Survival Food Sunday
Volume 1 Issue 5
Let’s Talk About Salt Baby
(bonus points for anyone who sang that in their head, double for those who sang it out loud)
Let’s Talk About Salt Baby
Salt, what can be said about it really? It’s a seasoning, it sits on the table in a shaker and spilling it is bad luck for some damn reason. That should just about cover it. OR DOES IT?! No, no it does not.
Salt is one thing that seems to rarely be mentioned on the survival/homesteading/armageddoniscomingbetterstockupongravy sites. And yet salt, is one of the building blocks for modern civilization. Salt was so prized in ancient times that we have modern words based on the ancient words for salt. Words like “salary” and “salad”. Wars were fought over the stuff throughout history, even here in America. Yeah, there was a war, in AMERICA, for salt. It happened in the 1860’s around El Paso, Texas. So why is salt something humans are wiling to kill each other for? What makes it so special? Really, for most of us it really is just a seasoning we over use to make our bland food not bland, or an additive used in our water to make it boil faster so we can get back to our latest internet rage boner. To understand my reason for rambling at you today, I will touch on the history of salt, probably more accurately, the role of salt in history, then offer a few reasons why the average “stockpile food for whatever terribleness may or may not befall us in the future” person should stockpile those wacky little crystals.
Humans have used salt since probably before recorded history (fact check that!) and ancient China identified 40 different types of salt and 2 methods to extract it that (with some modernization) are still pretty much used today. The Chinese government also taxed it, because that’s what governments do, they tax stuff (remember kids, if something can’t be taxed or is difficult to collect taxes on it will probably be outlawed). Roman soldiers were given a ration of salt as part of their (I assume) wages. The term salary comes from the Roman salt rations called “salarium argentum”. The Greeks, when not making gross yogurt, used salt to buy slaves. That’s where the phrase “not worth his salt” comes from. The Dutch bankrupted Spain by blocking salt imports and one of the reasons for the French revolution was a salt tax.
This history lesson is all fine and good, but you’re probably still wondering why salt is so valuable, and why I am rambling on about it with no end in sight. Well wonder no more my friend, the end is nigh.
Like I said before, humans need salt. Our bodies can’t survive without it. Salt deficiency, or as it’s more commonly known as, hyponatremia is a big deal. Seriously, the signs of hyponatremia can include altered personality, lethargy, and confusion. Severe cases can result in seizures, coma or death. Hyponatremia can also cause your immune system to be less effective, and cause your body to heal from injury more slowly. Or in the case of some of Napoleon’s soldiers, it can cause your injuries to heal too slowly (look that one up).
Now for the four off the the top of my head reasons I think you should be stockpiling salt:
First, salt is easy to store for an indefinite amount of time and is not too expensive. Use these here interwebs to find storage ideas that suit your needs and get to it.
Second, everyone around you will need the stuff for probably all the exact reasons you need the stuff and that means “BARTER ITEM!”. Yup, unless you happen to live near a natural source of salt (like a mine), it will likely be in short supply and in high demand. Under the right end of the world conditions you may end up becoming quite wealthy.
Third, first aid. You can make saline solution for use in an emergency. Heck, you can even just pour some salt on an open wound to help kill bacteria. As much as it would hurt, I imagine gangrene and amputation would hurt far more in the long run.
Fourth, salt is a food preservative, so preserve your food, for intermediate storage after the freezers and refrigerators have revolted and tried to take over the world. Salted cod anyone?
There is probably a near infinite amount of uses and reasons for having at least 50lbs of salt hoarded in your basement. You’ll be glad you have it once the freezers and refrigerators have laid waste to the land. If nothing else, adding a pinch to that rat meat burger HAS to make it taste better. Yup, salty rat burger would be worlds better than plain rat burger, don’t you think?
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