Independence Days: A Guide to Sustainable Food Storage & Preservation

Mother Earth News Wiser Living

by Sharon Astyk

“Be warned! Independence Days will change the way you eat. It is not just a guide for storing food but a manual for living in a changing world.” —Kathy Harrison, author of Prepping 101   Hard times aren’t just coming, they are here already. The recent economic collapse has seen millions of North Americans move from the middle class to being poor, and from poor to hungry. At the same time, the idea of eating locally is shifting from being a fringe activity for those who can afford it to an essential element of getting by. But aside from the locavores and slow foodies, who really knows how to eat outside of the supermarket and out of season? And who knows how to eat a diet based on easily stored and home preserved foods?  Independence Days tackles both the nuts and bolts of food preservation, as well as the host of broader issues tied to the creation of local diets. It   ·       How to buy in bulk and store food on the cheap ·       Techniques, from canning to dehydrating ·       Tools—what you need and what you don’t   In addition, it focuses on how to live on a pantry diet year-round, how to preserve food on a community scale, and how to reduce reliance on industrial agriculture by creating vibrant local economies.   Better food, plentiful food, at a lower cost and with less energy Independence Days is for all who want to build a sustainable food system and keep eating—even in hard times. “[Astyk] builds a sturdy path to a full larder, a safe family, and a more secure community.” —Robin Wheeler, author of Food Security for the Faint of Heart

Genres: Food, Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking, Sustainability, Gardening, Green

369 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Sharon Astyk is a writer, teacher, blogger, and farmer who raises vegetables, poultry and dairy goats with her family in upstate New York. She and her family use 80% less energy and resources than the average American household. Sharon is a member of the Board of Directors of ASPO-USA and the award-winning author of three previous books including Depletion and Abundance and Independence Days.

from http://www.newsociety.com/Contributor...

Reviews

[Loren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book that proclaims a means to becoming independent from our current economic "system" has a great deal to prove to you and me. These writers often seem to suffer a sort of American History Amnesia especially in terms of agrarian studies. If "living off the land" was so easy or rather if the prospect of factory work not seen as so much more stable than being at the whim of weather & nature our ancestors would of never sold their farms off in the first place. Those hippies in the 60's later on who preached the same rhetoric as Wendell Berry & Michael Pollan wouldnt be now running fro-yo franchises out of Telluride, Colorado if their communes actually took off. Did anyone even watch the film Easy Rider? When the women leave (the hippie farms) the fellas leave too. One survivor of the Dust Bowl once remarked (I'm paraphrasing), "What a nightmare.... I was determined to never farm again for the rest of my life. It didn't matter what job it was, I would do it as long as I never had to farm. I wouldn't mind becoming a pimp. Yes, being a pimp sure didn't sound that bad. Luckily I did not have to become a pimp, but I would if I had to." Luckily when I grade these types of books I grade on a curve.

Which brings me to the next question. If these green living writers have in fact become as self-sufficient as they claim to be, why are they slaves to their blogs and their paraphernalia? Why must they have their computers and their Internet services? Why are they "selling" the green movement anyway? Think about that.

All of this said, I still read DIY, sustainable living, homestead living and as many gardening books that I can get my hands on because I actually dream of finding a way to make it all work. I like to believe with the advent of our new technology from alternative energy, alternative fuel and multi-tasking devices like the iPhone (I do everything from my iPhone) maybe just maybe we can make it all work.

That all said, Astyk seems to be a genuine idealist in her desire to return to the old ways and to better the lives of all Americans despite your financial affluence or deprivity. Her book was far more informative than so many other books I've found in the past. In a lot of ways her style reminds me of Amy Dacyczyn.

Dacyczyn had a tightwad club back in the 90's. She was DIY & sustainable oftentimes by default in the same way that Astyk is a prepper by default. Dacyczyn had a newsletter, Astyk a blog. Dacyczyn xeroxed her whole book together based on old newsletters while Astyk I can only assume from the constantly changing tone & pace of her work that it has been copied & pasted together from old blog posts to create hers. Both are basically chronicles. Both of them were verbose and socialable in their prose which makes it much easier for most people to connect with them, but extremely annoying for minority intel analysts like me who gladly read econometrics & social theory to get to the root of things. Their personal narratives can often be laugh out loud amusing and humbling, but I don't have time for that. Usually I want to just get to the part about how to make Apple Jack, how to design a solar oven or maybe even cold frame. (Side Note: Apple Jack has high fusel alcohols when made by freeze distillation which isn't mentioned at all meanwhile you let me know canning can kill me? Interesting... Did she speak about cold frames? Can't remember).

