can you live off of meat..

[artofwoc]

during the winter months? or do you need other foods, if so what and how do you obtain it?

also is there such a thing called birch bread?

all help will be appreciated

[Alpine_Sapper]

also is there such a thing called birch bread?

all help will be appreciated

Not according to google. I see "birch bread basket" but that's about it.

[Rick]

I want a balanced diet. There are plenty of winter time foods you can harvest. You need to learn what plants look like in each season. Particularly helpful if you plan to be on the move. Find where each is located in the good months if you plan to be in one spot.

I've never heard of Birch Bread.

[crashdive123]

Can you live off of meat only? Probably, but the health risks that are probably associated with doing so make it something that is not desireable in my book. Adding vitamin C (lots of sources in the wilds) from pine needle tea will prevent scurvy. Adding carbohydrates has a lot of health benefits as well. So, yeah - trying to survive on a more balanced diet is much more preferable. I have not heard of birch bread either.

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

Can you live off of meat only? Probably, but the health risks that are probably associated with doing so make it something that is not desireable in my book. Adding vitamin C (lots of sources in the wilds) from pine needle tea will prevent scurvy. Adding carbohydrates has a lot of health benefits as well. So, yeah - trying to survive on a more balanced diet is much more preferable. I have not heard of birch bread either.

you could possibly live for a long time on blubber with some meat,however a diet of only meat would result in a case of "RABBIT STARVATION" or protien poisoning. and can cause death in as little as 5 weeks. be careful with meat. crashdive is right.

[crashdive123]

The problem with rabbit and other very lean meats is that our bodies need fat to perform certain functions (I'm good for a long time) and without it, the body starts feeding on itself. So yeah, fatty meats or blubber are not a bad thing....unless they are being sold at a fast food joint or in NYC.

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

and like you said a person needs the vitamin-c, starchy carbohydrates, amino acids, convertable sugars, ect...... even the eskimos eat sea weed, cloud berries, lichens,fern fiddles and stuff like that. it is thought that Neandertahls ate only meat but they are extinct.

[crashdive123]

it is thought that Neandertahls ate only meat but they are extinct.Are you sure? Because there are a couple of forum members......

[Alpine_Sapper]

Are you sure? Because there are a couple of forum members......

Hey, I resemble that remark....

Anyway, about the protein only diet, you would need a LOT of water. You could get create a condition of Ketoacidosis in your body very easily. Take all of the health problems associated with the Atkins diet, and multiply them by 100 if you are ONLY eating meat.

[Badawg]

and like you said a person needs the vitamin-c, starchy carbohydrates, amino acids, convertable sugars, ect...... even the eskimos eat sea weed, cloud berries, lichens,fern fiddles and stuff like that. it is thought that Neandertahls ate only meat but they are extinct.

That Neanderthal thang is false. There have been graves in eastern Turkey and Syria that contained Emmer, which is related to wheat. It is indicative of hunter-gatherer behavior to be buried with what you eat....

Eat your vegetables, people...

[Sourdough]

I want a balanced diet. There are plenty of winter time foods you can harvest. You need to learn what plants look like in each season. Particularly helpful if you plan to be on the move. Find where each is located in the good months if you plan to be in one spot.


That could be hard to do, here where we still have 3 1/2 FEET of snow on April 16'th. I have thought about the same quandary. Let's forget the desire for a complete and balanced diet. Lets think in terms of being alive the next day, and maybe if lucky next week; In a true SHTF event in the arctic there is only snow/ice and meat. Go far enough north and there are NO bushes, trees, alders, willows, grass.

[Rick]

Granted. You are the exception. I was thinking in terms of the Midwest. Here a good snow would be 6 or 8 inches and probably be gone in a couple of days. Finding lots of plants is not difficult to do at any time of the year. Identifying them is another matter.

[tennecedar]

In case of a meat only diet I would try to consume the entire animal. Organs, what fat can be scraped from the flesh, and especially the bone marrow. A stew would keep all the nutrients available in one meal. Roasting over a fire will allow juices/fat to drip off making the meat even leaner.

