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Survival

Food: Foraging, Hunting, and Preservation

Food is your last priority in short-term survival. You can live 3 weeks without it, but you will be weak after a few days. Shelter and water come first. Food gets the energy that's left.

Why Food Comes Last

Energy Math:

  • Hunting burns 2000+ calories
  • One rabbit provides 500 calories
  • Net result: Negative

Better strategy: Passive methods (traps, fishing) while focusing on shelter and water.

Survival Mindset for Food

The 80/20 Rule:

  • 80% of your food from 20% of species
  • Focus on abundant, easy-to-identify sources
  • Don't waste energy on difficult prey

Safe vs. Sorry:

  • Only eat what you're 100% certain about
  • One poisonous plant can kill you
  • Starving is slower than poisoning

Universal Edibility Test (Last Resort)

Use ONLY if:

  • Desperate (5+ days without food)
  • No other options
  • Unknown plant (not 100% sure)

Process (takes 24+ hours per plant):

  1. Separate. Test one part (leaf, stem, root) at a time
  2. Smell. Strong/unpleasant smell = avoid
  3. Skin contact. Rub on inner elbow, wait 15 minutes
    • Burning/itching = stop
  4. Lip contact. Touch to lips, wait 15 minutes
    • Burning/swelling = stop
  5. Tongue test. Place on tongue, wait 15 minutes
    • Spit out if burning/numbness
  6. Chew. Chew but don't swallow, wait 15 minutes
  7. Swallow small amount. Wait 5 hours
    • Vomiting/diarrhea/cramping = poisonous
  8. Eat 1/4 cup. Wait 5 hours
  9. If no symptoms. Plant is likely safe

Skip if plant has:

  • Milky sap (except dandelion)
  • Umbrella-shaped flowers (hemlock family)
  • Beans/bulbs/seeds with pods
  • Three-leaved growth (could be poison ivy/oak)
  • Strong almond smell (cyanide)

Safe Wild Foods (Nearly Universal)

Plants You Can Trust

Dandelion:

  • Entire plant edible
  • Leaves (salad), roots (boiled), flowers (battered)
  • Grows almost everywhere
  • Bitter but nutritious

Cattail (Nature's Supermarket):

  • Roots (starchy, like potato)
  • Young shoots (like asparagus)
  • Pollen (flour substitute)
  • Available year-round in wetlands

Clover:

  • Leaves and flowers edible
  • Raw or cooked
  • High protein
  • Common in fields

Grass:

  • Seeds edible (grains!)
  • Don't eat grass blades (no enzymes to digest)
  • Collect seeds, thresh, cook
  • Time-intensive but safe

Pine:

  • Inner bark (cambium layer)
  • Needles (vitamin C tea)
  • Nuts/cones (some species)
  • Year-round availability

Acorns:

  • High calories
  • Must leach tannins (bitter)
  • Boil in water, change water 3-4 times
  • Grind into flour

Berries (with caution):

Safe rule of thumb (not absolute):

  • Blue/black berries. Usually safe
  • Red berries. 50/50, know species
  • White berries. Usually poisonous
  • Yellow berries. Usually poisonous

Safe berries:

  • Blackberry (obvious brambles)
  • Blueberry (grows in clusters)
  • Raspberry (brambles, cone-shaped)
  • Strawberry (obvious)
  • Elderberry (cook first, raw can cause nausea)

Poisonous berries:

  • Holly (red, shiny)
  • Yew (red, around seed)
  • Pokeweed (purple-black)
  • Nightshade (shiny black)

Insects (High Protein, Low Risk)

Most edible (remove wings/legs):

  • Grasshoppers
  • Crickets
  • Ants (some species)
  • Beetle larvae (grubs)
  • Termites
  • Earthworms

Cook if possible. Kills parasites

Avoid:

  • Brightly colored (warning colors)
  • Strong smell
  • Hairy/fuzzy
  • Disease carriers (flies, mosquitoes)

Preparation:

  • Remove wings, legs, stinger
  • Roast or boil
  • Crush into paste if needed

Grubs and Larvae

Where to find:

  • Rotten logs
  • Under bark
  • In soil

Safe: Fat white grubs (beetle larvae) Nutritious: High fat and protein Taste: Nutty when cooked

Hunting and Trapping

Energy-Efficient Methods

Best (passive, check daily):

  1. Fish traps
  2. Snares
  3. Deadfall traps

Medium (moderate energy): 4. Fishing with line 5. Spearfishing

Worst (high energy, low success): 6. Active hunting 7. Chasing animals

Simple Snare

Materials:

  • Wire or cord (18-24 inches)
  • Stick or tree for anchor

Setup:

  1. Find game trail (look for scat, tracks)
  2. Create loop (fist-sized)
  3. Position at head height of animal
  4. Secure to anchor
  5. Funnel animal into snare (sticks on sides)

Best locations:

  • Clear game trails
  • Holes in fences
  • Near burrows
  • Water sources

Check daily. Trapped animals die slowly (humane concerns)

Deadfall Trap

Figure 4 Deadfall:

    [Heavy Rock]
         |
      [Vertical]
        / [Horizontal with bait]
   [Base stick]

Components:

  1. Heavy flat rock (killer)
  2. Three sticks in "4" shape
  3. Bait on trigger

When triggered: Rock falls, crushes prey

Good for: Small mammals (squirrels, rabbits)

Fish Traps

Bottle Trap:

  1. Cut plastic bottle 1/3 from top
  2. Invert top into bottom (funnel)
  3. Secure with wire/cord
  4. Add bait inside
  5. Place in water (rocks to weight)
  6. Fish swim in, can't find way out

Weir Trap:

  1. Build fence across stream (rocks, sticks)
  2. Create funnel opening
  3. Fish swim in at high water
  4. Can't escape when water drops

Tidal Pool:

  • Trap fish at high tide
  • Collect at low tide

Spearfishing

Making spear:

  1. Straight branch (6-8 feet)
  2. Sharpen point
  3. Harden in fire
  4. Optional: Split end, insert wedge (barbs)

Technique:

  • Stand still in water
  • Wait for fish
  • Aim low (refraction)
  • Pin to bottom, don't throw

Success rate: Low without practice

Hunting with Weapons

Sling (David's weapon):

  • Pouch with two cords
  • Place rock in pouch
  • Spin overhead
  • Release one cord
  • Range: 50+ yards
  • Practice required: Hundreds of attempts before accuracy

Spear:

  • For large game (last resort)
  • Dangerous at close range
  • Better for defense than hunting

Bow and arrow:

  • Time to make: 10+ hours
  • Requires practice: Months
  • Not practical survival tool unless pre-made

Fishing

Improvised Fishing

Makeshift line:

  • Shoelaces
  • Thread from clothes
  • Plant fibers twisted
  • Vine

Hooks:

  • Thorns
  • Bent pins
  • Carved wood
  • Bones (carved)

Bait:

  • Worms
  • Insects
  • Fish guts
  • Grubs
  • Bread/dough if available

Technique:

  • Still water: Use bobber (floating wood)
  • Moving water: Weight line (stone)
  • Cast near cover (logs, rocks, undercuts)

Hand Fishing (Noodling)

In slow water/pools:

  1. Feel under rocks/logs
  2. Find fish hiding
  3. Grab behind gills
  4. Beware: Turtles, snakes also hide there

Risk: Medium (bites, cuts) Success: Higher than spear

Small Game Processing

Cleaning Basics

Universal steps:

  1. Kill humanely if still alive
  2. Bleed (cut throat)
  3. Skin (cut around legs, pull off)
  4. Gut (cut from ribs to tail, remove organs)
  5. Remove head, feet
  6. Cook thoroughly

Save:

  • All meat
  • Organs (liver, heart = nutritious)
  • Bones (soup)
  • Fat (energy, cooking)
  • Sinew (cordage)
  • Hide (various uses)

Avoid in organs:

  • Gallbladder (bitter, ruins meat)
  • Intestines (waste)
  • Bladder

Inspection

Don't eat if:

  • Sores on skin
  • Lumps in meat
  • Bad smell
  • Parasites visible (white spots/cysts)
  • Acting strange before caught (rabies)

Cook thoroughly. Kills most parasites/bacteria

Food Preparation

Cooking Methods (Ranked)

  1. Boiling. Safest, retains nutrition, can reuse water as broth
  2. Roasting. Good flavor, some nutrition lost
  3. Smoking. Preserves and cooks
  4. Baking. In coals, wrapped in leaves/clay
  5. Raw. Last resort, high parasite risk

How to Know It's Cooked

Meat:

  • Internal temp 165°F+ (use stick to test heat)
  • No pink color
  • Juices run clear
  • Firm texture

Fish:

  • Flesh flakes easily
  • Opaque throughout
  • White/no translucency

Plants:

  • Soft texture
  • Easy to chew
  • Bitter compounds reduced

Making Food Safer

Boiling:

  • Kills parasites, bacteria
  • Makes tough food tender
  • Extracts nutrition into broth

Smoke:

  • Kills surface bacteria
  • Preserves for storage
  • Adds flavor

Thorough cooking:

  • Internal heat kills pathogens
  • Don't eat rare in survival

Food Preservation

Smoking

Setup:

  1. Build small fire (coals, not flames)
  2. Add green wood (creates smoke)
  3. Hang meat 2-3 feet above
  4. Maintain smoke 6-8 hours
  5. Meat should be dry, dark