At one point Astyk mentions how she sometimes dreams about living a minimalist life & how neat it would be if she had less stuff (children included in said stuff). It only took me a moment to realize she is describing my voluntarily simplistic life. Ironically, I would love to wake up as a Jewish mother living on my small farm in upstate New York with an array of musical instruments at my talented husband's disposal. (Probably because I'm a recovering Riverdalian & proud Fieldstonite of the Hilltop Schools of Riverdale, New York and my husband is a pianist without room in his cabin for his piano but I digress) I think hers is pretty swell. Guess the grass is always greener on the other side. Life is funny that way.

So my only real complaint is that it is too personal (which is a matter of opinion) and not enough detail into the nuts and bolts of things which is often a theme with these kinds of books because can you really explain any of it? Even with step by step illustrations in other books this is really one of those "show me" sort of trades like carpentry or kung fu. The title is misleading in that effect. Lets try another approach. "Independence Days: Chronicle of a Family's Journey into Food Security" would of worked much better for me. But then she would of had to actually write an autobio of which this is really no more than a rough draft. As much reference material she has in this work from obvious trial and error in her own food saving insanity I can understand why she chose this route. How else could she bang out that many stories and book titles?

If you read this book, you will learn some of the things of what my husband already knows first hand which says a lot because he's a former Airborne Ranger who was selected for the Special Forces and rolled with Deltas. And he's a country kid who grew up foraging and fishing raised by his grandparents who are products of the Great Depression. For his grandparents their advocation of war, their hoarding ideology & their over consuming nature is really a byproduct tied to the cultural hurt of so many people who were children during that time. My husband and I understand this as we run a homestead together and know firsthand the difficulties of our particular environment but listen carefully about how they handled life without indoor plumbing or electricty, growing gardens, canning and curing meats. My husband long spoke of the impracticalities of canning and the many other methods people overlook. Now a juxtaposed face in Astyk to advocate our beliefs is nice. Of course I want everyone to read her book!

But will people take the time to learn this stuff? If they're desperate enough maybe, but I don't think people will "volunteer" which is why most people can't fathom why I live the way I do let alone appreciate it the way Astyk claims to. My voluntary simplicity is often confused with an involuntary poverty, but I've gone too deep to the dark side in the past to allow myself even what the majority of people on the planet consider the most basic luxuries of a developed nation.

Astyk preaches a great deal in the introduction because there's so much people do not know and she feels that maybe if they did they would wake up to their injustices and disenfranchisements. It made me think she was naive the same way people confuse my radical moral aptitude for viridity. Astyk is far from it. She has a strength of character and an integrity I can only match with my own which is why she comes off didactic (but not self-righteous) as I so often do. Again if this was an autobio she would not had to defend herself to death as she does. In that aspect, I suppose she could learn from Barbara Kingslover who makes no apologies in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It's definitely a balancing act and I think Astyk had just so much she wanted to share.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book thinking that it was going to be more of a how-to manual for preserving than a guide to survivng the end of days. I realized halfway through the book that the Sharon is crazy and no rational human being calculates how much tomatoes and water they would need in their home to survive for a month. With that being said, the book was entertaining and if you have a fear of not being prepared for a natural disaster without access to food or water and stranded in your home, this book is going to help you out. I liked it, just not what I expected. And I am now very conscious of only having a reserve of about 3 days worth of water in my house every time I open the refrigerator. Sharon doesnt have a refrigerator though (because what good is a refridgerator when the power goes out)

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, I found this book to be too preachy and not enough practical. The author encourages us to store fifty pound bags of rice and tomatoes in our guest room closets. Really. For this woman not living on a farm or in a large house, I think there is better, more practical advice out there.

I wanted a book on food preservation techniques. This book was not it.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book that teaches food independence. Since it was published in 2009 a few parts were a bit outdated but all the info in this book is even more relevant now than in 2009.

[Esme Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for the first time in 2014 when I was just getting into gardening and canning. To be honest, I found it quite overwhelming, and only rated the book 3/5. While none of the information in the book is particularly advanced, it can be a LOT to absorb, like all of the best "whole systems" approaches.

