Tips To Reduce the Camping Food Waste

According to an estimate, about 70 billion pounds of food is wasted in US every year. While there is no specific study to suggest the amount of food wasted during camping, it is the fact that vast amounts of foods are wasted during camping trips. This wastage of foods is detrimental not only for the personal budgets but also for the environment.

Facts about food waste and refuse

• Large amount of rotting food in landfill is a significant source of methane which turns out to be a pollutant.
• Food items turn into a large amount of backcountry trash and litter.
• Food that is discarded and buried into the land becomes an attraction for the wildlife. The problem with this process is that the food that is meant to be eaten by human becomes primary food of animals, affected the animals’ feeding cycles and habits. It is not good for the ecosystem.
• Food related refuse can be harmful for the natural beauty because it affects the land for many years.

Reducing camping food waste and refuse

• The idea of camping is pretty exciting. Many people stop thinking realistically when it comes to deciding for the camping foods. Some people are fascinated by the idea of cooking gourmet meals over the campfire but this cooking takes huge amount of time and money. Imagine you have to throw a piece of steak which you have purchased but you do not have the arrangement to cook it in the first night. That steak is going to be wasted for sure.
• It is very important to plan the meals very carefully. If you have perishable foods, eat them in the first couple of days. Save nonperishable foods for the last days.
• You may have a bulk of foods in the tent but you cannot take it everywhere during this trip. So, it is very important to pack small packets of snacks to meet your nutritional needs when you are far away from your tent.
• Another option that you can consider is the consumption of frozen foods. The frozen dried meals can be taken anywhere you want. You can also have them in your emergency food storage. Their ability to remain usable for more than 7 years makes those foods an ideal storage option.

Tips for Storing Grains for a Long Term

Humans have not been consuming grains right from era when life was started on this earth. But we humans have got highly adaptive digestive systems. People used to rely on meat, fish, vegetables and fruits thousands of centuries ago. And then, grains became the part of diet. People in modern era rely more on grains as compared to other types of foods.

While a daily supply of grains and other foods is something that we all pay attention to, it is very important to make sure that these items exist in your emergency food storage in an adequate amount. When it comes to storing grains, it is very important to take their shelf life into consideration. Brown rice and barley are not the ideal forms of grains because they have a shelf like of only 4 to 6 months. Instead, the types of grains that you can include in your emergency food storage include the following.

• Soft grains: Soft grains include oats, rye, and quinoa. The average shelf life of these grains is 8 years but you can extend this shelf life up to 20 years.
• Hard grains: Hard grains include buckwheat, corn, flax, mullet, kamut, spelt, wheat, and triticale. If these grains are properly stored, they can remain usable for 10 to 12 years. But their shelf life can be extended up to 30 years.

Food storage supplies

Many of the people consider using 40-pound sack of rise to store the gains. However, this is not the right way to store the foods properly. You are going to need following items if you want to store grains for a longer period of time.

• Food grade buckets
• Vacuum sealer or heat sealer
• 5-Gallon food storage bags
• Oxygen absorbers

If you are purchasing bulk emergency foods, you may be able to get them pre-packed in Myler packets which are further protected by food-grade buckets. The major advantage of Myler is that it offers an extra barrier to protect the packet contents from light and moisture. You can also ask from the local restaurants if they could provide you with the free buckets which they are going to discard anyway.

Step-by-step food storage

• First of all, you need to find an area in the home with optimal conditions and temperatures. A cool, dry and dark place with the temperature between 62°F and 68°F is the ideal location where you can store your emergency foods
• Use Myler bag as a liner inside the plastic bucket and fill it with grains.
• Add 2000cc oxygen absorbing bag in the grains, squeeze the excess air out of the bag, and seal it using heat sealer.
• Fit the lid on the bucket and make sure that it is making a proper seal.