Preserves: Several weeks

Drying (Jerky)

Process:

  1. Slice meat thin (1/4 inch)
  2. Hang in sun or near fire
  3. Must be dry (leathery, bends)
  4. Protects from flies

Preserves: Weeks to months

Salt Curing (if you have salt)

  • Cover meat in salt
  • Draws out moisture
  • Prevents bacterial growth
  • Rinse before eating

Cold Storage

Winter:

  • Hang meat outside
  • Protected from animals
  • Frozen = preserved

Other seasons:

  • Underground (cooler)
  • Flowing water (submerged in bag)
  • Cave (naturally cool)

Foraging Rules

The Five Never-Eat

  1. Mushrooms. Too risky (unless expert)

    • Many edible, but many deadly
    • Similar species trick beginners
    • Not worth the risk in survival

  2. Umbrella flowers (Hemlock family)

    • Water hemlock = deadly
    • Looks like Queen Anne's Lace
    • One bite can kill

  3. Bright red/orange plants. Often warning colors

  4. Beans in pods. Many are toxic

  5. Milky sap plants (except dandelion)

    • Often latex/poison
    • Skin irritation or worse

Safe Foraging Practices

The 100% Rule:

  • Must be 100% certain of ID
  • 95% certain = don't eat
  • When in doubt, leave it out

Start with known foods:

  • Common worldwide plants
  • Learned before emergency
  • Practiced identification

Focus on abundant foods:

  • Don't waste energy on rare plants
  • Learn the common ones in your area

Water Plants

Cattail: (mentioned above) Watercress: Spicy leaves, in clean flowing water Water chestnuts: Tubers in shallow water Lotus: Roots, seeds, young leaves Arrowhead: Tubers (like small potatoes)

Caution: Water plants can absorb pollutants

Coastal/Marine Food

Seaweed

Most are edible:

  • Green seaweed
  • Brown kelp
  • Red nori

Prep:

  • Rinse in fresh water
  • Eat raw or cooked
  • Dry for storage

Caution: Strong iodine taste, laxative effect

Shellfish

Mussels, clams, oysters:

  • Abundant on shores
  • Boil or steam
  • Discard any that don't open
  • Red tide danger: Can be deadly, check local warnings

Crabs:

  • Trap in tidal pools
  • Cook thoroughly
  • Meat in body and legs

Barnacles:

  • Edible
  • Scrape off rocks
  • Boil

Caution: Check for pollution, red tide warnings

Calories Matter

High-Calorie Wild Foods

Fat sources (9 cal/gram):

  • Nuts (acorns, walnuts)
  • Seeds
  • Fish (fatty species)
  • Animal fat

Carbs (4 cal/gram):

  • Roots (cattail, arrowhead)
  • Tubers
  • Acorns (processed)
  • Seeds/grains

Protein (4 cal/gram):

  • Meat
  • Fish
  • Insects
  • Larvae

Low calorie (avoid wasting energy):

  • Most greens (lettuce-like)
  • Berries (small amounts)

Rationing Strategies

If Food is Scarce

Don't eat at all vs. eating small amounts:

  • Body adjusts to fasting
  • Small amounts keep hunger strong
  • Eat full meal when possible, or skip

Water is more important:

  • Don't eat dry foods without water
  • Digestion uses water
  • Stay hydrated first

Prioritize high-calorie foods:

  • Fat > carbs > protein
  • Save low-calorie greens for garnish

Common Mistakes

  1. Wasting energy hunting. Passive traps better
  2. Eating unknown plants. Poisoning risk
  3. Focusing on food too early. Shelter/water first
  4. Eating raw meat. Parasite risk
  5. Not checking traps. Animals die, meat spoils
  6. Ignoring insects. High protein, abundant
  7. Eating everything immediately. Preserve extras
  8. Forgetting to boil water. Even for cooking
  9. Not cooking thoroughly. Pathogen risk
  10. Overestimating mushrooms. Too risky

Key Takeaways

  1. Shelter and water first. Food is last priority
  2. Passive collection wins. Traps beat hunting
  3. 100% ID rule. Never eat uncertain plants
  4. Cook everything. Kills parasites and bacteria
  5. Calories count. Focus on fats and carbs
  6. Insects are underrated. High protein, low risk
  7. Preservation matters. Don't waste surplus
  8. Learn before you need it. Study edible plants now
  9. Energy economics. Don't burn more than you gain
  10. Stay safe. Starvation is slow, poisoning is fast

You can survive weeks without food. Don't take risks. Focus on abundant, safe sources. Time spent on plant identification now prevents deadly mistakes later.

Next Steps

Continue to 06-navigation.md to learn how to find your way without GPS or compass.