Discuss seven edible items that will be used as currency if and when money becomes worthless so let’s get to it Barring precious metals an ideal item for barter should have the following characteristics it should be small and portable it should have a high value density that is the most amount of value in the smallest package it should have a long shelf life and if possible and indefinite one to avoid depreciation it
Should be rare in the region that is traded different countries will have an abundance of different things and the value of certain commodities will vary it should be multi-purpose in its uses if possible it should be something that’s necessary for survival as it will always have value and if it’s not
Necessary for survival it should be something which is highly culturally valued the first item on the list is coco now in ancient mayan culture coco was revered as the drink of the gods only the elite of mayan society could afford to drink it and its seeds were actually
Used as currency now in the present cocoa which is derived from cacao is sold worldwide as the main ingredient in chocolate and hot cocoa powder however it is only grown in the southern continents and as such it’s a rare commodity in north america while sugar may be one of the most sought after
Commodities after shtf cocoa will fulfill a similar niche but at an even higher premium when intercontinental shipments stop there will be no more cocoa in north america until a new trade route emerges the other benefit of coco is that it does have a very long shelf life although the taste and potency may
Wane over time it’s suitable for consumption indefinitely you will want to try to get a cocoa that has a low fat content and store it in mylar bags or glass jars with oxygen absorbers in a low humidity environment in order to preserve it the longest in addition to
The luxury of having chocolate after the grid goes down cocoa may also have some health benefits for perspective it has 12 times the amount of antioxidants as blueberries up next is instant coffee and the reason why instant coffee and not regular coffee because regular coffee goes bad
2.25 billion cups of coffee are drunk every day by people around the world that’s a bad habit that won’t even take a break after the end of days as indicated normal coffee beans will spoil over time so the only real option then for long-term storage unless of
Course you live in a region where coffee beans are cultivated is instant coffee instant coffee is essentially freeze-dried coffee that can last for decades the process of freeze-drying the coffee removes all moisture from the coffee and creates a very shelf stable product storing instant coffee long term
Is quite simple you can keep it in its original packing keep it in a dry environment in an airtight container preferably at a lower temperature and you are good to go because even cannibals are going to want a fresh cup of coffee after it goes down
Up next are seeds now seeds are probably the perfect barter item they have the highest density to value ratio and thus are very easy to transport they’re gonna store for a long time and they’re going to be sought after by everybody they also come in a wide variety there’s only
One type of cocoa and one type of instant coffee but there’s hundreds of different types of seeds which can produce all sorts of different types of foods in terms of the shelf life of seeds a study called seed germination after 30 years storage in permafrost found that when properly dried and
Frozen most seeds at least 80 percent would still germinate after 30 years now the main factor which inhibited seeds ability to actually germinate after all this time was the high moisture levels at the start of the experiment seeds which were not thoroughly dried and had a high water content didn’t germinate as well
You can check out this study through the link in the description this means that pre-storage conditions are of major importance when we’re talking about the shelf life of seeds but this makes them a very stable and worthwhile barter item up next is one that’s very popular and doesn’t need any introduction in the
Preparedness community and that is salt salt has been used as a form of currency throughout all of human history and even the word salary itself the word we use today to pay people is derived from the latin word solarium which refer to roman soldiers which were paid in salt now
Some people ask can’t you just get salt from the ocean nowadays you can but prior to industrialization it was an extremely expensive and labor-intensive process to harvest the mass quantities of salt necessary for food preservation and seasoning at the time this made it a very valuable commodity
You need to remember that back in the day there was no such thing as refrigeration so if people wanted to prolong the storage of their food they needed to use salt especially in the case of meat thus if a collapse scenario entailed a de-industrialization aspect this may increase the value of salt once
Again not counting the fact that many people live far from the ocean now alcohol like salt has been used as currency throughout all of history usually by the nobility to pay the peasant class you could argue that not a whole lot has changed alcohol like many things can be manufactured with
Relatively primitive means however it still requires some measure of horticulture to be in place in order to harvest and ferment the grains and fruits for its creation one of the more sinister aspects of alcohol is that you can also use it against your post-apocalyptic enemies get them drunk
And hey they may even tell you where their stash is some of the pros of alcohol is that it’s going to last a long time it’s a rare item that requires a bit of work and expertise to acquire and it’s multi-purpose the only downside is if people do find out that you do
Have alcohol having to deal with the types of people who abuse this stuff may attract the tension that you don’t want up next is sugar now both sugar and salt have been referred to as white gold currently two-thirds of the world’s sugar comes from sugar cane during the
Year 1625 to 1750 some people say that sugar was worth its literal weight in gold and that’s why it’s of course referred to as white gold although many historians debate this and believe that that’s a bit of a stretch nonetheless it was still a prize commodity that was
Exceptionally rare at the time now while sugar is easier to acquire in north america it is still a more labor-intensive and specialized process than the acquiring of salt but actually provides calories and thus sustenance even though it’s going to throw your blood sugar out of whack it’s going to
Be more sought after by the average person the average person in north america i should add who’s been adapted to a sugar based diet some would even say that the better part of north america is addicted to sugar and for that reason like any drug it will be relentlessly sought after after disaster
Strikes the best thing about sugar is it can store indefinitely in the absence of humidity now up next is honey honey is one of nature’s rarest delights just like many of the aforementioned commodities from ancient egypt to medieval germany many people held honey as a high value
Commodity so much so that the lords of germany used to force peasants to make them pay them in honey it takes a nectar of 12 million flowers harvested by thousands of bees to make just one kilogram of honey it lasts damn near forever and it has numerous health
Benefits it won’t raise your blood sugar levels as fast as refined sugar and refined sugar is essentially empty calories whereas honey packs several different types of nutrients and antioxidants which will help keep you mentally alert when you’re fighting off armies of the undead it also has numerous medicinal properties too many
To list in this video alone including being used as a topical antibiotic ointment there are many other forms of renewable currency in a grid down situation that you could use things such as and not limited to pepper turmeric baking soda cigarettes that green stuff that makes people feel
Kind of funny ginger various teas soap and even solar power for powering people’s electronics you could be the neighborhood power generation guy so long as you can defend your outpost that is let me know what other sorts of edible and renewable forms of currency you think will have value in a grid down
Situation notice the emphasis on edible and renewable i’m well aware that there’s a thousand one things that we could trade from nails to ammunition but i really want to know your thoughts on the edible forms of currency let me know in the comment section below and don’t
Forget to check out this video where i talk about the 10 best survival foods and stay tuned because the next three weeks the main theme on this channel is going to be all about food storage because you got to prepare for what’s coming thanks for watching guys don’t
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