What does it take ?

[Arkansas]

I don't see why a person couldn't grow all their own food if they had the land, the knowledge, and the time, but they'd have to go back to a very limited diet. It would be impossible to grow everything we've become used to eating and drinking without anything from the outside world.

As for being completely self sustainable, I suppose that's possible, too, but it would take a major catastrophe to force it on us, and even then very few people would be able to do it for more than a few weeks. Imagine living in a world where every moment of every day for your entire life was dedicated to nothing but surviving till tomorrow. Few, if any, people living in modern countries today would be able to survive that. We've become too dependent on others and we've had it too easy for too long.

As far as food safety goes, our food supply is safer today than at any point in history. As a percentage of the population, fewer people die from food borne illnesses now than before the days of refridgeration, pasteurization, preservatives, and, yes, even government oversight. That said, nothing will ever be 100% safe no matter how hard we try to get there. The anti-factory farm movement has more to do with politics than safety no matter how anyone tries to spin it.

But then again how can you say our food is so saff. If all leading thinkers and solvers of the world have come to all believe that diabetics and Obesity and Sugar problems and High Blood pressure and all kinds of other health problems have all been linked to side effects of the Medicines that they are pumping into livestock and chickens and things that are placed in tomatoes to grow bigger and faster.. ALL been a contributing factor to dieseses etc.. becomming all worse as we pump more and more pesticides and steriods into our food. But because there at such a low rate that the FDA allow it because the studies and deaths dont justifey loosing all this money they will and then the FDA will be out of a job just as well as the BIG FACTORYS around here.. Cuz without the BIG FACTORYS the FDA wouldnt be needed to keep the corporate guys in line ? So seems to me only reason people died in the old days was because of FLU and Becomming sick with things that can be fixed now days! So if we lived the same way as we did in the 1800's As far as eating wise and growing our own food and crops etc.. then we all would be doing fine and living longer..lol Right ? Sorry I know I cant spell..lol

 

[Arkansas]

No Arkansas I'am not here to start any wars , so just kind of hold your pants on . I was a union cement mason ,it provided me a good living with good benifits and I have a small retirement if I live to 63 . I worked with and around the other trades and have a pretty good idea of how most of the other trade unions work . The one thing you can take to the bank , is with a full dispatch hall , that they will keep you buisy day in and day out . The best money you will make is doing large commercial or factory maintence . Union contractors don't do shack work , you'll learn how to do it ,but that's not going to be your bread and butter . I don't know your area or what you have for work , with the way things are now , plan to travel to stay working , electricians are right up there with pipe fitters for booming out . Cop pay might be 16 bucks a hour , but what is your apprentice pay less dues and vacation fund ? How much is your sparky retirement worth per year of service , compare to cop retirement . Best of luck at what ever you do , I just know if a business manager or a business agents mouth is moving their lieing

Cop retirement sucks..lol I dont know what it is in the big cities but around these parts the retirement is crap. And you better hope you can work till 65 to have a good retirement here..lol As for my area its Jonesboro, Arkansas Area and there placing a Hospital here thats gonna take 5 years to complete and then after that there placing Another Hospital thats 20 mins away from there , thats gonna take another 4 yrs. So work with the Union here in this area is pretty good. But as far as the vaction and retirement for electricians I have no clue But I imagine at 23 dollars an hour I can put back some pretty good lump sums of money to make up for there retiremenet and I can almost guarentee I want have to work till I am 65 like I would as a Police Officer..lol And I appreciate all the feed back all.. All of it even the constructive criticism is always good so thanks all

 

[Arkansas]

All in all, I just want to get back to a way thats almost gone now days. Working the land together with your family. Bringing in the hay and letting the cattle out to pasture. Its a great sense of self being when you can do something that brings a bigger piece of mind. Especially when you work by the sweat of your brow. Its the feeling you get when you realize all your hard work is going to feed your family. I remmber a Saying from the Bible that says ( By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.") But I do not sweat when I work as a cop I sit in a cool car. Sure Its nerve racking coming up on a vehicle with tinted windows and looks like its been shot up b4. But I never sweat. So why do I eat ? I wanna work for what I have and feel a sense of complishment. Dont get me wrong as an Officer that is a complishment, I just want the Bigger picture with the Land and the Cattle out to pasture and the smell of an Old Fashion Wood Stove burning Know what I mean !

