[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')ndividuals experiencing starvation lose substantial fat (a.k.a. adipose) and muscle mass as the body breaks down these tissues for energy. Catabolysis is the process (medical condition) of a body breaking down muscles and other tissues in order to keep vital systems—such as the nervous system and heart muscle (myocardium) —working. Catabolysis will not begin until there are no usable sources of energy coming into the body. Vitamin deficiency is also a common result of starvation, often resulting in anemia, beriberi, pellagra, and scurvy. These diseases collectively may cause diarrhea, skin rashes, edema, and heart failure. Individuals are often irritable and lethargic as a result.

Atrophy (wasting away) of the stomach weakens the perception of hunger, since the perception is controlled by the percentage of the stomach that is empty. Victims of starvation are often too weak to sense thirst, and therefore become dehydrated.

All movements become painful due to atrophy of the muscles, and due to dry, cracked skin caused by severe dehydration. With a weakened body, diseases are commonplace. Fungi, for example, often grows under the esophagus, making swallowing unbearably painful.

The energy deficiency inherent in starvation causes fatigue and renders the victim more apathetic over time. Interaction with one's surroundings diminishes as the starving person becomes too weak to move or even eat.

[Ludi]

Keep in mind that historically, people have starved not because there was nothing edible to be found, but because they did not, or would not, recognize those items as food.

"Most commonly, people starve to death surrounded by edible matter–just no food. There is the essential issue, because “food” is not just edible matter, it’s the culturally constructed subset of edible matter. That mismatch has garnered a small fortune for the producers of “Fear Factor.” Bull’s penis is entirely edible–it’s even a high-priced delicacy consumed by China’s elites to bestow sexual potency–but it isn’t “food.” At least not in our culture.

ome of the examples of this mismatch are simply astounding. The single most famous example of cannibalism in American history is that of the Donner party–a group of 31 settlers bound for California who became trapped in the Sierra Nevadas in the winter of 1947. Though fed with pine nuts by Paiute Indians earlier in their travels, they still resorted to cannibalism and ultimately starved to death–in the middle of a large pine grove. They used the pine trees for fuel and even cut many of them down, but they never used them for food. It simply never occured to them: pine nuts and pine bark simply were not “food.” Pine had long been a “starvation food” for Native Americans in these areas; when all else failed, you could always eat the pine. It was rarely the first choice, but in desperate circumstances, it would suffice. The Donner party was desperate, and ate every “food” they could think of–even rawhide, bones and leather. But they didn’t eat things that weren’t “food”–and pine simply wasn’t “food,” even though they had been fed a meal of pine nuts a short time before.

Or, consider the plight of the Viking colonists of Greenland, as related by Jared Diamond in Collapse. Fish had long been a staple of Norse life, and like other staples (bread in European cultures, or rice in Japan), that entailed two, seemingly discordant attitudes. First, every meal required some portion of it: it is the prescence of some amount of the staple, more than portion size, that separates a “meal” from a “snack.” Secondly, eating just the staple is a sign of poverty, as in “bread and water.” Yet, in Greenland, we find no sign of fish associated with the Viking settlements. Couldn’t it simply be a matter of the fish not being preserved very well, or otherwise hidden from us? Diamond runs through a number of the theories proposed on this account, most of which are patently ridiculous, and comes to a very good point with this:

The trouble with all those excuses for the lack of fish bones at Greenland Norse sites is that they would apply equally well to Greenland Inuit and Icelandic and Norwegian Norse sites, where fish bones prove instead to be abundant.

Yes, fish bones decompose faster, so we need to look at contemporary Norse sites for comparison, to see how much of their fish bones survived. Short answer: a lot. Even more at the Inuit sites, because Greenland isn’t just a fisherman’s paradise–it’s also an archaeologist’s dream. The soil composition and the cold means that nearly everything in Greenland is incredibly well preserved. We have preserved sheep lice and fecal pellets from the Norse colonies–both of which decay far more quickly than fish bones. As Diamond put it:

Every archaeologist who comes to excavate in Greenland refuses initially to believe the incredible claim that the Greenland Norse didn’t eat fish, and starts out with his or her own idea about where all those missing fish bones might be hiding … I prefer instead to take the facts at face value; even though Greenland’s Norse originated from a fish-eating society, they may have developed a taboo against eating fish.

