instead of Uggs, mukluk boots

[lph]

Of course I know that any home food preservation - freezing, canning, drying in non-arid climates - has substantial energy costs. There, far more than in transportation IMO, is where economies of scale really come into play. But I wasn't talking about personal choices ...

Oh, I know :-) It's just interesting to discuss. Because even with stiffer prices for overseas vegetables and fruit, they're still affordable here, especially compared to meat - which is locally produced, and highly subsidized to keep the rural districts alive. But then, I don't live in the high Arctic.

[Crankin]

I am eating less and less meat. I could easily be a vegetarian, but I like the increased choices I get when I add a little meat and chicken into my diet. I love beans, but they don't love me. I still eat them, though, in small amounts.
I guess the good thing is, is that we are all aware of this, in some way. It all adds up. Ten years ago, I didn't really think about any of this. I think my current job, where I have to drive so much, over longer distances, really made me start thinking about how much energy I am wasting. Sure, I am helping people, some of whom would not be getting therapy, but it started bothering me a lot in the past year.

[malkin]

I'm all in favor of not eating any food that tastes like cardboard in pretty much the same way that I also reject wearing any fake fur that becomes a sticky cold soggy mess when it gets wet.

[lph]

So am I, but... cardboard? That bad? I can't really think of any food, frozen, fresh or dried, that I would describe that way.

With the notable exception of rice crackers.

[malkin]

Some of the widely available grocery store frozen veggies are pretty bad. Circa 1973 my dad compared some frozen veg. on our plates to the green paper napkins we were using at the dinner table, but that was a long time ago.

I am quite a fan of frozen blueberries. As for the rest, Brewer does almost all the cooking and makes it taste fabulous, so I don't care how it got here.

As for rice crackers, aren't they more like packing peanuts?

[OakLeaf]

Ever tasted those cornstarch packing peanuts? They're better than rice cakes. Especially with a little salt.

[goldfinch]

Picking bits from what others have posted. . .

In northern Minnesota black bears are common and I see them frequently. Even when I lived in the city come spring bears were everywhere. I had one friend who had a black bear come right into his screened porch when he was in the house. We have to be really careful with birdseed and garbage in all but the winter months. My understanding is that the farther north you go the more carnivorous the black bears become, because of lack of plant life.

One of my neighbors had a run in with a black bear over a deer she had killed. She and her husband ran off the bear. We have had a couple of black bear attacks on people, but no one has been killed.

I grew up eating venison and I still eat venison. I just had it in chili last weekend. My relatives all hunt. Our major deer predator besides humans is the timber wolf. Our deer hunt was down this year. One speculation is the high wolf population. Timber wolves are now a common sight. Our wolf population is high enough that locals who keep cattle or sheep now keep llamas to deter and fight off timber wolves and brush wolves. Our neighbor has not lost any sheep to wolves since he began keeping a couple of llamas. Not that it is a 100% solution, but it beats defenseless cattle or sheep. Data on success though is pretty good.

On the mukluk topic, I've worn mukluks for years. They are moose hide. I eat meat but I try to eat meat killed by those I know who kill animals as humanly as possible. I won't eat factory farmed animals.

My family home has a root cellar. Current temperature, 46 degrees. Good for keeping root vegetables and squash. This year, four wagons of squash:



FWIW