 

[ohiosteve]

I know what you're saying Akansas and I'm with you. My personal strategy with my livestock is to do as little as possible and try to provide them with the same things they would have available to them if they where living wild. I do not anti-biotics.There are times when they work but once that becomes necessary something is obviously wrong.

 

[Arkansas]

I know what you're saying Akansas and I'm with you. My personal strategy with my livestock is to do as little as possible and try to provide them with the same things they would have available to them if they where living wild. I would rather kill an animal than treat it with anti-biotics. Once that becomes necessary something is obviously wrong.

Yeah, I mean what were cattle doing b4 we started making Silage and Feeding them ourselves. They always have been grazing there selves. I mean they know with there own common sense how to survive just as we do.. Heck people shootem with Anti-Biotics to keep others from getting sick, I get this but most the time. If a Cow/Steer were making it b4 we came along I am sure they will keep on doing so. I am just talking about feeding and providing for my own family not gross marketing the beef etc.. Just for my own peace of mind :cboy:

 

[Arkansas]

I have gotten alot of my ideals from Books and reading and seeing in life.

I guess what got me started on this was the movie -FOOD INC- it was a real eye opener.
After seeing this movie I thought about what really is going into my kids and my familys mouths. Then I started seeing the News where we have Arsenic in our kids Apple Juices! Not just off brand name Apple Juices but Welches and Really popular name brands, even in our Grape juices.. This started making me want more for my kids and family. So I bought a few books, and after that I was hooked. The book by John Seymour: The Self-Sufficient Life and how to live it". This book was a starter book per say. Talked about living on a 1 Acre farm and making a living for your self and others. Even goes on to talk about a 5 Acre Homestead turned into a efficient farm to support a family of 5.. But looks pretty much like all your time would have to be put into it to really do it. Meaning No-Job, this is problamatic for myself. For the main fact that I am the Main Cash flow for my home. So I have to look at doing it on my free time and making it work without bringing myself down so much that I cant even find the energy to work. So I stoped being a Cop and started back to school as an Electrician. My goal is that with the knowledge I have of construction and the Electrician liscense maybe I can one day make it on my own and Run my own small electrical business and do all my work on my future homestead/ranchette myself. Thus cutting out the middle man of having a person to add on to my house that I will bye thats gonna be small for money reasons, where I can build onto it and add electric to it myself. Cus with additions I dont need plumbing skills which I have very little of. So Maybe I can do all the Lean-To or Small Barns all myself and run the eletric all myself. This saving me alot because most your exspenses come from Labor work... I wanna save as much as I can because more savings means more money I can put into running a house. that eventually would even like to get off the grid where I have no bills at all.. Except the fact that I will pay for Dish and phone services still. so not completely off the grid. I wanna get where if something happens like a Ice storm that knocks out all electric in the area I am the only one left with full electric and no worrys My family all believes in what I am doing and what I wanna achieve so there all in on trying to do this And let me tell you, I have learned one thing for sure being married is if the womans not happy then no one is..lol

But anyone else that wants a good read and has the same passions in life as myself here are a few good books to read for knowledge and help on the way I own them all. Not many but they all come in handy !

1: John Seymour: The Self-Sufficent Life and how to live it. GREAT BOOK!

2: Dick & James Strawbridge: Self Sufficiency FOR THE 21st Century.. Good one.

3. Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle. Very Good for Cattle Aspect And I would say get the Goat and the Chicken one's too there all great!

I hope some of you have a great time reading them as I have. There a very good read and very helpful.. Especially the RAISING BEEF CATTLE! This I highley recommend.

Good Luck to you all and Thanks for all the Help and Comments

 

[Caustic Burno]

I don't see why a person couldn't grow all their own food if they had the land, the knowledge, and the time, but they'd have to go back to a very limited diet. It would be impossible to grow everything we've become used to eating and drinking without anything from the outside world.

As for being completely self sustainable, I suppose that's possible, too, but it would take a major catastrophe to force it on us, and even then very few people would be able to do it for more than a few weeks. Imagine living in a world where every moment of every day for your entire life was dedicated to nothing but surviving till tomorrow. Few, if any, people living in modern countries today would be able to survive that. We've become too dependent on others and we've had it too easy for too long.

