So I have just finished reading World War Z by Max Brooks, which is a pretty good read if the zombie genre interest you at all.
As per usual after reading something like that you get to thinking, just as an intellectual exercise of course about how you’d survive the zombie plague.
The thought occured to me, say you go to the expense of building a snazzy little bunker, fully tricked out with all the latest survivalist gear, etc, but what food do you stock it with? For arguments sake if the zombie uprising doesn’t happen for 10 years, are you going to retreat to your bunker and find all that food has gone off?
I noticed doing the grocery shopping the other day that even canned foods have a comparatively short shelf-life if you pay attention to the “best before” date on them. Is that the producers just playing it safe? and the canned stuff will actually last for years and years?
So if you don’t want to have to replace the entire contents of your bunkers pantry every 2-3 years, what foodstuffs should you stock it with that will have an effectually unlimited life, or failing that a usuable shelf-life measured in decades?
Here is a place that sells Freeze Dried food in large amounts. I imagine that it can keep pretty much forever, of course it does need water at the very least, and maybe a heat source.
One roommate and I used to keep around those awful Nutrisystem meals around to prepare ourselves for the zombie outbreak. They’re just horrible, but they last forever.
Of course, we also had an assortment of weaponry and tactical gear in strategic positions around the house. We were quite serious about defending against the zombie outbreak.
Unfortunately the only weaponry I have around the house are a couple of cricket bats. Which could be useful depending upon which variety of zombies we get plagued with
US Military MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) have a shelf life of 10 years. I’m quite confident that they will supply nutritional sustenance for a much longer time than that.
Easy solution: drive some fairly long (5 inch +) nails into one end of each cricket bat. Then you can use it as a blunt weapon to beat zombies away, and then when they’re at a good swingspan (sic) you can slam a nail into their eye socket or ear to destroy them. Remember that Steven got out of a potentially deadly zombie grapple situation with nothing more than pure will and a screwdriver.
If it takes that long I’ll probably be too old and infirm to make it to my Zombie Bunker, so those young whippersnappers who walk over me to get to the bunker can starve with their only food source having expired!
Canned foods will generally last well beyond their “best before” date. I have eaten home-canned tomatoes that were 13 years old. They were delicious. I made chili with 'em.
Helpful hint: if the can’s top is bulging, don’t eat the food. It means some microbe is at work inside the can digesting food and emiting gases. But if the can is in its original condition (no bulging), and not rusted through anywhere, the food inside should be edible, if not necessarily delicious.
Bah…all you need are pool cues and some Queen music (also from this “How to Kill Zombies” video they use Cricket bats as well but not part of this bit)
When I was in the ARMY (89-91), the MRE’s they fed us had expired in 83. They tasted like crap, and I’m sure many of the vitamins had broken down. Still, I never saw anyone have any ill effects even after a few months with no other food.
about how you’d survive the zombie plague.