Coming back to it in 2015 with a lot more direct experience, reading, and my own original thoughts about sustainability and stewardship was a really good idea. I have been able to appreciate the book in a whole new light, and there's such a wealth of recipes and practical guides that I'll be ordering a copy for permanent reference soon.

It's well worth a read, but keep in mind it's worth RE-reading every couple of years, because even the author notes that it's so easy to forget things you've done well in the past, make new mistakes, etc.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really goes into the politics of food- how we are all dependent on huge corporations for feeding ourselves, and are pretty much helpless to help ourselves. All the aspects of being able to provide food for your family- be it to save money or to be prepared should you not be able to get to a grocery store for some amount of time, or just not rely on outside sources for the health of your family.
It really inspired me to look hard at what I buy at the store, and how it got to the store, who grew it, where was it packaged, why am I spending money on it, is it good for me, is it good for the earth?

[Trace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my 4th time reading this book. Love it. So much good, useful information in this gem! Still a 5 star book, for me!

[Marie S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely on par with Depletion & Abundance. She gives practical pieces of advice and she's always great at setting an example of accepting the failure in our life.

[ratherastory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wandered away from this book after starting it (oops), and only recently re-dedicated myself to reading it "cover to cover" (harder to discern in e-book format).

I've been following Sharon Astyk's work for about 20 years now, give or take. This is an older book for the subject matter (2009), and I'd be interested to see what a revised version would look like now, 15 years and a pandemic later. Astyk herself has always been very clear that she is not a soothsayer and can't predict the future exactly, although she does have a talent for prognosticating fairly accurately.

In most ways this book reflects the teachings she's always espoused, which boils down to living more sustainably, and in such a way that if things were to go south, you and your community have enough built-in resilience to roll with whatever life throws at you. I've always appreciated her view of "prepping" as not being simply about stockpiling things for future use, but developing sustainable skills and sustainable communities.

This is a great book for anyone just dipping their toes into preparedness, sustainability, or "simpler" living. She is an engaging and thoughtful writer, and I have always found her writing very accessible. Bonus: each chapter has a bunch of delicious recipes to try!

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pre-covid I probably would have said that this book leaned too far towards conspiracy theory/paranoia, but after wandering empty grocery stores and seeing how fast basic staples can disappear even without major supply chain disruption, I am much more willing to consider the points raised in this book. While some of the suggestions are still a little too far out in left field (I won't be growing mushrooms under my bathroom sink, buying a junker car to turn into a giant solar dehydrator, or voluntarily living without a refrigerator), for the most part this book is full of very solid and practical suggestions for how to store and preserve food. And more importantly how to make this part of a lifestyle shift so that these stored items are part of your menu rotation rather than just hoarded. There are recipes at the end of every chapter and I definitely want to try quite a few of them!

[Stephanie Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, I didn't read every word in this book, but I want to, and I will, in time. It is something that I feel that we all need and therefore I wanted to share it right away.

This book describes one of the most fundamentally important ways we can participate in making the world a better place, by taking part in sustaining ourselves, by taking control of what we eat - the how and when, as well as the what. It is a guide to reclaiming something that once belonged to all of us - the knowledge of how to feed ourselves, whether or not times are tough.

And if you feel inspired for more after checking this book out, look at some of the other books published by New Society Publishers https://www.newsociety.com/

[Bethany Divakaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I happened to be reading this book during the Covid-19 pandemic, a time when it feels like much of what this book is about is coming to a reality, a time that makes this book more relevant and important than ever. I appreciated this book for many reasons - the conviction, the practicality, and the humor. I took away many ideas and recipes I would like to try to increase my own food resilience and community connections!

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was really informative, and I definitely have a more confident plan to approach storing food and creating more food independence. The first couple chapters were pretty repetitive, and there was some erasure of indigenous culture. At least there wasn’t much acknowledgment besides, “think of what the native people did”

[Kayla Droese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do I think there will be an apocalypse in which I need 3-6 months of food stored?....not really. Do I love the idea of it anyway? Sure do. Excited to try lots of new preservation ideas from this book and it was surprisingly funny!

[Wendopolis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard-core advice for serious-minded folks.

[Pam Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational,and practical, this book offers so many good ideas for food resilience.