As far as food safety goes, our food supply is safer today than at any point in history. As a percentage of the population, fewer people die from food borne illnesses now than before the days of refridgeration, pasteurization, preservatives, and, yes, even government oversight. That said, nothing will ever be 100% safe no matter how hard we try to get there. The anti-factory farm movement has more to do with politics than safety no matter how anyone tries to spin it.

But then again how can you say our food is so saff. If all leading thinkers and solvers of the world have come to all believe that diabetics and Obesity and Sugar problems and High Blood pressure and all kinds of other health problems have all been linked to side effects of the Medicines that they are pumping into livestock and chickens and things that are placed in tomatoes to grow bigger and faster.. ALL been a contributing factor to dieseses etc.. becomming all worse as we pump more and more pesticides and steriods into our food. But because there at such a low rate that the FDA allow it because the studies and deaths dont justifey loosing all this money they will and then the FDA will be out of a job just as well as the BIG FACTORYS around here.. Cuz without the BIG FACTORYS the FDA wouldnt be needed to keep the corporate guys in line ? So seems to me only reason people died in the old days was because of FLU and Becomming sick with things that can be fixed now days! So if we lived the same way as we did in the 1800's As far as eating wise and growing our own food and crops etc.. then we all would be doing fine and living longer..lol Right ? Sorry I know I cant spell..lol

On some of this your talking out your ass there was not any going through the house and grazing of chip's soda water's and a ton of other junk food as kids do today.
I don't remember my mom or grandma getting anything from the store cept flour and sugar.
You were at the breakfast table at daylight dressed and you were outside working until lunch, got to take an hour nap after lunch if you wanted it and if you could find a cool spot. Come supper time you were cleaned up when you came to the table and you ate what was on it. If you got real lucky might be a piece of hot water corn bread left over for a snack with a glass of sweet milk. Come hog killin day you had better like hog liver if you were eating.
You feel like you wanted something to drink you could wrap your hand around the water dipper hanging on the back porch.
Sugar is not the problem sitting on your ass is the problem.
My Grandma was born in 1880 and she could tell you right quick it wasn't just the flu she buried 5 out of 8 kid's.
Man was born once to die you are not getting out alive. Our food supply has never been safer. You start throwing cell phone's I pad's Tv's away and hanging on to a plow handle smelling mule fart's and a lot of the obesity problems would go away. A day in the garden with the push plow would get your mind right as well.
The welfare system along with TV in this country has contributed more to this than you can imagine. You don't have to work or hunt, can sit on your ass and be fed, clothed, sheltered all the while believing it is owed to you.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I don't see why a person couldn't grow all their own food if they had the land, the knowledge, and the time, but they'd have to go back to a very limited diet. It would be impossible to grow everything we've become used to eating and drinking without anything from the outside world.

As for being completely self sustainable, I suppose that's possible, too, but it would take a major catastrophe to force it on us, and even then very few people would be able to do it for more than a few weeks. Imagine living in a world where every moment of every day for your entire life was dedicated to nothing but surviving till tomorrow. Few, if any, people living in modern countries today would be able to survive that. We've become too dependent on others and we've had it too easy for too long.

As far as food safety goes, our food supply is safer today than at any point in history. As a percentage of the population, fewer people die from food borne illnesses now than before the days of refridgeration, pasteurization, preservatives, and, yes, even government oversight. That said, nothing will ever be 100% safe no matter how hard we try to get there. The anti-factory farm movement has more to do with politics than safety no matter how anyone tries to spin it.

But then again how can you say our food is so saff. If all leading thinkers and solvers of the world have come to all believe that diabetics and Obesity and Sugar problems and High Blood pressure and all kinds of other health problems have all been linked to side effects of the Medicines that they are pumping into livestock and chickens and things that are placed in tomatoes to grow bigger and faster.. ALL been a contributing factor to dieseses etc.. becomming all worse as we pump more and more pesticides and steriods into our food. But because there at such a low rate that the FDA allow it because the studies and deaths dont justifey loosing all this money they will and then the FDA will be out of a job just as well as the BIG FACTORYS around here.. Cuz without the BIG FACTORYS the FDA wouldnt be needed to keep the corporate guys in line ? So seems to me only reason people died in the old days was because of FLU and Becomming sick with things that can be fixed now days! So if we lived the same way as we did in the 1800's As far as eating wise and growing our own food and crops etc.. then we all would be doing fine and living longer..lol Right ? Sorry I know I cant spell..lol

