preparednessblog

After my post on the nutrition and economics of Spam, I received some emails and comments on a blog where I linked my entry, asking  whether I’d ever even tried Spam, and accusing me of being a, ahem, “Spam elitist”.

Now, if you read back, I never called Spam trashy food, never said it was disgusting. I merely pointed out that it’s both expensive and high in fat and sodium.

However, as it happens, I had, in fact, never eaten Spam. And, to be honest, that was bothering me, since one of my pet peeves is people who hold opinions without getting the facts. So, I’d been thinking that a taste test was in order.

Luck was with me, as my local grocery store had Spam Singles on clearance, 89 cents for a 3 ounce pack. I picked up two. One of those packs, in fact, wound up being free, because they rang up at the register at the normal, pre-clearance price. I suppose if you are going to eat Spam, free Spam would be the way to go.

I decided on a very basic prep, and pan-fried the slices until crispy, then served them along side fried grits and some collard greens.

They smelled good cooking, kind of bacon-y. I don’t typically eat pork, so, cooking bacon is a very rare scent in my kitchen. Curious children wandered in to the kitchen to inquire.

I plated up the food and tried my first bite.

UGH.

The taste is more salty than anything else. None of those nice smoky notes you get with bacon or ham. And the texture… I guess hotdogs, or perhaps very firm playdough, would be the closest comparison. It’s definitely not anything I associate with meat.

The younger kid, who is usually the healthiest eater, surprisingly, liked Spam a lot. The older one deemed it merely okay.

So…. I cooked. I ate. I gave Spam a chance.

Verdict: not likely to be added to my repertoire this side of the apocalypse.

The things I do for you people….

The situation in the Midwest has had me researching the best ways to cope with flooding.  The best suggestions I’ve found:

1. Carry flood insurance. Floods are not covered under your regular home-owners’ or renters’ policy.

2. Sand-bags, all in all, seem to be pretty useless. Most sources agree that getting yourself and your stuff out of harm’s way is a better use of your energy.

3. This is not a situation where bugging in is appropriate. If there is an evacuation order for flooding, get your family out of the area as quickly as possible. Since you keep a bug out bag by the door, you can do this on short notice, right?

4. Anything you can’t take with you, get it up as high in your house as you can. Put it in the attic or second story if you have one, on counters if you don’t. Flood waters may go higher than you can get your stuff, but it’s a chance to save something.

5. Don’t wade in flood waters without proper protection. All sorts of dangerous stuff, from sharp objects to angry animals to harmful bacteria can be lurking under the surface.

I read this editorial the other day, written by a former US Army Lt. General, Russel Honore.

Honore makes some great points, not only about individuals’ responsibility to prepare for disasters, but, about the reasons that preparedness is best done at the personal level. He describes our task as creating a “culture of preparedness.”

For the most part, he addresses a change in attitudes: don’t wait on government to fix it for you. The way that our society is structured, government is far too slow-moving. Individuals and businesses have a far greater capacity to adapt.

He also makes a few easy to implement practical suggestions:

• Be aware of people in your community who, due to health or financial reasons, may not be able to prepare on their own.
• Help others prepare with useful gifts. Instead of another glass figurine, get grandma a weather radio, for instance.
• Keep a pack of foods, medicine, clothes and water ready to go in case of evacuation.

It’s a powerful, well-written read, and I recommend it.

Communication during a disaster can be difficult. For those affected by the flooding in Iowa, the Red Cross has created an online database called “Safe and Well” where people can register and check on loved ones.

Visit www.redcross.org, and click the “Safe and Well” link on the upper right-hand side. If you are affected by the flood, click “List Myself as Safe and Well” to enter your details. Use your pre-flood phone number and address.

If you are looking for information about loved ones, you can search the database by name, phone number or address.

Those who do not have internet access can register by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.

Similar databases were used with good results after the hurricanes in 2005. Even if you are not affected by the current floods, take some time to let your family know that you intend to use online databases if something happens where you are displaced and cannot communicate directly by phone.

Many health officials consider an influenza pandemic not only possible, but highly likely. I’ve found two really terrific sources of information about pandemic flu, and how to prepare for it.

Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching is a non-fiction book about pandemic flu that is available in whole online at http://birdflubook.com. This book covers the history of pandemics, such as the 1918 flu outbreak, as well as an analysis of various government’s states of preparedness. There is also a good deal of scientific background for those interested.

A Will to Survive is a novel chronicling the life of one well-prepared family during a pandemic. The writing is at times a little flat, but, the information about this family’s day to day life, and the steps they took to prepare are invaluable.

A bit of the most valuable information from both:

Most agree that vaccinations and anti-virals will be in short supply. But, a few different sources I’ve read have suggested a few strategies that will help prevent a large amount of transmission of the flu.

The most basic and most effective is hand-washing. Do it after every use of the restroom, every handshake, and every cough or sneeze, and you will cut down your risk of infection significantly.  Alcohol gel hand sanitizers were found to be even more effective and less drying to the skin than soap and water.

Social distancing — that is, avoiding crowds, avoiding touching those who may be sick, and even going so far as to self-quarantine — is another measure described in both books.

A third measure people can take on their own is the use of masks. Surgical masks known as N95 masks can effectively screen out the fluids that contain viruses. They can help keep ill people from transmitting the virus, and well people from catching it. They also serve as a reminder to keep people from touching their eyes, nose or mouth, which are the most common routes for infection.

The Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1st, and runs until November 30th.

The NOAA has released their predictions for hurricane activity this year. They are:

• - 6 to 9 hurricanes
• - 2 of which will be major, which means sustained winds of 110 mph or more.
• - 12 to 16 named storms

This year, the organization also added that they consider their forecast about 60 to 70 percent probable. Officials say that they included this information this year because many people take the predictions as a hard figure, and relied too heavily on the forecasts.

I think this observation sums it all up perfectly:

“Living in a coastal state means having a plan for each and every hurricane season. Review or complete emergency plans now — before a storm threatens,” said Conrad C. Lautenbacher, NOAA administrator. “Planning and preparation is the key to storm survival and recovery.”

You can read the Yahoo! News story here .

I want to talk about Myanmar, but I just don’t what to say.

As you have almost certainly read, the cyclone has left about a million people homeless. The death toll is, now, as many as 60,000, and that number rises every day that the government there keeps aid workers out. The area that was flooded was the country’s largest agricultural area, so the Burmese people’s suffering is only going to get worse as the months go on.

This refusal to grant visas to humanitarian workers is according to many organizations, unprecedented.

Despite the fact that much of the pledge aid is being turned away, I feel it’s still important to try to get help to the people of Myanmar.

There is a list here of organizations you can donate money to in order to help. There is no assurance that your help will get there if you give. The only certain situation is if we don’t help.

I’ve donated $100 that I can’t afford, but I’m figuring my finances are far less dire than anyone’s there. Please comment and let me know if you have donated, as well.