How dependent are we?

Beekissed

Mountain Sage
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Messages
12,774
Reaction score
3,934
Points
437
Location
Mountains of WV
Killing your own meat just came up in a discussion on BYC and I was saying it still amazes me how many people who have never killed their own meat!

Just think of the sheer number of people out there who are dependent on someone else to provide their meat for them! How vulnerable that makes America in so many ways. The days when a housewife would go out back and kill a few hens when company was coming for dinner are completely gone. Think of the power taken out of our hands by the simple act of prepackaging our foods for us for a couple of generations. You can look back at the old advertisements and how they touted "convenience" and somehow equated that with "progress". Funny how, now, trendy people are "getting back to nature" and think its something new!

I was raised so differently than most folks that it kind of tinted my view of the world for awhile. I would meet women at work who had never processed their own animals, didn't know where eggs came from and grew sick of the mere mention of the origins of their meat. I always viewed these women as the minority and had a mild contempt for their "airheaded" attitudes...until I was out amongst them awhile. Then it slowly dawned on me that I was the minority, and this was inconceivable to me!Guess the lack of TV during my formative years did stunt my education in one regard....I hadn't known the general population were so helpless and dependent.

As the years wore on, I was considered an oddity and became the butt of good-humored ribbing on the subject of being a "hippy" or a "hillbilly". It was only mildly irritating to have my "backwoods ways" mentioned, with the implication being that I was somehow ignorant to modern advances and conveniences. It didn't bother me much, as I always carried a reverse snobbery on the subject, a mild contempt for the helpless and dependent people of the world.

I guess now that feeling is vindicated but I wish more folks would get with it, so we could have more people with which to converse on the subject of being independent. Especially in my neck of the woods...I think these folks have fallen the farthest, as they still feel they are making "progress" when they buy everything from the store. Probably decades of being in poverty has jaundiced their views on "doing without" now that they have credit cards, decent wages, etc.

How far have we strayed from our roots? :(
 

FarmerChick

Super Self-Sufficient
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
11,417
Reaction score
14
Points
248
Don't be too hard on these types of people because our general society steered everyone this way...thru building of big cities and innovative designs and techniques to make less work and toil for people in their daily survival.

I don't think we "strayed" from our roots, I believe we are "pushed" from our roots and the sheep herd of society followed right along.

Anyway, yes so many are so far from a real survival instinct now. Without money alot of people can't survive. Money buys food, warmth, shelter, etc. Without it, people struggle.

Me, I can provide. I have the land to truly make a life livable if needed, but even without "big land" so many could survive. I know many who can suvive on 1 acre.....they do very well to make that 1 acre provide.

It is strange and scary together.

I like when people say things like, oh yeah I practice being green, I bought a green-made T-shirt.....from China or something..LOL

I don't know :) Way of the world I guess??
 

pioneergirl

Wannabe Pioneer
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
1,186
Reaction score
8
Points
128
Location
Washington
I know how you feel. A friend of mine brought her neices over to the house because they wanted to see the chickens. They asked all kinds of questions, because never had they seen one in real life. They also had no idea that these produced the eggs I eat every day. Had no idea what a brown 'farm egg' looked like, and honestly thought there was something wrong with it. They were also apallled that I would butcher one for supper.

On top of that, we went to the garden, and they were amazed at the veggies. They had always thought peas came in a can, along with green beans. Had never seen a tomato plant, nor did they know you had to dig potatoes out of the ground.

I was glad they came, and tried to be as helpful and educational as I could, but like you, I was amazed and irritated that our society allows this almost blatent ignorance. It make you want to go to the schools and make "where does food come from" compulsory.

*the kicker was..."That makes chicken nuggets?"* :th :barnie

I also get teased quite a bit....the DH lovingly says "can't go anywhere today, its Pioneer Days at our house!"....which is funny, yes, and I wouldn't let him get away with it if he didn't help so much..lol. He works just as hard as I do when he is home, helping with corn, peas, etc. We have a system down when we can food together, and without him, it would take twice as long.

We have strayed waaaayyy too far from our roots, and unless there is some sort of world apocolypse, I fear the roots are dieing. Why would our children/future generations care about where it comes from? They push a button and it comes out of a machine, or from behind the counter. We are the minority...and sadly, those of us that cook meals for our families and actually sit down together and eat are also in that catagory. Someone told me not to long ago that educators in England were going to start devising their school tests (ACT, SAT) in 'text-speak' because that was what the kids understood and could write.....:he :barnie Are you kidding me?????? *sigh*
 

Beekissed

Mountain Sage
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Messages
12,774
Reaction score
3,934
Points
437
Location
Mountains of WV
The great "dumbing down" of the nations! Something of which to be proud, I'm sure!