On some of this your talking out your ass there was not any going through the house and grazing of chip's soda water's and a ton of other junk food as kids do today.
I don't remember my mom or grandma getting anything from the store cept flour and sugar.
You were at the breakfast table at daylight dressed and you were outside working until lunch, got to take an hour nap after lunch if you wanted it and if you could find a cool spot. Come supper time you were cleaned up when you came to the table and you ate what was on it. If you got real lucky might be a piece of hot water corn bread left over for a snack with a glass of sweet milk. Come hog killin day you had better like hog liver if you were eating.
You feel like you wanted something to drink you could wrap your hand around the water dipper hanging on the back porch.
Sugar is not the problem sitting on your ass is the problem.
My Grandma was born in 1880 and she could tell you right quick it wasn't just the flu she buried 5 out of 8 kid's.
Man was born once to die you are not getting out alive. Our food supply has never been safer. You start throwing cell phone's I pad's Tv's away and hanging on to a plow handle smelling mule fart's and a lot of the obesity problems would go away. A day in the garden with the push plow would get your mind right as well.
The welfare system along with TV in this country has contributed more to this than you can imagine. You don't have to work or hunt, can sit on your ass and be fed, clothed, sheltered all the while believing it is owed to you.

 

[plumber_greg]

I have gotten alot of my ideals from Books and reading and seeing in life.

I guess what got me started on this was the movie -FOOD INC- it was a real eye opener.
After seeing this movie I thought about what really is going into my kids and my familys mouths. Then I started seeing the News where we have Arsenic in our kids Apple Juices! Not just off brand name Apple Juices but Welches and Really popular name brands, even in our Grape juices.. This started making me want more for my kids and family. So I bought a few books, and after that I was hooked. The book by John Seymour: The Self-Sufficient Life and how to live it". This book was a starter book per say. Talked about living on a 1 Acre farm and making a living for your self and others. Even goes on to talk about a 5 Acre Homestead turned into a efficient farm to support a family of 5.. But looks pretty much like all your time would have to be put into it to really do it. Meaning No-Job, this is problamatic for myself. For the main fact that I am the Main Cash flow for my home. So I have to look at doing it on my free time and making it work without bringing myself down so much that I cant even find the energy to work. So I stoped being a Cop and started back to school as an Electrician. My goal is that with the knowledge I have of construction and the Electrician liscense maybe I can one day make it on my own and Run my own small electrical business and do all my work on my future homestead/ranchette myself. Thus cutting out the middle man of having a person to add on to my house that I will bye thats gonna be small for money reasons, where I can build onto it and add electric to it myself. Cus with additions I dont need plumbing skills which I have very little of. So Maybe I can do all the Lean-To or Small Barns all myself and run the eletric all myself. This saving me alot because most your exspenses come from Labor work... I wanna save as much as I can because more savings means more money I can put into running a house. that eventually would even like to get off the grid where I have no bills at all.. Except the fact that I will pay for Dish and phone services still. so not completely off the grid. I wanna get where if something happens like a Ice storm that knocks out all electric in the area I am the only one left with full electric and no worrys My family all believes in what I am doing and what I wanna achieve so there all in on trying to do this And let me tell you, I have learned one thing for sure being married is if the womans not happy then no one is..lol

But anyone else that wants a good read and has the same passions in life as myself here are a few good books to read for knowledge and help on the way I own them all. Not many but they all come in handy !

1: John Seymour: The Self-Sufficent Life and how to live it. GREAT BOOK!

2: Dick & James Strawbridge: Self Sufficiency FOR THE 21st Century.. Good one.

3. Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle. Very Good for Cattle Aspect And I would say get the Goat and the Chicken one's too there all great!

I hope some of you have a great time reading them as I have. There a very good read and very helpful.. Especially the RAISING BEEF CATTLE! This I highley recommend.

Good Luck to you all and Thanks for all the Help and Comments

You want to be self sufficent, yet you gotta' have Dish TV? Probably better keep your day job. gs

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Hey CB long rows with dull hoes would do this country lots of good. If you look at all the rock fences around here you will figure out why my Grandad and my dad never had a problem with obessity. They are the reason i never had a problem with it.

