot concentration of 8500 mg/g (Reeves and Brooks, 1983).  Unfortunately, this Thalspi species has a small biomass and a slow growth rate, which makes it unsuitable for phytoremediation.  Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. also demonstrated the ability to accumulate lead to a higher degree.  When the plant was grown in a nutrient solution that had a high concentration of soluble lead as much as 1.5 % Pb2+ was found in the shoot tissues (Kumar et al., 1995).  However, this lead-tolerant plant showed little ability to translocate lead in its shoots when it was grown in soils where Pb2+ bioavailability was limited.  Therefore, in immediate applications it will be necessary to harvest the roots as well as the shoots of these plants.

[chelly k]

astrogal50 you are absolutely correct in saying that, " STARVATION will be the biggest problem facing everyone after the Pole Shift". Right now for example... say you don't feel like cooking dinner for the family tonight, so maybe 

you'll  order a pizza or get a bucket of chicken.  You know; something quick and easy.  This is our mindset!!!! We have to change this and get into gardening, having goats and chickens. Get prepared before the Pole Shift. This should be our new  MINDSET!!! I know this is hard! But if we want to survive after the Pole Shift, WE HAVE TO DO THIS!!!!! Stay safe my ning friends ;-)!!!

[39ochn68x3t1c]

I keep telling my husband, I want chickens, I want turkeys! I think he's wearing down lol. there's all this talk of having farm animals, cow vs. goats, people saying they cant afford to feed their chickens in the trying times, I say, you cant afford not to feed your chickens. No one talks about turkeys! my goodness, if I only had turkeys I'd die a happy woman!  I need to figure out how to start having turkeys! The animals you keep should be like your extra family, their survival is so necessary to your ultimate prosperity! When all is said and done, how will we manage the animal husbandry? I recall years ago a "chicken fanatic" friend pointing out inbred chickens, with physical deformities and defects. Is it too much to hope we can plan for this?

[Michael Herrmann]

So, where will there be light, sun? I live in the SW, New Mexico.

astrogal50 said:

Starvation is the absolute, biggest problem facing everyone who hopes to survive not only the pole shift but the precursor events as well.  The "8" of 10 events may involve disruption of food deliveries, so the Zetas' advice to get to a rural safe location earlier rather than later is excellent advice indeed (if at all possible).

[Kris H]

Here's another ZT entry that applies here:

 

Humans hearing dread warnings tend to think in terms of escape routes and stocking up and hunkering down. The cataclysmic situations they encounter include tornadoes (hunker down), hurricanes (escape and stock up), droughts or shortages (stock up). The pole shift will present survivors with long term needs, not anticipated.

• We advise thinking about Third World conditions and adaptations, or live 100 years ago for those living in highly industrialized nations. This give the picture of continuing struggle. You don't plant seed to grow for this season, you save 10% for seed stock next year. You don't eat your livestock altogether, when hungry, you save your best pairs and breed for the future, going hungry now if need be! You think of the minimum that you will need, not the optimal and how to arrange for it. When you've got the minimum, start adding to that, but only when the minimum is addressed. This is where humans fail the most in planning for the shift, and life afterwards. They think of their life now, and come down from that. They should start with life with nothing, but bugs and sucking dirty water up from the ground with their hands. No clothes. No heat. Nothing. Then add what is needed most, and first. Heat, shelter, then food, bugs if need be or weeds, then how to clean your food so you can stop that tummy ache and constant pooping, then how to grow or gather food more effectively. Start from that, adding what is needed to clean water and eat food nature will provide, live bugs aplenty, and go from there, and you will have a better plan.

• Humans wishing to survive the starvation and disease that will be rampant after the shift should consider first their general state of health. Those who are in good health, exercise and have most importantly a good attitude, will be in the best position to survive. As many doctors and caretakers will report, the will to live is prime for survival. Patients expected not to see the morrow live and recover, while those without serious injury or disease succumb! It is time for the populace planning to survive to lift their eyes to the future, past the shift, to the years afterwards. This is not without hope, not without excitement, and seeing beyond a travail helps to survive it. Eating well, of natural foods that you will perforce be required to consume in the Aftertime, will acclimate your body to what is to come. Being in good shape, with exercise, will prevent fatigue from becoming a discouragement.

