The BBC is reporting that scientists have discovered an antibody that can fight off all Influenza A viruses. Experiments on flu-infected mice, published in Science Express, showed the antibody could be used as an “emergency treatment”.

They are hoping to create a vaccine for the flu. Some people who have survived the “Swine Flu” have developed a super immunity to other infections. When this was studied, scientists were able to isolate an antibody – called FI6 – which targeted a protein found on the surface of all influenza A viruses called haemagglutinin.

The hope is that they could use this to stop current infections and also to vaccinate against future infections. It’s amazing how our bodies can adapt. A couple of years ago everyone was crazy scared about the swine flu, now we are finding that we may even benefit from it.

It’s a classic case of “that what doesn’t kill you can make you stronger.” So the question is, how can you increase your odds of survival in a disaster so that you can reap the possible benefits for those who are left after the emergency has struck?

Be Ready.

I’m not saying that there are huge benefits after every disaster, but I’m saying that you can increase your odds of surviving if you prepare. And, you just may learn things that can prevent the disaster from happening again, or at least learn how to be better prepared the next time it strikes.

Bad things do and will happen. Whether it’s the loss of a job, an earthquake, a business failing, or a hurricane. But each of these man-made or natural disasters can be prepared for. And who know’s you just might be a lot stronger afterwords.

Our debt ceiling is looking to rise again.   Our stock market is acting like an emotional 6 year old.  The people are not willing to spend their hard earned money in the stock market.  Food prices and inflation is going up like a hot air balloon.  In short the world is starting to face what could turn into one of the worst food crises in decades.

While America has typically been the land of plenty, we’ll start to feel the burden along with others all over the world.   The increases in food prices have already taken affect and are not likely to improve in the near future.  In 2011, the United States Department of Agriculture expects food price to rise between 2 and 3 percent.  As of February 2011, the price of wheat has increased 83% and the price of corn has doubled since one year earlier.

Dairy and cattle farmers are concerned for the industry.  Land values are dropping. Fuel, fertilizer, and seed costs are going up. The cost of beef products is expected to increase by almost 40%, leading to much higher prices for any meat eaters.   Grocery shoppers can expect to pay higher prices on items like eggs, fruits and vegetables, since they’re more vulnerable to changes in farm prices than processed foods.

The prices of our commodities such as oil, cotton, wheat and corn are on the rise and no sign of stopping.  In a time of a bad economy when a lot of people don’t have jobs, it’s going to be really tough for them.  Americans cannot afford higher prices on food and clothing when their incomes are not moving up.

Anyone remember when a can of coffee was actually 48 oz.?  Or when a can of tuna was 7.25 oz.?  A can of vegetables used to weigh 16oz, a pack of gum contained 20 sticks, and salad dressing was a quart, and so on and so on.  Suppliers have been able to sneak in a reduction of product with every change in packaging.  It tricks the people because the prices haven’t been changed.  But we have been paying more for quite some time. The food crisis may seem very depressing, but it is not the end of the world.  There are some things we can do to offset the rising cost of food, and events.

Grow your own food.  Even if you live in the city or the suburbs, you can still benefit from a small home garden.  If you live in an area where you can grow your own food or raise small game, you may consider doing so.  This will not only save you money, but will also contribute to a healthier diet.

Stock up on dry foods and emergency foods.  It is a good idea to purchase a lot of nonperishable foods now.  You will want to look into instant milk, freeze dried eggs, meats, fruits and veggies.

Build up your emergency fund.  Start saving more now so that if you ever need to dig deeper into your savings, you won’t have to take on any debt. The last think you want is to have to make major sacrifices that will hurt the quality of life for you and your family.

Increases in food prices will continue to have a huge impact on our economy and our lives.  While it is impossible to project just how long these increases will last and how deep of an effect they will have on the economy, we need to be prepared to protect ourselves against these heightened price levels.

TIPS WHEN COMPARING FOOD STORAGE SUPPLIES

Today we’re going to give some tips on how to compare food storage supply kits from one company to another so that you can find the best food storage supply for your family. These tips will be listed in order of importance. We’ll also talk about some comparison points that might be misleading or unhelpful when comparing food storage products.

1. Calories per day is where you start.

Any food storage supply worth it’s salt should have a calorie per day average. If they don’t advertise one it is likely because they don’t have a sufficient amount of food in the kit to meet their supply duration claim.

For example, there is a newer company to the industry that advertises with a popular national radio show. The only data they give you is number of servings. They claim their 1264 entrée kit supplies 2 adults and 3 children for enough food for 6 months but when you do the math you quickly learn that each family member will be eating about 500 calories a day, hardly enough food to survive on. Yet their price is similar to kits giving 2,000 calories per day.

There are other companies that make a supply duration claim but don’t back it up with the calories per day provided. You are better off taking your hard earned money to companies that don’t keep that information secret.

2. Which foods are found in the kit?

Ok after you’ve weeded out the bad offerings that are skimping on food the next question is which type of foods are in the kit. Some good questions to ask are:

- Does the kit come with a wide variety or will you be eating the same things every other day? Check out one of our sample menus here to get an idea of the variety we provide.

- If it’s a Premium kit, is it littered with dehydrated foods? Dehydrated foods take more time to cook, have a shorter shelf life, have less nutrition, and require much more fuel/cooking. If you had to, you can eat freeze-dried food cold which wouldn’t require any fuel or cooking at all.

