“Prepping” now means that you should buy highly manufactured freeze dried “food”:
Once the domain of end-of-timers and right-wing radicals, the survivalist mindset is pushing into the mainstream thanks to rising climate-change disasters and civil unrest.
Source: Climate Change Is Launching a New Generation of Preppers – Bloomberg
We have stored food here (6 to 12 months’ worth)- but it’s things like beans, rice, whole grains, lentils, canned goods, pastas – all of which can be stored variously for 1 to several years if stored properly.
But there is no business case for storing low cost staples- instead, Mountain House brand markets “climate change” fear to those living in hurricane and tornado areas – and encourages people be prepared by purchasing highly manufactured freeze dried prepared fake foods that are also expensive.
It’s conventional fear-based product marketing, convincing people to overspend for things they do not actually need.
Why do we store food?
At the start of the pandemic, we were told “do not horde”, which would only further deplete store shelves. A month later, the CDC said those over 60 should stock up on food supplies to avoid/minimize interactions at stores. Of course, we were empty because we listened to the “experts” and followed their guidance (which as usual, was wrong).
Since then, we filled a panty with long term storable food items. It also comes in handy when snowed in, and during periods of high inflation, it also turned out to have economic advantages. We also have a couple of days’ worth of water stored (our neighborhood well has burned out/failed once or twice every year). We can cook using camp stoves.
A couple of times, such as when we both had Covid, we easily isolated at home for over 10 days. We had plenty of food on hand. Also comes in handy when the snow piles up.
We don’t see ourselves as preppers.
Afterwards: Bloomberg’s author uses pejorative language – ” Let’s be sure we’re not fiddling with freeze-dried fettuccini while the planet burns.” There is no climate change theory or model anywhere that predicts “the planet burns”. But hysterical fear mongering is great for business marketing.
