(ORDO NEWS) — Immediately after the end of civilization (no matter for what reasons) there will be a war for food.
It can be avoided by preparing ahead of time. But not stuffing the cellars with pickles, but arming ourselves with knowledge. What is the best food option for the apocalypse? Today we will try to answer this question.
More than two centuries ago, in 1815, the largest eruption in the history of mankind, the Tambora volcano in Indonesia, forced millions of people to the brink of starvation.
Cold snap and ash destroyed crops, birds fell dead from the sky, and hungry people ate raccoons and pigeons. This period is known as “volcanic winter” or “year without summer”.
A similar situation can be compared to the apocalypse if you expand this Indonesian story to a global scale.
What will be the food of the end of the world? Even today, not only science fiction writers, but also scientists are thinking about it.
What is after the apocalypse?
David Denkenberger, a mechanical engineer at the University of Alaska who leads the non-profit Alliance to Protect the Earth from Disasters (ALLFED), is busy exploring ways to protect food during global disasters. Among other things, he is interested in the question of what will be the food of the apocalypse.
The scientist claims that even if the Earth becomes a cold scorched desert, humanity has a chance to survive.
The dry food stocks available today can feed about 10% of the world’s population for five years. This, of course, is not enough.
Denkenberger estimates that in the event that a nuclear winter wipes out all vegetation, people will be left with mushrooms that can be grown on the ashes of the old world.
This is the most likely food option in case of an apocalypse – mushrooms could potentially feed all people on the planet for about three years.
Since fungi do not need photosynthesis, they can survive without light, in caves, cellars and catacombs. It is these properties that make mushrooms the main food during the apocalypse.
This also applies to seaweeds. “Seaweed is a good food source in the event of a nuclear winter because it can make do with dim light,” the scientist says.
“Besides, they grow fast. During a nuclear winter, the land will cool faster than the oceans, and algae can withstand relatively low temperatures.”
Denkenberger calculated that it would take about 1.6 billion tons of dry food per year to feed everyone on the planet.
People will be able to grow this amount of algae in three to six months after the disaster. It turns out that algae and mushrooms will become the food of the end of the world? This is not enough.
Post-apocalyptic diet
But people need a variety of food, so Denkenberger compiled a typical diet for those who are lucky enough to survive after a nuclear war. The nutritional value of this diet is 2100 kilocalories per day.
The menu is simple, food in case of an apocalypse is as follows: meat, eggs, sugar and mushrooms, as well as dandelions and tea from needles, which contain vitamin C. Bacteria will become the source of vitamin E, and cellulose will become sugars.
Denkenberger continues to explore other natural food sources that could grow along the equator, where there will still be some sunshine despite the cold after the disaster.
Apocalypse food could very well be grown there. “When I moved to Alaska, I realized that even in areas where summers are so cool that trees don’t grow, you can grow potatoes,” the scientist laughs.
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