Editor’s Commentary: We often pass on videos and articles by Epic Economist for various reasons. Sometimes, they’re spot on with their analysis. Other times they’re a bit too “click-baity” with not enough useful information to justify publishing their often-outrageous headlines.
I came very close to passing on today’s video/article because it delves into fearmongering. While there are clearly reasons for being concerned about the direction of our nation, the failing economy, geopolitical threats, and our own anti-American leaders driving the country into the ground, it’s difficult to imagine people needing to hunt rabbits like Elmer Fudd (though hopefully with more success) because otherwise their families will starve to death.
Then, I remembered something that I often tell others. “Just because something would have been unimaginable a couple of years ago doesn’t mean it’s not a certainty to happen today.”
No, I do not think it’s a certainty that we will be driven into something as bad if not worse than the Great Depression in which the masses are fighting over ketchup packets to survive, but it would be imprudent to think that’s impossible. That’s why I decided to publish today’s AI-voice-driven Epic Economist fearmonger piece. We can hope they’re wrong. We can do what we can to prepare. But at the end of the day we might find ourselves eating squirrel or nothing at all so it’s better to err on the side of caution. Here’s Epic Economist…
On October 29, 1929, the U.S. stock market faced a devastating crash that resulted in the crisis that we know today as the Great Depression. During that period, millions of Americans lost their jobs, their incomes, and their homes, and countless families faced homelessness and hunger.
Some people survived because they started to plant their fruits and vegetables and raise animals to make their meals. But for many others, that wasn’t an option so they had to improvise with the ingredients they had available. Back then, the vast majority of Americans had to stretch every dollar and pinch every penny to get the most food for their buck.
Conditions were so extreme that desperate people started to do things that would be unthinkable during normal times just to have something on their plate. For instance, while some people only did this when it was roadkill, others actually hunted squirrels to eat.
Those were times when panic and desperation were rapidly spreading through our society, and some Americans had to fight to survive. Eating squirrels was not uncommon in the 30s. Beef was out of the reach of many struggling households, and chickens were kept alive so they could provide eggs, so options were limited.
People hunted, foraged, and learned to make the best of what they had on hand. Canned goods, flour, eggs, and milk sometimes were all families had, and still, they created many different recipes with humble food staples. Those who could eat twice a day were the lucky ones. Poor families only had one meal per day, and parents went hungry at nighttime so they could feed their children.
Even though this happened almost one century ago, the struggles of that time are still in the nation’s memory, especially because current economic conditions are becoming eerily similar to what happened in the late 1920s and at the beginning of the 1930s. Today, we have the most overvalued stock market in history.
The housing market is falling apart, with commercial properties setting off the downfall, the economy is slumping while consumer prices are still soaring, and thousands of companies have already announced mass layoffs this year.
To say that life has changed dramatically in the past few years is an understatement. For those who are fortunate enough to still have jobs, making ends meet is no more an issue than normal. But for those who have lost their income entirely, from now on, money will be a bigger problem than ever before. This, however, is not the only burden Americans are facing right now. Grocery stores and big-box retailers are reporting empty shelves for several staples once again, and every time we go shopping, prices are up again.
Although we genuinely hope that our population doesn’t reach the same levels of despair and financial ruin that American families faced during the Great Depression, there plenty of statistics indicating that we are headed to a historic downturn. That’s why we must learn from history, and get ready for the hardships before they reach us.
Even the UN is warning that a Depression-era famine will happen again, so preparing for the next economic and financial disaster is definitely a matter of survival. For that reason, we compiled some recipes that our parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents made back then out of nearly nothing.
The List
- Squirrel
- Desperation Pie
- Chicken Feet in Broth
- Meatless Meatloaf
- Garbage Mashup
- Ketchup, Mayonnaise, Onion, or Pickle Sandwich
- Mlikorno
- Egg Drop Soup (1930s version)
- Cooked Break
- Shoo-Fly Pie
- Navy Bean and Ham Soup
- Frozen Fruit Salad
- Spaghetti With Boiled Carrots and White Sauce
- Buttermilk Soup
- Johnny Cakes
- Potato Candy
- Stuffed Artichokes
- No-Toppings Pizza
- Poorman’s Pudding
- Rabbit Stew and Dumplings
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Perdue Chicken had a problem with all those chicken feet left over after the chickens were processed. Then somebody mentioned how Asians considered chicken feet delicious. Problem solved. President Reagan talked about how delicious his mother’s “meatloaf ” was. It wasn’t until years later that he learned that meatloaf actually contained meat. His favorite dish was macaroni and cheese. The Greatest Generation.
– Sugar cookies
– Bacon grease for frying & flavor in anything
– Potatoes (fried, soup, etc.)
– Macaroni & whatever
– Oatmeal
– Cornbread
– Onions
– Dandelion salad
– Wild Berries
– Mushrooms
– Venison
– Beans
#conditioning
I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s and we hunted (and ate) rabbit and squirrel all the time. I knew other families that ate possum as well. We didn’t because mom said it was “too greasy.”
Thanks for explaining what these things are to those of us that aren’t 100 years old…
/s
My mom and her two sisters were raised in Depression era S. Cal. They were poor and poorer. Their dad was a passenger train conductor but the routes were eventually cut by 75%. He picked up jobs being a painters helper and caught only about one train trip a month between LA and Phoenix. The sisters were between 10 and 16 years old. They were shipped out during the week to be “mommy’s helpers” to some of the families that still had wealth. They would go to those homes on Mondays after school and return home Thursday after school. They brought their earnings home to be used in the household. Their mom, my grandma was a Master at stretching the limited food money. Depression Spaghetti was great, spaghetti, tomato sauce (homemade) and a bit of cheese if they could afford it. On the weekends the desert might be a dandy treat of cold rice, milk sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. Most of us Boomers had parents that survived in these methods and we still know how to do that. We were fed Depression Spaghetti as a side dish I to our late teens and had the rice desert too. There were many others too, fried potatoes and onions were a biggy and delicious.
Kids today, 45 and younger will have zero idea……when it hits and it will. We keep the new modern 25 year food storage and plenty of bulk beans, rice etc. Be prepared by learning from the past, those people were phenomenal. Remember, there were zero government welfare safety nets back then …….zero.