- Is there a lot of filler calories like high sugar desserts (exp raspberry crumble and blueberry cheesecake) or a small shed’s worth of sugary Kool Aid type drink mix to help bump the calories up? Some competitor’s kits derive over 50% of their calories from these items. If you are not diabetic now you might be after eating some food storage supplies out there.

I might be a tad bit biased but you won’t find better food storage kits than those found at The Ready Store. With a wide variety of entrees, vegetables, snacks, fruits, drinks, and sides, your experience of living off these supplies will more closely mirror that of your daily life than any other out there. You will get a great priced high quality product that you’ll enjoy eating.

3. How is the food packaged?

Some companies are filling small mylar bags with food and putting them in plastic buckets then claiming a 20-30 year shelf life. They say they are using extra thick mylar bags that are as good as a #10 can. They also say that the triple nitrogen flush gives the food a shelf life of 3 decades. These claims are absolutely unfounded. All research over the past 40+ years shows mylar bags will give food about a 7 years shelf life if stored properly and that canning is the only way to go for 20-30 year shelf life. We have contacted these companies asking for data confirming their claims and we get nothing but a run-around and it’s for a reason… the research data doesn’t exist.

NOT IMPORTANT DETAILS

1. Number of cans.

The number of cans is not a good indicator of how much food you are getting. Many of our competitors do not fill their cans as high as they can. You really need to see how much product is being put in them to compare apples to apples (pun intended). We recently compared our ValueBucket product line to a competitor’s similar product line after having a customer complain about our price and after a few minutes of research we found out that on average they were now filling their buckets 30% less than we were.

2. Number of servings.

Another poor indicator is number of servings and that is due to some companies abandoning the typical serving size suggestions and choosing their own “serving size”. Needless to say if there are companies (like I mentioned above) selling 6 month survival food storage units that would feed a person 500 calories a day you can guess right that some of them are saying a serving of beef stroganoff is a fraction of what most companies are basing a serving on.

3. Weight of the kit.

Freeze-dried food weighs considerably less than dehydrated foods. A kit with a lot of dehydrated food is going to weigh more. So if you’re looking for dehydrated food kits then you should compare them to dehydrated kits. If you’re looking for freeze-dried kits than make sure both kits in question are 100% freeze-dried products before considering shipping weight as a real indicator of the amount of food you are getting.

In summary, there are many different options for the consumer these days and that is a great thing. Reputable companies work hard at providing the best product and services while demonstrating integrity, sadly not everyone does. It would be wise to use these insider tips to make sure you are getting the best bang for your buck with your next food storage purchase.

Click here to download the new ReadyNation Podcast!

I’m quite confident in saying that a large percentage of people living in China buy their food from China.  I on the other hand happen to live in the USA and I’m extremely appreciative of the fact that I have a choice in whether or not I’ll consume food products from China.

Interestingly enough, more and more people have recently expressed similar concerns to us and I think for good reason.

A recent article came out in The New York Times by Mark Bittman where he highlights recent “food safety oddities” that have cropped up in China.  Did you hear about the wedding where over 250 guests were hospitalized after they consumed pork which contained Clenbuterol, a drug used to make pigs grow faster and leaner?  Apparently the drug if taken in excess causes nausea, convulsions, dizziness, vomiting and heart palpitations.  Sounds like a quick way to ruin a wedding feast to me.

Add to this exploding watermelons (caused by a chemical that’s used to help fruit grow faster), glowing pork (due to phosphorescent bacteria), meals cooked using oil dredged from sewers, pork disguised and sold as beef, counterfeit eggs made from chemicals and egg-shaped molds and soy sauce made using human hair clippings and I’m left to wonder, “Where’s the regulation?”

Bittman’s article does say that the Chinese government is actively cracking down on food safety issues.  However, they’re also trying to clamp down on journalists “deliberately misleading” the public about these issues.  Phelim Kine, a researcher for Human Rights Watch was quoted saying, “In China, the reflexive desire to cover up and hide has trumped transparency and the need to protect health.”

While I have no doubt that the USA is not without fault in the food industry,  it’s not on the same level with China. China’s food safety challenges seem MUCH worse.  Having spent time in developing countries, I know from first hand experience that my own perception of what is sanitary was not consistent with the conditions  I came across.  The point being, culturally speaking what an American might find as acceptable is totally different than what a Chinese person might find as an acceptable practice for the growing, harvesting and processing of food products.

To be clear, I have no doubt that there is food grown in China that’s perfectly healthy and sanitary and vice-versa there is food grown in the USA that is unhealthy and unsanitary.  On the other hand, if someone were to present me with two bowls of identical strawberries and told me that one was grown in China and the other was grown in the USA.  I’d pick the USA grown strawberry every time.

You’ll be happy to know that The Ready Store does not source any of its food products from China.

Happy Independance Day! God Bless America!  We join you in celebrating our country and the spirit of self reliance on this 4th of July.  Here is a list of quotes about self reliance and independence.  We hope you enjoy it.  Thank you for being our
customer!

1. Self-reliance is the only road to true freedom, and being one’s own person is its ultimate reward – Patricia Sampson
2. The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing.  – Aquinas, St. Thomas
3. This gives force to the strong — that the multitude have no habit of self-reliance or original action. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
4. If it is to be, it is up to me. – William H. Johnson
5. Depend not on another, but lean instead on thyself. True happiness is born of self-reliance. – The Laws of Manu
6. There’s no one to stop you but yourself. – Thomas, David
7. The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm. – Unknown

Enjoy your holiday and don’t forget that today and tomorrow are the last days of our Freedom Food Storage Kit Sale… Take the step today towards greater self-reliance and personal freedom!