How to Join the Grocery Store RebellionDaisy Luther I went through my pantry and realized, darn it, that we still purchase about 25% of our food at the supermarket. Another 25% or so comes from bulk vendors. The rest is stuff we grow or buy from local farmers. So really, as humbling as it is to say this, that can hardly be considered as much as possible. The issue with the stuff sold at the grocery stores is that most of it isnt even actually food. Its a hoax, perpetrated on people who go in expecting to nourish themselves. A friend of mine said recently that the struggle for survival has already begun. Our food is poisoned, our water is poisonedthe very air we breathe is tainted. And shes right. As a person involved in the preparedness community, Ive come to realize, there is only so much that we can actually prep for. I was discussing this with my good friend Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition, and she put it perfectly. Its time to stop prepping for it and start living it. It certainly means that more than 50% of our food should come from local sources, preferably our own backyards. It means that you dont run to the grocery store 3 times a week for one more ingredient. It means that when peas are in season, you live and breathe for peas. You figure out how to work them into breakfast. You dry them, you can them, you freeze them, and you eat them until you really never want to see another little green orb rolling around on your plate. It means that if you dont have it, you make it, and if you cant make it, you wait a while before you buy it. It means a life of difficult simplicity, without all of the commercial hullabaloo. It means you might eat meat that you hadnt really previously considered because its what is available. The final argument for my upcoming decision came this morning. This basket of food I got today from the farm down the road cost me $10. Add to this some eggs, some meat, and some raw milk, and how could you possibly yearn for anything more? I just dont want to play anymore. I dont want to support an industry that is slowly poisoning the country. I dont want to read ingredients and try to avoid GMOs like theyre closely spaced landmines.I want to commit full-on Nutritional Anarchywith every bite of food we eat no more of this halfway stuff. Its go time. Its time for a Grocery Store Rebellion. Were staging a coup and taking control of our food supply. We are going to sow some revolution in our own backyard. Thats right. No more grocery stores. We are turning our little quarter of an acre into a small-town homestead. If I cant grow it, well get it from the local community of farmers in my vicinity. I belong to a group that barters homegrown goodies. From our friends there, we get raw milk, meat, and items that I simply dont have room to grow on a in-town property. My goal is to not set foot in a grocery storeAT ALLbetween August 1 and November 1. Three months of eating what we can grow or procure locally, or what we have on hand. So here are the rules Ive established for our family: Please dont think that this is something you can only do if you have a magical green thumb and can grow tomatoes out of a rock. I am not a pro. Everything I stick into the ground does NOT flourish. Heck, Ive managed to kill an aloe vera plant and they are notoriously hardy. Ive gardened before but I havent actually farmed. I fervently hope that my chickens-to-be are hardy enough to survive my inevitable mistakes and grace me with eggs. Ill try really hard not to scorch any plants in my greenhouse. Im inexperienced but thats never stopped me before.I cant wait to get dirty, mess stuff up, and then figure out how to fix it. Some readers can be a bit judgmental, which is, of course, their right. We dont censor comments here, so knock yourself out. There was some criticism previously when I wrote about the newbie errors I made when we lived in our Northwoods cabin for a year. And its true I made mistakes that would be deadly in a post-SHTF world. Id much rather make them now, when there is some back-up as close as the nearest grocery store, or heat at a neighbors house, than in the future when the repercussions of those mistakes would be a lot more drastic. I have other reasons for sharing the downs as well as the ups. It isnt to be discouraging and make you think its too hard to do yourself in fact, its just the opposite. I used to read homesteading blogs, then go out and try the things Id read about. Then, to my dismay, my efforts came out nothing like the pro efforts of the superhuman blogger whose ideas Id been trying to emulate. With a few exceptions, the farms, gardens and homesteads out there in bloggerland were like supernatural Edens, and I always felt like a complete failure. I dont want you to feel like a failure. I want you to realize that the reality is, the only people that effortlessly do this stuff are those who were born to it. They grew up living that life, and it comes as naturally to them as going to Starbucks and ordering a venti nonfat caramel mocha Frappuccino with no whip comes to a city dweller. So, Ive accepted the fact that plants may wilt, chickens may not fare so happily, and I have only the vaguest idea how to clean a recently caught fish. But I will give it my best shot, and another, and then another until I master the lifestyle I desire. And for your entertainment, and possibly to help you avoid the same mistakes, Ill share the experience with you. First of all, I cant wait for you to chime in with your own experiences and knowledge because this could be a great way for us to all interact. Many of you are already living this lifestyle to a great extent and I welcome your advice! Second, whos in? I would love to see a mass exodus from the grocery store. I realize not everyone has a nearby network of farmers, but now is a great time to start making the acquaintance of the ones who are in close proximity and figuring out what local resources are actually available to you. Check out Eat Local Grown to find farms and markets near you. I was surprised to discover some great resources that I had yet to find. The main thing is dump the grocery stores! Find ways to get your food that are closer to the ways that your ancestors did it. Everyone can establish their own rules based on criteria like what is available to them, what they can grow, what the local laws are, and how much work theyre will to do. Oh and how much their families will tolerate. The idea is not to make it so difficult that only a few can do it it is to make it so easy that anyone, anywhere can do it. Figure out how to do this in your location and share it here your ideas may very well help other people who want to rebel. Lets exit the food system that weve been taught to believe was necessary for our survival. Lets refuse to enrich a system that is killing us. Its time to sow some revolution and start a Grocery Store Rebellion. Resources: Here are some great books for those who dont have an actual farm. Daisy Luther is a freelance writer and editor. Her website, The Organic Prepper, where this first appeared, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow Daisy on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email her at daisy@theorganicprepper.ca 