Canned Chicken

I have now successfully (well, we'll know for sure if I'm not dead from botulism this time next year) canned chicken. Now, the first comment running through your mind might well be..."Why would anyone want to do that?" The simple answer is, ninety-nine cents. That's the price per pound that chicken can be found for in the summer.

The complicated answer is that I've been watching the economic news carefully...it's a bizarre hobby of mine. I have to torture myself by understanding the latest economic news and the national and international currents that drive them. And, for those of you who are not masochistic enough to torture yourself over mass manipulations of our money supply, the simple news is that we are in deep sh*t.

This is not a recession, we are in year one of a depression. And thanks to the non-stop printing of money we will have the added bonus of a year of hyperinflation. Just to make it interesting. Naw, not really; just to monetize the debt and forever P.O . China. Our grandchildren may one day fight a war over this, China does not forget or forgive.

So why would a person want to go through the insanely laborious task of canning meat when it's readily available in the supermarket fresh? Or frozen? Or, duh, already canned? Because what is available today won't necessarily be available tomorrow, at least at this price. Because my freezer is full of frozen green beans. Because I don't like the texture or flavor of commercially canned chicken. They don't mix salsa in with it before they can. Or onion and bay leaves. Or garlic and green peppers.

I'm expecting grain prices to go through the roof. Drought conditions in much of the world have reduced the global grain supply. Many countries such as Great Britain
and Egypt, among others, are bracing themselves for shortages. Meat animals of every kind eat a lot of grain. So, prices are going to go up for both grains and meat. Not a problem here in the rich United States? Our wealth is a facade, the reality underneath is hollowed out and stagnant.

The U.S. Has No Remaining Grain Reserves
The nation has enough grain left to give each American half a loaf of bread in an emergency. As the old adage goes, half a loaf is better than one. But I prefer my bread with butter and Jam. So I'm more than a little nervous about the situation.

I grow a large garden, and I know many people with small gardens who are confident that they can grow enough to feed their families. I've done some research on that, and these people are dreaming. They are completely unrealistic about how much they eat. My active husband has very little body fat; DH Matt eats 3500 calories a day, compared to my 2400. Not that he counts his calories, but as a less active woman with a slow metabolism I am a habitual calorie counter. I'm also the person who watches others eat desserts and ice cream but doesn't participate. So, lets do the math on his 3500 calories. That would be 1,277,500 for the year. Combined with my 876,000...add in a skinny teenager with hollow legs and a bottomless appetite at another 3500 calories a day, that will be 3,431,000 calories a year. Three and a half million calories, just for our slender family of three people for one year. I'm canning more chicken.