How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It - James Wesley Rawles [52]
Because they are full of vitamin B12, other B vitamins, and vitamins A, K, and C, as well as minerals, amino acids, and other nutrients essential to human health, sprouts should be an important component of your survival diet. Dried seeds, grains, and legumes are rich in protein and complex carbohydrates, but during the simple sprouting process, their vitamin and nutrient content ramps up significantly. As an added bonus, they are also much easier to digest—and tastier—than in their pre-sprouted state.
For successful sprouting you need only seeds and a mason jar with a mesh lid or, alternatively, a cheesecloth kept in place by a rubber band. Most health-food stores will carry seeds for sprouting and precut stainless steel or plastic tops. If you use a cloth, make sure that it doesn’t become entirely wet, or it will stop air and moisture from nourishing your seeds.
After removing broken or damaged seeds (they can rot during sprouting), soak the rest (about four tablespoons per quart-size container) for six to eight hours. Rinse well before placing the seeds in the jar. Lean the jar at an angle, top down, so that water can drain out. Continue rinsing the seeds delicately in the morning and the evening. The key is to keep them moist but not totally immersed in water. No light is required for the first few days, but can be introduced later. Sprouting times vary, but you should have edible sprouts in three to five days. They can be eaten, raw or cooked, after soaking and rinsing. They are a great source of energy and fuel, and with multiple jars sprouting at different stages, you can have an endless supply.
Some beans, such as kidney, can be toxic when sprouted, so make sure to do your research and check with your supplier before sprouting.
Livestock
Dual- and Triple-Purpose Livestock
In this day and age of specialization, modern livestock have been selectively bred to be superefficient for one purpose. For example, merino sheep are bred to produce wool in abundance, and Suffolk sheep are bred to grow to market weight quickly (for meat). Many breeds of chickens no longer will sit on their eggs. They have been selectively bred to produce eggs and nothing more! They have lost their instinctive broodiness. Most of our modern farm livestock fall into this specialization category, and in the process they have lost some of their other valuable traits such as mothering ability, ability to forage, and disease and parasite resistance. Thus, these modern breeds are not suitable for survival purposes. In TEOTWAWKI we will need breeds that can survive without the vet, pharmacy, and feed store.
The survivalist would be best served by “heirloom” livestock breeds that are considered to be dual purpose. Most of the dual-purpose breeds are raised on small family farms. They are fairly rare. Dual-purpose sheep are known for producing lamb with high-quality carcasses as well as high-quality fleece. (Though usually the fleece has specialty qualities that make it much more valuable to the hand-spinner niche market than to commercial producers.) Dual-purpose cattle are those that are good milkers and excellent mothers, and their calves grow rapidly. Do a Web search of “dual-purpose sheep” or “dual-purpose cattle” to see the wide variety of animals available. An excellent Web site to learn about endangered dual-purpose breeds is the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (albc-usa.org).
Survivalists would be best served to select heritage breeds that match the climate and terrain of their retreat. The Rawles Ranch is well watered and most of the pastures can be downright swampy. The American mustang, although an extremely hardy and disease-resistant breed of horse, is not suitable for our soggy soil. The mustang developed in the southwest and is much more suitable for survivalists in drier areas. A better breed for