 

[regolith]

After the first year a garden needn't take much time - I suppose your books explain how. The establishment phase is time consuming, after that use no-dig techniques, mulch heaps + use nutrient-rich mulches as much as possible and let it self-seed. You need to be able to recognise the seedlings as they come up, so you don't mistake them for weeds.
Self-sufficiency is a daunting goal - but one step at a time, the bits of it can be easy. Why you'd want to stay linked with phone &c I don't know though.

Part of what makes it easy is the modern stuff - solar panels! Gas camping stoves, cellphones, all sorts of things that make it possible to break links with the house and city and electricity. Even the new types of clothing that can cope with any weather.
Hmm... did your self-sufficiency plan include cotton growing, or sheep?

 

[ohiosteve]

As far as being off the grid but still having electricity, an old gas well with a natural gas powered pump jack and a natural gas generator would be the ticket. Even an old well without enough pressure to sell gas commercially will power a decent sized generator.

 

[VanC]

I don't see why a person couldn't grow all their own food if they had the land, the knowledge, and the time, but they'd have to go back to a very limited diet. It would be impossible to grow everything we've become used to eating and drinking without anything from the outside world.

As for being completely self sustainable, I suppose that's possible, too, but it would take a major catastrophe to force it on us, and even then very few people would be able to do it for more than a few weeks. Imagine living in a world where every moment of every day for your entire life was dedicated to nothing but surviving till tomorrow. Few, if any, people living in modern countries today would be able to survive that. We've become too dependent on others and we've had it too easy for too long.

As far as food safety goes, our food supply is safer today than at any point in history. As a percentage of the population, fewer people die from food borne illnesses now than before the days of refridgeration, pasteurization, preservatives, and, yes, even government oversight. That said, nothing will ever be 100% safe no matter how hard we try to get there. The anti-factory farm movement has more to do with politics than safety no matter how anyone tries to spin it.

But then again how can you say our food is so saff.

Because it is. Statistics show it to be true. Is it completely safe? No. Nothing is completely safe and nothing ever will be, but anyone who says our food supply is more dangerous than ever is either a liar or grossly misinformed.

If all leading thinkers and solvers of the world have come to all believe that diabetics and Obesity and Sugar problems and High Blood pressure and all kinds of other health problems have all been linked to side effects of the Medicines that they are pumping into livestock and chickens and things that are placed in tomatoes to grow bigger and faster.. ALL been a contributing factor to dieseses etc.. becomming all worse as we pump more and more pesticides and steriods into our food.

First of all, "all leading thinkers and solvers of the world" are just people like you and me. They may or may not be smarter than we are, but they aren't robots. They have agendas just like anyone else and sometimes those agendas cloud their thinking. If they were always right there wouldn't be any wars or unemployment or disease or any of the other problems that we've always, and always will, face in our lives. Second of all, for every "leading thinker and solver" that agrees with the movie there's one that doesn't. The problem is if you rely solely on the mainstream media for your information you're only going to get one side of the story.

But because there at such a low rate that the FDA allow it because the studies and deaths dont justifey loosing all this money they will and then the FDA will be out of a job just as well as the BIG FACTORYS around here.. Cuz without the BIG FACTORYS the FDA wouldnt be needed to keep the corporate guys in line ?

It sounds like you've swallowed the movie's message hook, line and sinker. Take a deep breath, take a couple of steps back and look at the big picture. The movie is very well done and I can see why some people would be convinced by it. It brings up some valid points and some things have already changed for the better because of the type of information it gives. Some things still need to change. But one thing it fails to point out is that if there was no mass production in agriculture, no antibiotics, no herbicides, no pesticides, no fertilizer then millions, maybe billions more people would starve than what already are. There's too many people, too little land, and too few people with the proper knowledge to feed the world doing it like it was done years ago. Like it or not, that's the way it is. Most people are dependent on mass production agriculture to feed them and those people that produce our food are equally dependent on "city folk" to provide them with the goods and services it takes to produce that food.

So seems to me only reason people died in the old days was because of FLU and Becomming sick with things that can be fixed now days!

People died from many reasons back in the old days, partly because healthcare wasn't what it is today, but also because it was a much more dangerous world back then. Some shortsighted people will dispute it, but living in a modern, industrialized country today is much safer now than it was before.

So if we lived the same way as we did in the 1800's As far as eating wise and growing our own food and crops etc.. then we all would be doing fine and living longer..lol Right ?