I agree that society as a whole are like sheep. This has always baffled me and I've noticed it starts younger and younger. My sister strived so hard to make sure her kids had "name brand" clothes when they entered school, so they would "fit it" and not be embarassed! I've also noticed that the herd is very antagonistic towards any "black sheep"....why, for safety reasons, of course! :rolleyes:

Having been a black sheep my whole life, I can tell you I have been quite content to stroll along in the pasture by myself. I would have been much happier if the other sheep didn't go out of their way to be mean about it, but I never required their approval anyway! :D

The most distressing and frustrating part of this whole scene are the people who will eat what is proffered by the corporations and then complain when their health is so bad. They refuse to listen to what will help them restore their health, refuse to even consider it may be what they put in their mouths, and would rather reach for a pill as a quick fix. Lets see.... :hu , fuel your body for years with a substandard, dirty fuel, complain to everyone within shouting distance that you have health issues, take some more chemicals to try to fix it, complain about the cost of the chemicals, continue to feed your cells dirty fuel and more chemicals and expect to get a new result. Its frustrating when people take no responsibility for their own health and expect the medical profession to fix it.

When you tell people how to restore their health by avoiding this or that type of diet, they start shaking their heads and starting sentences with, "I could never give up (insert whatever foul substance they normally eat)!" My mother always said," If you always did what you've always done, you will always have what you always had."

Sort of like the people who scoff at us "hippies" and then have the nerve to complain about their debts, how stressed they are from working so much to pay their debts, and then complain that they "never have any time" to enjoy life because of being too tired from working so much.

Color me a black sheep, thank you! ;)
 

Acre of Blessings

Lovin' The Homestead
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
220
Reaction score
18
Points
84
Location
Lil' ol' town of Axton Va
FarmerChick said:
I know many who can survive on 1 acre.....they do very well to make that 1 acre provide.
That's exactly whats happening here. We have just a tad over an acre and we have started making this little piece of land work for us. We have a garden that we glean from each year, next Spring we will have strawberries and we have chickens that free range all day long that will soon, in a week or so, give us eggs in return. We also have ducks for eggs and turkeys also. We are gonna let some of the hens hatch babies so we can sell and also to keep our chicken flock growing. We also have goats that we can eventually get milk from for soap and for drinking.

I have heard people say and I used to think it myself that you had to have a lot of land to be able to do something with, but I have now realized, I was wrong. If you have just a small lot you can make it work for you. Even if all you do is plant a garden.

Don't underestimate yourself if you don't have a lot of land. Just stand back look a the big picture of what you can do with what you have. May God bless you all.
 

Hiedi

Lovin' The Homestead
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
156
Reaction score
1
Points
79
Posted by Beekissed
Killing your own meat just came up in a discussion on BYC and I was saying it still amazes me how many people who have never killed their own meat!
I just started raising chickens, and I have no intentions of killing them for meat. I only got them for the eggs. I do not consider myself a vegetarian, but I do not eat chicken. In fact, I do not eat any meat, besides some fish and seafood. However, I do admire people that raise animals for meat in this way. :)

I am trying to become more self-sufficient; but I can live without meat, for the most part. ;)
 

enjoy the ride

Sufficient Life
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
Messages
1,406
Reaction score
4
Points
123
Location
Really Northern California
Before we get too romantic over the self-sufficent life- there is a reason why people moved to the city (and looks like the return to city migration may happen.) It is EASIER.
Without an outside job or already having enough good land debt free, making your own food is hard work. It also depends on your ability to work everyday for the rest of your life- no retirement ever.
People wore themselves out in the "good ol" days. Farmers were not the plump specimens you can see now. Without mechanization, you become a beast of burden yourself. And you suffered good an bad years- hunger on a farm was not unknown. Death from mistakes in judgement was not unknown.
It is one thing to grow your own food knowing that if you have a crop failure, you can go to the store. It's another to know that this may mean desperate hard times.

But it sure would make some better political decisions if people were taught what food is and that people are not utterly protected from nature as they like to think.
 

FarmerChick

Super Self-Sufficient
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
11,417
Reaction score
14
Points
248
Some people have it in them to slaughter....some people don't.....but I bet many of those who "couldn't do it" when faced with a situation of food or no food, would slaughter in a heartbeat...LOL----just look at those people on the Survivor show...they snag a bird and eat it up and grimace while doing it but they sure do it..LOL


We can't compare now and then. Then when people had no grocery stores nearby, no gas stations close, etc. etc. and went into town 1 time per month or 2 for supplies etc....it can't be compared with today. We all have a safety net on every corner practically. We choose to NOT use all modern conveniences out there....back then they weren't available.

My Dad grew up on a farm...at 15 he lied and got into the Marines. He couldn't wait to get away from that life. Ask him now, then or now, he would say life is better NOW big time.....you don't have to have all the conveniences but life is better than when he was a kid!

Then again, take my Mom, she loves her conveniences and grew up on a farm and her parents owned a general store...so they had more than others. Ask her and she said life was good back then for them....so it is all just a matter of have and have not and what do ya want I guess.

who knows...LOL...times are changing, for good or bad it will happen. change never stops, but where we end up will be interesting.
 
Top