[Susan Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Independence Days is a book about food security. Like Sharon Astyk's two previous books (Depletion and Abundance: Life on the New Home Front; A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil), this one focuses on the need to assume personal responsibility for food self-sufficiency and for shortening the supply chain from farm/garden to table. Unlike Asktyk's previous books, this one is also a how-to, as well as a why-we-should, complete with helpful instructions for creating and managing a food storage pantry, preserving fresh foods, and cultivating a frugal and self-reliant life style.

Astyk's arguments for the importance of personal food security ("one of the central issues of our time") are compelling. A looming energy crisis, soil and water depletion, and the threat of global warming—these are all reasons to be concerned about the reliability of our food supply and the need to take personal control, as far as possible, over the food we put on our family's table. "Independence days" (a concept Astyk borrows from Carla Emery) are days when we're eating food we grow ourselves or obtain locally. For Astyk, true independence is freedom from the industrial food system that feeds most Americans.

Hence this book, which recommends various methods for food preservation (canning, pickling, dehydrating, fermenting); for purchasing, stocking, and storing food in pantry, root cellar, and freezer; for acquiring tools and equipment, in addition to adequate supplies of water, medicine, and other necessities; and for creating and using community resources. All of this advice is sound, helpful, and inspiring. It is also very credible, for Astyk practices what she preaches, and it's good to know that she has tried the methods that she advocates. The various sections are also illustrated with recipes, more or less effectively. Some of the recipes contain foods that are "non-local" for most Americans—coconut milk, quinoa, salmon—which I found distracting in a book about shortening the supply chain. And not all of them illustrate the principle she'd like to teach: baked apples and cranberries are good comfort food but the recipe doesn't fit very comfortably in a section on medicines. Recipes/formulas for home-grown herbal remedies would have been a better choice.

But these are minor quibbles. I like Sharon Astyk because she always tells me why I should do something, before she tells me how, and this book continues that practice. "This isn't just about the rice or the garden or the canning jars," she says. "This is a small but important step in making a better way of life." Yes, truly. I learned from Independence Days, and it strengthened my desire to be as independent as possible. If you're concerned about food security, this is a good book to read and use. If you're not, read it anyway. You'll learn why the American food supply should be at the top of your list of things to think about.

Originally published at http://www.storycirclebookreviews.org...

[Lora Templeton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adding a star and writing a review as I now regret letting this book go to the donation pile. Hope it went to a household that's also following its advice.

When I read this in 2019, I thought it was a sensible, myth-busting guide to planning a stock of household food and medication. It wasn't lifestyle fluff or condescending lecture and it addressed the issue of income inequity. It also demolished the stereotypes of hoarding and prepping even as it occasionally rang its own bells of alarm on the fragility of our food supply chain and the many surprises that future events could throw at us. It wouldn't take much, Astyk warned, for an average middle-class household to experience food scarcity or a prolonged period of living with a sub-standard diet.

With 2021 days old, I started my usual task of yearly household financial planning with a new twist: a projection that we're probably three months away from needing food bank assistance. Reading some of the articles of families already there (or this depressing article from Toronto, Canada from a decade ago), I realized that this book delivered solid advice on pantry management, proper storage, thrifty recipes, and other strategies a household could use to avoid personal disaster in a time of shortage, disruption and uncertainty. It also did come with a call to action that we, as a global community, take a good, hard look at the way things are and ask why they are allowed to be that way.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up on a farm. We had a large garden. We preserved food. We picked wild strawberries and made jams. Although I have traveled a good distance from my my childhood, I try to live close to the land, buy from local farmers at Farmers Markets, act frugally so that future generations can have something of life. The long and short of it is I didn't expect to learn a great deal more about sustainable food storage and preservation, but I did! Fermentation was the one method of preservation that I did little of back in the day, but I'm primed for fermenting cabbage and perhaps cukes to a half-sour state after reading Independence Days.

Sharon Astyk has a playful writing style, coupled with a good sense of humor. She deftly explains the how to of doing things in a way that invites you along for the thrill of it all. She writes for those of us engaged in living lightly on the earth as well as those who are beginning to wonder how to go about becoming engaged with real foods, locally grown. She is just as adept at showing the way in baby steps for novices.

There are also a few recipes, each of them interesting. But this isn't a recipe book. This book is really about learning how to take charge of our own life, and connecting to our local communities.