The life expectancy for an American male in 1850 was just over 38 years. Today it is just over 78 years. There are many reasons for that, but one of them was diet. Back then, and certainly before then, people's diets were very limited and they ate what they had depending on where they lived. Now, because of modern agriculture and transportation, a guy in Iowa can have fresh lobster, a guy in New York City can have fresh beef, and a guy in Alaska can have fresh citrus. What we eat is our own choice, but if you want a balanced diet then you're much better off today than if you had lived back in the good old days.

Sorry I know I cant spell..lol

Don't worry about it. Your posts are alot easier to read than some. Look, if you want to grow your own food then go for it. Nothing wrong with that. But keep in mind that if you plan to eat ONLY what you grow and raise then your diet will be very limited, and that may not be the best thing in the long run. Also keep in mind that the people that rant and rave against mass production in agriculture are pushing a politcal agenda. What they are proposing is simply not sustainable in today's world. There are things I miss about the good old days, too, but overall, those of us that are lucky enough to live in a modern, industrialized country are better off than ever before. Good luck.

 

[jedstivers]

Go out in a old graveyard an start looking at the dates and do the math. Also look at all the kids and infants there.

 

[Crazy Farmgirl]

If you want to be more self sufficient then good for you but you can't expect that so called "factory farms" will ever go away. It is because of those farms that our nation survives, in order to produce the quantities needed to feed everyone we have to rely on them.

Making the personal choice to become more self sufficient is great but it simply is not an option for everyone. I personally have chosen to be more self sufficient, I'm not ignorant to the fact that I will never be totally "off the grid" but I do as much for myself as I can. I think that there is no magic number of acres need to do it, do what you can with what you have. I'm lucky enough to have enough land to raise cattle, goats, hogs, chickens and horses and have a large vegetable garden. I am able to butcher animals and can/freeze vegetables and have eggs for my family, any extras I sell for a minimal profit. I started small and have added new things each year if money and time allows. Know this..it is NOT always cheaper to grow your own...it takes alot of work and time and money to get to the end product! If you are not afraid of a hard days work and are willing to learn from your mistakes it can be very rewarding. I have read many of the books you mentioned and while they are a good start know that the best teacher is experience and you can't buy that!

 

[slick4591]

We decided to be more self sufficient this past growing season and planted a fair size garden. It was so dry that our corn didn't get over 12" tall and the okra never made.

 

[CottageFarm]

I understand the concerns that the movie raised for you Arkansas. While they had some valid points to make, they were also incredibly one sided and agenda driven. There's 2 sides to everything, and they only presented us with one of them. They wanted to appeal to our emotions, and didn't want us to think critically about the info they presented, so I found that to be just a bit too manipulative for my taste. What they did not show you was how alot of the agricultural changes in the past 100 years have improved health and life expectancy for most of the world. The world grows/raises more food than any time in history, and they're doing on only a small fraction of the land that was used 200 years ago. While there are, unfortunately, still millions around the world who are starving, (and sadly, most of those stem form political issues) there would be many, many millions more without the technology and innovation of the past 40-50 years.
I, too, will take issue with your statement about the "leading thinkers" out there. Like CB said, they're no different than you & me. They aren't any smarter, and they DO have an agenda. While our modern diet does play some role in the diseases we face today, man's diet has always had an effect on our health, both good and bad. Childhood obesity & diabetes are related as much to our sedentary lifestyles as to our diet. Spices were once so valuable because they covered the taste of rotten foods.
By all means, raise as much of your own food as possible and do it in a manner you're comfortable with. But as far as total self suffiency, it's very unlikely. Look through your pantry & refrig, and take note of every item, and see how much of it you could actually produce.
As far as the Cop vs Electrician thing. I'm in construction, so I don't have an unbiased opinion. I'm self employed and wouldn't have it any other way, for better or worse. Only you can decide what's best for you and your family.
Personally, I don't like Unions any more than Gov't.

 

[Arkansas]

I don't see why a person couldn't grow all their own food if they had the land, the knowledge, and the time, but they'd have to go back to a very limited diet. It would be impossible to grow everything we've become used to eating and drinking without anything from the outside world.

As for being completely self sustainable, I suppose that's possible, too, but it would take a major catastrophe to force it on us, and even then very few people would be able to do it for more than a few weeks. Imagine living in a world where every moment of every day for your entire life was dedicated to nothing but surviving till tomorrow. Few, if any, people living in modern countries today would be able to survive that. We've become too dependent on others and we've had it too easy for too long.