In the end, the Viking colonies of Greenland starved to death–next to a sea teaming with fish. To the end, they never touched them. Their Norse cousins lived on fish; they knew this. They lived in full view of the Inuit, who lived happily as they starved to death. They called them skraelings–”wretches”–because they were naught but ignoble savages. Savages who survived–and quite happily–while the civilized Europeans died a long, agonizing death. They ate their herds of cows, even the young, all the way down to the hooves–a clear sign that they had given up on the future. They ate their dogs. And again, in the end, they ate each other. But to the very end, they never ate fish."

http://anthropik.com/2006/01/thesis-28- ... y-survive/


Don't be like the Vikings.

[3aidlillahi]

You sure know how to cheer people up, PMS.

Very scary stuff. I hope I'm prepared enough not to have to go more than a week without minimal amounts of food.

[3aidlillahi]

Nice post Ludi. It often seems like I'm reading a history book or a magazine article when I read your posts.

[PenultimateManStanding]

Yes, Ludi, you are quite right. For instance, there are nutritious earthworms all over the place. I just read a fascinating passage in Chuck Palahniuk's (author of Fight Club) book, Haunted, in which he went into a vivid description of starvation and I thought it might make an interesting thread topic.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('3aidlillahi', 'N')ice post Ludi. It often seems like I'm reading a history book or a magazine article when I read your posts.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', ' ')he went into a vivid description of starvation and I thought it might make an interesting thread topic.

[startswithearthquakes]

Cactus is nice to eat as well. Plenty of it here in Texas.

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', ' ')he went into a vivid description of starvation and I thought it might make an interesting thread topic.

[kpeavey]

Look who's coming for dinner.

In the Donner party, I understand there was a pecking order of sorts. The single males went first. This should worry me. I think I will pick up more rice.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'K')udos for kicking the SSRIs.

[Cog]

There are 3500 calories per pound of body fat. Most Americans can last quite a while on the extra that they carry. Vitamin deficiency becomes an issue down the road but WW2 American POW's did survive for 5 years on very little to eat.

[eastbay]

And read up a bit on Leningrad. For months they survived on very little. Many died, but most didn't. People can make it through terrifyingly harsh conditions. We're actually quite tough critters.

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'K')udos for kicking the SSRIs.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'S')o if push comes to shove, Ludi, swallow your pride and smoke a Marlboro.

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'S')o if push comes to shove, Ludi, swallow your pride and smoke a Marlboro.

[mystiek]

ooppps I hope I dont double post this...startswithearthquakes makes a great point-before things gets worse-start looking locally what is available. Ludi pointed out historically that food can be right under people's nose and they choose to ignore it. If you are on this site reading most of the posts, you will develop the sense of needing to prepare now. If your backyard is mostly sidewalks and pavement there are other things you can do. The End Times Report is a really nice site with a section called "manna meals". All you need is a waterbath canner for some things. The applesauce cake is really easy to can. Every week I buy butter from the amish and can it-pretty simple technique you just have to keep shaking the jars periodically until the butter cools in the refrig. I am going to have a bumper crop of blackberries in our backyard-lots of blackberry jam! Too bad sassafras tea is considered cancer causing (safrol) because I have a bunch of sassafras! Ludi, any suggestions as far as good references for folks to assess what are edible plants in their regions-I would be interested too? The other suggestion for the community minded folks-if you belong to a church or community organization, suggest starting a food pantry. Joesph (the Bible Joseph) was given a vision that there would be 7 years of plenty then 7 years of famine. During the time of plenty, he was told to put 1/5 aside for the lean time so they would survive the famine. Remember when folks around you think you are the village idiot for storing up food (and don't forget water)-remember Noah was cackled at while he was building the Ark-well you know the rest of the story on that one.

[Ludi]

Mystiek, check out the several Foraging threads in the Planning Forum.