• Becoming overweight to store food is counter productive if the general health is adversely affected. The body has capabilities most in civilized countries do not realize, as during starvation use of nutrients is altered accordingly. The body becomes weak, energy lagging, but the ability to survive a long spell is increased. An attitude of hope, expectation that things will get better, and a sense of excitement about what might be around the corner will do more for survival than layers of fat. Consider that a plump person will run slowly, be easily caught, and would be considered a good meal by some groups looking to cannibalize. Consider also that overweight individuals would also be subject to being left behind by a group on the move, or to be a good meal by hungry dog packs or wolves. Can they carry their pack? Are they resented for the food they have gorged themselves with before hand? There are many factors to be considered.

http://www.zetatalk.com/poleshft/p135.htm

 

I have been able to cut my eating down to one medium/large meal a day, and just small snacks to cover the rest of the day.  (I'm not small either, 6'1", 200lbs.)  Small hunger pangs don't really bother me, and the larger ones go away with a small snack.  Granted, I'm not burning a ton of calories right now either, but it will probably help me to learn how to handle going without food for a while if I have to later.  I haven't moved to natural foods either, but have tried to prepare for that mentally.  Same with non-traditional sources of food (bugs, etc.).  Remember, you can plug your nose and not taste them!  :)

[Derrick Johnson]

Here is some Zeta Talk about the light situation for the plants after the pole shift and for those of you who think all the plants will die  "It is possible even under clouds to get a sunburn, so clouds are not a death sentence to vegetation"

 

http://www.zetatalk.com/poleshft/p02.htm

The Earth of the future will clear up. There are several factors that affect the Earth's health. For one, the cataclysms will make changes. The Earth's population will reduce by 90%. Polluting practices, such as burning oil and chemical additives, will essentially stop. Life, such as continues, will be primitive. Massive land changes will occur, with land rising from the ocean depths and existing land sinking below the sea. Rain fall will be almost continuous, washing the newly raised land of its salts. Pollutants, such as chemical processing plants, will be dispersed worldwide. And the atmosphere, with its many problems, will be reformed afresh.

• The Earth recovers from a shift in relationship to its location relative to active volcanoes, in the main. The skies clear first where this dust is in the high altitudes, not in the wind-drift from fresh ash just raised. 5 years after the shift, even 2 years after the shift, some sporadic sunlight will warm the Earth. Those areas not getting direct, unclouded, sunlight will notice an increase in intensity, through the clouds. It is possible even under clouds to get a sunburn, so clouds are not a death sentence to vegetation. 10 years after the shift, many parts of the globe will consider themselves back to normal, although their memory will be failing them in this regard. So much better than before, that it seems like heaven! Other parts of the globe, in the down-drift from volcanoes, will feel like Moses, enduring 40 years in the Valley of Death, where nothing lives.

• Edibility and availability of native weeds and grasses after the shift, as a source of food for humans and livestock and even wildlife, depends upon the location, entirely. In some parts of the world, life will virtually close down. This is near volcanoes, under the drifting ash, or where polar cold descends. In other parts of the world, there will within two years be abundant grasses or weeds. For instance, the new land emerging between Antarctica and Africa, will be moist, temperate, highly fertile, and without competition from livestock or seed from most weeds. Any seed landing there will flourish!

• In areas not in the path of volcanic ash, but affected by the overall gloom, one might estimate a 50% reduction in sunlight and crop success. For instance, if a crop needed strong sunlight to flourish, it might barely get to producing seed before the season ends. In nature, this would reproduce the weed, but for crops, it would not be a return. Survivors will soon find what crops manage to give a return, and what not! Another factor is rot, the moisture level, which will be extreme. Mold will be everywhere, dampness, bugs, and those crops that tolerate damp conditions coming through, others failing utterly. Root crops, where they provide a survivor in the evolution chain due to the energy in these roots or tubers, do not do well enough after a pole shift due to the wet ground and mold about.

• Also, consider the wildlife and bugs, which are likewise hungry. Food under the surface can be reached and eaten while the exhausted humans sleep, where fences are less likely to be breached. This is not an easy answer, as it depends so much on local, and what each survivor or group is familiar with planting and harvesting, so the variables are immense. If a crop can be grown in the dim, the damp, and is not susceptible to mice or moles, yet carries nutrition, it is a winner! Remember, likewise, that you can eat bugs, if they manage to eat your crops!

• Trees will in the main die, as they do not have stores of energy that can be tapped, and rely on annual sunlight to maintain those portions of themselves that are live. Then how do trees survive, shift after shift? Seedlings, in fact, survive better, and many seeds do not sprout until years later. It only takes a few sprouting seeds to perpetrate the species. Seedlings are tiny compared to the giant parent, and thus can move along with fewer nutrients. In fact, it is the seedling trees, growing a few years after the shift, that should be nurtured, not the dying parents. Just as after a forest fire, these are the trees of the future!

 

[Derrick Johnson]

Here is additional Zeta Talk about starvation after the shift

http://www.zetatalk.com/ning/30ap2011.htm

I was wondering what will be the major factor that results in so many people dying due to starvation after the pole shift. Is it purely due to a lack of food or is it because the people do not know how to find food in the wilderness or sheer panic and confusion prevents them approaching everything logically? How long do we need to wait inland after the poleshift before we can travel to the sea for fishing? I know the sea level will begin to rise after the poleshift but will there be more tsunamis after the poleshift and if so for how long?