As far as food safety goes, our food supply is safer today than at any point in history. As a percentage of the population, fewer people die from food borne illnesses now than before the days of refridgeration, pasteurization, preservatives, and, yes, even government oversight. That said, nothing will ever be 100% safe no matter how hard we try to get there. The anti-factory farm movement has more to do with politics than safety no matter how anyone tries to spin it.

But then again how can you say our food is so saff. If all leading thinkers and solvers of the world have come to all believe that diabetics and Obesity and Sugar problems and High Blood pressure and all kinds of other health problems have all been linked to side effects of the Medicines that they are pumping into livestock and chickens and things that are placed in tomatoes to grow bigger and faster.. ALL been a contributing factor to dieseses etc.. becomming all worse as we pump more and more pesticides and steriods into our food. But because there at such a low rate that the FDA allow it because the studies and deaths dont justifey loosing all this money they will and then the FDA will be out of a job just as well as the BIG FACTORYS around here.. Cuz without the BIG FACTORYS the FDA wouldnt be needed to keep the corporate guys in line ? So seems to me only reason people died in the old days was because of FLU and Becomming sick with things that can be fixed now days! So if we lived the same way as we did in the 1800's As far as eating wise and growing our own food and crops etc.. then we all would be doing fine and living longer..lol Right ? Sorry I know I cant spell..lol

On some of this your talking out your ass there was not any going through the house and grazing of chip's soda water's and a ton of other junk food as kids do today.
I don't remember my mom or grandma getting anything from the store cept flour and sugar.
You were at the breakfast table at daylight dressed and you were outside working until lunch, got to take an hour nap after lunch if you wanted it and if you could find a cool spot. Come supper time you were cleaned up when you came to the table and you ate what was on it. If you got real lucky might be a piece of hot water corn bread left over for a snack with a glass of sweet milk. Come hog killin day you had better like hog liver if you were eating.
You feel like you wanted something to drink you could wrap your hand around the water dipper hanging on the back porch.
Sugar is not the problem sitting on your ass is the problem.
My Grandma was born in 1880 and she could tell you right quick it wasn't just the flu she buried 5 out of 8 kid's.
Man was born once to die you are not getting out alive. Our food supply has never been safer. You start throwing cell phone's I pad's Tv's away and hanging on to a plow handle smelling mule fart's and a lot of the obesity problems would go away. A day in the garden with the push plow would get your mind right as well.
The welfare system along with TV in this country has contributed more to this than you can imagine. You don't have to work or hunt, can sit on your ass and be fed, clothed, sheltered all the while believing it is owed to you.

CB I apolagize, I am a young buck by your standards and I did not have to grow up in the earlier years. I can see why you would get upset your right about alot fo what you said. My intentions was not to make any harsh feelings towards myself or others what so ever. I do wanna be more self sufficent because I do believe having cattle and working hard for your food and what you have brings a family closer together. Theres just to much hate in the world and too many people ready to belittle others just to make them feel inferior and make thereselves feel smarter. I do apolagize for hiting a wrong cord with you all. I will try and be more assertive of others feelings on the question at hand as well as others views too.

 

[Arkansas]

I have gotten alot of my ideals from Books and reading and seeing in life.

I guess what got me started on this was the movie -FOOD INC- it was a real eye opener.
After seeing this movie I thought about what really is going into my kids and my familys mouths. Then I started seeing the News where we have Arsenic in our kids Apple Juices! Not just off brand name Apple Juices but Welches and Really popular name brands, even in our Grape juices.. This started making me want more for my kids and family. So I bought a few books, and after that I was hooked. The book by John Seymour: The Self-Sufficient Life and how to live it". This book was a starter book per say. Talked about living on a 1 Acre farm and making a living for your self and others. Even goes on to talk about a 5 Acre Homestead turned into a efficient farm to support a family of 5.. But looks pretty much like all your time would have to be put into it to really do it. Meaning No-Job, this is problamatic for myself. For the main fact that I am the Main Cash flow for my home. So I have to look at doing it on my free time and making it work without bringing myself down so much that I cant even find the energy to work. So I stoped being a Cop and started back to school as an Electrician. My goal is that with the knowledge I have of construction and the Electrician liscense maybe I can one day make it on my own and Run my own small electrical business and do all my work on my future homestead/ranchette myself. Thus cutting out the middle man of having a person to add on to my house that I will bye thats gonna be small for money reasons, where I can build onto it and add electric to it myself. Cus with additions I dont need plumbing skills which I have very little of. So Maybe I can do all the Lean-To or Small Barns all myself and run the eletric all myself. This saving me alot because most your exspenses come from Labor work... I wanna save as much as I can because more savings means more money I can put into running a house. that eventually would even like to get off the grid where I have no bills at all.. Except the fact that I will pay for Dish and phone services still. so not completely off the grid. I wanna get where if something happens like a Ice storm that knocks out all electric in the area I am the only one left with full electric and no worrys My family all believes in what I am doing and what I wanna achieve so there all in on trying to do this And let me tell you, I have learned one thing for sure being married is if the womans not happy then no one is..lol

