Wow! What an interesting and spirited debate! The question was, “What on earth does self-reliance have to do with whole food?” The answer is easy, but not necessarily obvious. People who practice self-reliance seem more aware of their responsibility to care for themselves, as well as the planet we live on. That said, self-reliance can mean many different things from being almost totally self-sufficient (like survival mode) to keeping three days worth of food and water just in case there’s a hurricane or something,
With regard to whole food, I would describe self-reliance as the desire to take measures to make sure one’s home and family are secure with life sustaining food and water in the event of an emergency. Many keep at least one year’s supply of food on hand, and I am one of them. That list doesn’t include cocoa puffs and junk either. It does include canned foods, beans, pasta and many other items. At a later date we’ll outline a healthy food storage system guide you can personalize to your own needs. Some people preserve their garden’s bounty by canning, pickling, drying, freezing and a host of other methods. They eat very well all winter long.
Self-reliance does provide peace of mind and certain control in times of need. That can be anything from storms to a family crisis, as in losing a job. I suspect that most people in 2008 have only enough food in their homes to sustain their families for about a week or so. And, think about this. It’s impossible to microwave a pizza when there’s no electricity. Not to worry, it had little nutrition, if any, anyway. The key is to have nourishing food available during a time of stress when it’s needed most.
Just the act of storing whole, nourishing foods for some calamity makes us think outside the box a little too. We become more aware of the planet itself, and hopefully take our own individual steps to live greener and protect our earth from damage with a more sustainable, conservation-minded effort. That brings me back to food. Life sustaining whole foods, grown as nature intended, completes a miraculous circle of life………and that’s the connection as I see it.
Once again I’ll tell the story of how I began storing at least a one year supply of food in our home. I’ll be brief. The story takes place in Denver in the mid-1970’s. Who could dream that a massive strike would close EVERY big chain grocery store in the city. I certainly didn’t take it seriously, as six days later I headed with my detailed grocery list to a fair-sized independent grocery store. I was shocked. The store was full of shoppers and only half full of product. No milk, eggs or any of the many of the things we take for granted. I got some of the stuff on the list, but bought the toilet paper at my nearest convenience store. Like everyone else I bought from week to week, but I learn fast.
First came the whining and the lamenting. Then came the huge reality check. Though everything was resolved in a short time, the shock of it all caused me to realize that I was responsible for feeding six small children and a husband. What WOULD I do if there were some sort of real threatening catastrophy? Would they have food? Well, certainly not in my cupboards. Could they suffer from lack of food, and potentially how much, depending on the scary mental scenerios going through my mind? The answer was yes!
My next step, when I was actually able to think straight, was go make a list of food I wanted to accumulate. With every trip back to the store I purchased more of several items, using sales and coupons to up my savings. I have never looked back. I have enough. I also have enough to help my neighbors if needed and contribute to the community food pantry generously. I really try to conserve and do understand how sustainability is the lifeblood of the earth we inhabit. That, I believe is the perfect connection between self-reliance and nutrition-rich whole foods.
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