We have described our projection on how various groups will survive after the pole shift. Those in the cities will be starving when food distribution ceases. Those in the suburbs may learn to forage. If prescient enough to have started gardens, learning to save seed, and keeping chickens prior to the pole shift, they may not have to eat rats and weeds. Those along the new coastlines may learn to engage in fishing, provided they have boats and fishing equipment and the necessary skill sets. And rural areas inland will likely expand their existing production into those areas best adapted to the Aftertime gloom.

Your question on why starvation will be rampant is thus best answered by the fact that half the world's population lives in cities, and food production in the remnants of the cities will be virtually impossible. Food distribution will halt. For those who think that foraging is the answer, the wilderness will only sustain so much. Wildlife will be hunted to the point of extinction. Not all vegetation is edible, and wild vegetation that is edible will be eaten to the point that there is little to find. Where bugs are edible, these too are not an infinite resource. Foraging will only work to preclude starvation if the number of survivors foraging are limited to what the area can sustain, and if the climate is such that long winters will not make foraging impossible for months at a time.

Fishing along the new coastlines, which will move inland, will provide fish and kelp and seaweed for those who can get this into operation. But the majority of people moving inland away from the rising waters will not have the skill sets required, and they will often be in numbers that cannot be sustained by those who are successful in bringing food in from the oceans. Imagine a crowd of thousands of people picking up their tarp cities and moving inland, time after time, each time increasing in number. A boat returns with fish and seaweed, and is mobbed by the starving multitude. Thus in those locales close to where major cities were located, where the survivors are without skills and simply sit about waiting to be served a meal, even living on the coastlines will not prevent starvation.

We have advised that those serious about survival move inland into rural areas not heavily populated, where farms and gardens are already in operation. They should certainly not simply live there, expecting to be fed, but get their own family operation going with gardens and if possible keeping chickens and goats or some similar herd of domesticated animals. If the land can support a fish pond, so much the better. Even moving to those rural areas where mass production of food is in process today will be of benefit, as when distribution to the cities ceases,

[David Ian Swan]

    Actually shelter can be the first priority.  You can die quickly from exposure even if you have food.  So you have to get out of the rain, and maybe cold.  Even in a hot climate trying to live "outside" could be very difficult.   See "Tents"....

   Then you have to cook your food.. no use having a stock of grain if you can't  prepare and cook it.  So there is fuel and pots to think of.

  And then there is water.. even if you have it.. it can be dangerous to drink.  Lead may be a longer term issue, but contaminated water will make you sick VERY quickly.

  So survival is a package.. a system.   And longer term survival is a whole new issue... after your supplies run out...

  Lots of advice right here on the ning...prepare , prepare and prepare...

[39ochn68x3t1c]

@ David: grains, like wheat can be sprouted and eaten, hopefully starting with organic grains. I havent tested other kinds. There are solar ovens used in poor countries, no fuel required.  Also there's a blog on electricity free cooling/refridgeration systems. Learn how to make your water safe ! many ways to either distill, filter, sterilize and purify your water. It can be done. Supplies should be rationed, considering growing seasons and other seasonal food sources, and canning should be done if possible. we need salt, vinegar and spices and pectin and sugar to can food.

 

I think Helen has a great idea to take a survival class if you dont have these skills already.

[David Ian Swan]

   The Z talk on this thread really says it all. 

What I worry is that people think.. yes you CAN survive.. but don't realize that it will be VERY difficult.  Location will be a KEY factor.  And while that means away from the coast/volcanos and at altitude, it also means ..AWAY from cities.  And that is where most people live.  So it almost certainly involves relocation, and as has been discussed before.. that is expensive and difficult... especially if other family are not supportive. 

  How many on the ning have relocated?  Only a few.  And how many to ISOLATED rural areas?   If you are surrounded by many UNPREPARED neighbours..it will be a problem.. no matter how prepared YOU are.  People are not going to stand by and starve if they can see that you are living well.   As the Zs say.. are you going to shoot your starving neighbours children??

   Isolated means you are in a location where wild animals are a problem.  If you worry about bears... then you are isolated..;-).

   It IS possible to live off the land as a survivalist..and these are good skills to know... but it is better to live as a pioneer  small farmer as most did in the 1800s.  To do this you need tools (axes, hand tools) and a location where it is possible...with water and good soil.   And it is also ideal if you can have access to ocean, lake or large river  for fishing etc.   This takes a LOT of planning and preparation.   You are going to need a waggonload of stuff... not a backpack.