I cook outside half the year - seriously. I cook with my fire pit, my rocket stove (I have the brick one but love the bucket ones better), the wood fired oven my son built without plans, and I use my wood stove in winter. I can about 4000 jars of food a year. That photo is a tiny bit, one day's worth. Some of my cheeses - those Belper Knoll cheese balls are amazing, have a TON of garlic in them, soooo good. I can do about 10 rabbits a day before my RA causes my hand to seize up, but I can the meat. All my meat is shelf stable except bacon, that I freeze. And I dehydrate 24/7 both in my oven and in my 2 big dehydrators. SO easy, shelf stable veggies and fruits, easy to prepare. Those two jars of carrots were a 50 lb bag of fresh carrots...FIFTY POUNDS...down to 3/4 of a gallon dried.

I could go on and on...but no one on here wants to talk about this. They just pop a meme up or forward it and they don't want anything heavy...like a massive food shortage that is already here.

My adult kids want to video tape me doing regular things around here, and how we store long term food, how we do so much. We know our family is a bit different (people tell us that all the time). But my children feel we need to produce as many videos as we can to help others because of what is coming, and what is NOT being talked about or prepared for - not the glitzy ones on youtube where people make money and have beautiful backdrops and are scripted and they are the ideal everyone is trying to be...nope, those people are acting, and when one yt'er does something they ALL do that. It's sad really. People need REALITY, the gritty mess world of providing your own food and needs.

So we've started taping the past two weeks. My adult kids are working on learning how to edit. It won't be glamorous, but it is easy to learn and on a level everyone can do.

Here is a photo of one of my homemade cheeses from our goat milk ;) Dry Jack, Belper Knoll balls, Farm Cheese w/herbs, 6#bluechees

Someone who sees what I do!!!!!! I love the Donner analogy too - that is so on target!

I agree with you, and I have challenged people I know online to grow a garden. It was a miserable failure across the board (we're talking dozens of people). They had no idea it was so difficult.

No one can grow enough to feed themselves or their family - learning to forage will go a long way. We have homesteaded for 35+ years, grew up prepping too. I'm a Master Gardener and herbalist too. I have my arm inside more goats and sheep than I could ever count pulling kids and lambs. I've done pretty much everything, and I can butcher a rabbit in 10 min flat. We'll survive but it won't be easy...

I have been talking to just a few people I know locally who think like we do - we're talking already about bartering, who will grow what and share, etc. Who will hunt and fish and share. Those who can manage this kind of set up will do better...

People HAVE to start though, on here, no one talks about