But anyone else that wants a good read and has the same passions in life as myself here are a few good books to read for knowledge and help on the way I own them all. Not many but they all come in handy !

1: John Seymour: The Self-Sufficent Life and how to live it. GREAT BOOK!

2: Dick & James Strawbridge: Self Sufficiency FOR THE 21st Century.. Good one.

3. Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle. Very Good for Cattle Aspect And I would say get the Goat and the Chicken one's too there all great!

I hope some of you have a great time reading them as I have. There a very good read and very helpful.. Especially the RAISING BEEF CATTLE! This I highley recommend.

Good Luck to you all and Thanks for all the Help and Comments

You want to be self sufficent, yet you gotta' have Dish TV? Probably better keep your day job. gs

I want to be self Sufficent but not fully off the grid. You cant live in the country and think you dont need a phone when your
kids choking to death on a bone you cant seem to get up yourself and your vehicle is out of commision. Accidents and emergencys happen often that you have no control over so you deffinetly need a phone. And I say a Dish because my kids are used to watching T.V. I am not just gonna make them live the life I want them too. But I think its a good ideal to try and come close to a lifestyle thats off grid and self suffcient it may not be for you but its what I want and its what the wife would like to do too. The kids are more then welcome to persue there on lives once there 18 and they dont like my life..lol I wanna be self sufficent and eventually provide my family with everything they need. But I also am not Blind or to silly not to know that a Cell phone has its uses or a landline has its uses. And most of all Kids need entertainment once there bored with the cattle and getting bit by copper heads all the time..lol j/k

 

[Arkansas]

I understand the concerns that the movie raised for you Arkansas. While they had some valid points to make, they were also incredibly one sided and agenda driven. There's 2 sides to everything, and they only presented us with one of them. They wanted to appeal to our emotions, and didn't want us to think critically about the info they presented, so I found that to be just a bit too manipulative for my taste. What they did not show you was how alot of the agricultural changes in the past 100 years have improved health and life expectancy for most of the world. The world grows/raises more food than any time in history, and they're doing on only a small fraction of the land that was used 200 years ago. While there are, unfortunately, still millions around the world who are starving, (and sadly, most of those stem form political issues) there would be many, many millions more without the technology and innovation of the past 40-50 years.
I, too, will take issue with your statement about the "leading thinkers" out there. Like CB said, they're no different than you & me. They aren't any smarter, and they DO have an agenda. While our modern diet does play some role in the diseases we face today, man's diet has always had an effect on our health, both good and bad. Childhood obesity & diabetes are related as much to our sedentary lifestyles as to our diet. Spices were once so valuable because they covered the taste of rotten foods.
By all means, raise as much of your own food as possible and do it in a manner you're comfortable with. But as far as total self suffiency, it's very unlikely. Look through your pantry & refrig, and take note of every item, and see how much of it you could actually produce.
As far as the Cop vs Electrician thing. I'm in construction, so I don't have an unbiased opinion. I'm self employed and wouldn't have it any other way, for better or worse. Only you can decide what's best for you and your family.
Personally, I don't like Unions any more than Gov't.

And you know you are right there is always 2 sides. But its easy to be blinded when you havent seen the others side So I apolagize for any harsh feelings I gave anyone on here! I just been reading alot and I like Joel Salatain from Polyface Farms, and I like and believe in his operation and I too would like to have something like that. I think it teaches your kids alot of value Thats all so I am sorry for affending anyone