[M. H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not this book's audience. It is designed for people who have the desire to store food and little knowledge of where to start or what to take into account. I, on the other hand, have already read numerous books on alternative food sources, canning, root cellars, etc. However, in skimming the book I did find some useful information for myself.

Secondarily, the tone of this book is rather too doom-and-gloom for my taste. Though the author would probably remark that she's just taking stock of reality I think there are ways the need to store food could be discussed without so much mention of food and energy crises coming that will leave us all starving and out in the cold.

Overall, it's worth skimming and marking out action-steps with post-it notes; but take what's said with a grain of salt.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because of this book, I am expanding my garden today. It explores the idea that the food system that we are all used to cannot support itself for much longer. Astyk tells how the best way to be ready for the change is to use the same methods of storage people used for thousands of years before grocery stores were around. I realize that I am the perfect audience for this book: a gardener who cares about these issues, but has never really preserved food. I will need to explore the specifics of some of these storage methods a little more. This book is more of an overview of why to do it and some of the how to do it. But, it was the spark that will get me going.

[Jennifer Miera · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual, I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't quite what I needed. I had this book on pre-order and devoured it in a few days. I expected a bit more from this book and felt that it was a bit vague about actual food storage and preservation, which is strange, since it is supposed to be about that very thing. I came away from some sections needing to research other sources to answer questions that were left unanswered. I get the feeling that because this topic comes so naturally to the author, that she forgets to mention things novices simply might not know.

[Marjanne]

This book really has me thinking about gardening, livestock, food storage and preservation. Ms. Astyk is truly inspiring in the way she and her family have chosen to live their lives. There is a ton of advice and information on the need to be more 'food independent' and how to do it. I really appreciated that so much of what she says makes sense, on a community level, on a personal level, and even with my religious beliefs. If everyone read this book and started to make some of the changes in their life it would be amazing what could happen. I'd like my own copy of this book.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book mostly tries to convince its audience why we should have and maintain a food storage system, which is a noble thing. I agree with many (but not all) of Astyk's points. I also enjoyed the large bibliography at the end of the book with additional books to read and I liked a few of the recipes Astyk provides within her book.
However, when it comes to the information on actually building a food storage and becoming more self-reliant, I feel that this book loses much of its steam. A far better book for these purposes is Barbara Salsbury's "Preparedness Principles."

[Patrick Cauldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing I really liked about this book was that it takes a very practical approach to problem solving. Many other books that deal with things like Climate Change and Peak Oil are all about problems and just make us anxious. Independence Days lays out a set of concrete actions that you can take to make positive change. Peak Oil, etc. are lurking in the background, but the foreground is filled with real things that we can do right now.

[Bettyann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another life-changing book. Halfway through this fascinating book, I had my pantry organized--actually had my husband do it because all the junk in there was his. The shelves are now ready for those glass jars and bins full of food to sustain us over come-what-may.

I urge everyone to read this book. Know the fact about the world's food situation and do what you can to take care of your family.

[Beth Lequeuvre · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as the author said she didn't want it to come across that way, this book was too much doom and gloom for my taste. I was also expecting recipes and there really aren't very many of those. Maybe 30 to 40 in the whole book and that's being optimistic. And the ones that were there were referenced from other sources. It was more a kinda scare/guilt you into food storage and food preserving primer for someone who had never heard of the concept before.

[Malia Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend of mine introduced me to this book as a food preservation guide, but it is so much more. Astyk delves into money saving tips, pantry eating, preparedness ( without all of the doom and gloom and special care to address the subject as a positive) and a whole supply of yummy sounding recipes that I'm looking forward to trying. I borrowed this to read but will make a copy part of my home collection.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and if you are looking for an overview of how to get started this is the book for you. Unfortunately she is not too detailed on how to do most things or misses steps on how to complete the necessary tasks and recipes. As much as I enjoyed her writing, this book was not the how-to book it was touted to be. She did state all the necessary books that would be useful on how to do everything.

[Marija · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books on this topic I've ever read. The author is intelligent, thoughtful, and caring. While the thrust of the book is about storing food in anticipation for hard times, she's not a survivalist nut which I frankly wouldn't haven the patience for.

I recommend this book for anyone wanting to find ways to incorporate more local foods into their diets.