Exceptions would be brains from elk/deer, and liver from polar bears if applicable. I've read conflicting studies on cronic wasting disease. I don't eat the brain just in case.

[Rick]

Oh man. It's dinner time. Would you stop already?

[Sourdough]

and like you said a person needs the vitamin-c, starchy carbohydrates, amino acids, convertable sugars, ect...... even the eskimos eat sea weed, cloud berries, lichens,fern fiddles and stuff like that. it is thought that Neandertahls ate only meat but they are extinct.


I have worked with Alaska Natives in guide camps, who as children had two camp locations, No permanent homes, summer fish camp, and winter Caribou camp, They did NOT have gardens, and many starved to death each year. These Alaska Natives were and still are part of the Stoney River Country.

I never understood why all the Native people did not live on the shores of the great lakes, like Lake Clark, which as abundant fish year around. Only later did I come to understand, the warring, and women stealing among the different peoples.

[canid]

it is not thought, be any reasonable anthrpologist that H. neanderthalensis are only meat.

any number of idiotic notions are thought by at least somebody, that means darn little when all is said and done.

the research i am familiar with suggests, based on the bone marrow analysis of a sample of two individuals and through the absence of other evidence, that they where predominantly carnivores. that's as far as i'll accept conclusion without better study.

one other study found plan material and pollen fossils in dental plaque from the remains of one individual and determined it likely that the individual had been eating cereal grasses and other plants.

[artofwoc]

what plants can you gather in the northern ontario wilderness ? also how do you preserve fruits and vegetables for winter without jars?

[tennecedar]

what plants can you gather in the northern ontario wilderness ? also how do you preserve fruits and vegetables for winter without jars?

Cook them and freeze them or dry them are two options. Tubers can be stored a long time raw if kept cool and dark (root cellar). Apples and pears can also be kept in a cellar but it's best to wrap them individually in newspaper. Cabbage will also keep this way.

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

Are you sure? Because there are a couple of forum members......

yes i know, i try to be nice, we call them "AMETURE" survivalists.

[red lake]

Read a book called Tundra by Farley Mowat. Goes into some great detail about foods eaten during winter in the Tundra

[Sourdough]

Read a book called Tundra by Farley Mowat. Goes into some great detail about foods eaten during winter in the Tundra

Plant food.....?

[canid]

ummmm, reindeer moss and fermented blubber. goes great with tiny little blueberry plants.

[Sourdough]

ummmm, reindeer moss and fermented blubber. goes great with tiny little blueberry plants.


Yes and about 4 other Berry's in September, and Oct. But how do you find Berry's that are buried under 4' feet of snow when it is -61* BELOW ZERO. The hard reality is many starved to death, and sometimes entire villages starved to death.

[crashdive123]

I can assure you of one thing. If my survival depended on foraging for moss and berries that are burried beneath 4 feet of snow, and the temperature is -61............I'm gonna die.

[Rick]

I just hope you go first. I'm getting pretty darned hungry!

[crashdive123]

Be careful - the meat's tough and kind of fatty.

[canid]

nah, it's marbled, well suited for a roast. that's the ticket.

[Nativedude]

If you're looking at a mostly red meat diet due to lack of available vegetation, the you need to eat the bones, brains, eyes, etc. The body needs a certain amount of fat, especially for optimum brain function. Plants give us the necessary chlorophyll, vitamins and minerals that you can't get from meat alone.

You can also harvest pine nuts, acorn, walnuts etc. (depending on the trees in your area). Nuts are a great addition to a mostly meat diet. The fats and oils would be a great companion to red meat.

While foraging for wild edible plants is impossible under 4' of snow, you can forage before the snow falls. Then you can either can or dry the fruits, berries, plants, etc.

I dry a lot of the fruit I pick during the summer and early fall. I hang it from the ridge beam inside the cabin and let them dry there. Not only does it make then readily accessible, but it also adds a pleasant aroma while they are drying.

I can most of the produce from the garden. I prefer eating the canned veggies, as opposed to reconstituting them from their dried state.

JM2C! :)