What do Alaskans in remote villages eat? (Anchorage, Fairbanks: loans, buying)

[Woof]

Besides moose, caribou, fish, and berries, I mean. What sort of foods would be foraged if supply lines were cut to the outside world (or less dramatically, if the cost of fuel increased so much that no one could afford to get outside food)?

Did native Alaskans eat much in the way of plant foods, or was it mostly meat and fish? I'm talking more about the southern half of the state rather than Eskimo turf.

[warptman]

Keep in mind that there are Eskimos in southern Alaska, too. Along with Aleuts, and Indians from south east. We eat anything that you would buy in the store, we aren't in the 1800s here.

[Woof]

Yes, but I'm wondering what you would eat if the world doesn't go along as smoothly as it always has during your lifetime, warptman ..... basically what sorts of native foods could foraged if you couldn't afford to go to Anchorage or have it delivered by plane.

I'm pretty sure fuel will become prohibitively expensive everywhere over the next ten years or so.

[Nephler]

Originally Posted by Woof

I'm pretty sure fuel will become prohibitively expensive everywhere over the next ten years or so.

Not really, We'll just be inline with most the rest of the world. When you look at it, we really do have cheap fuel in the US.

[Woof]

Sigh .... could ya just humor me?

[warptman]

We're paying 4.50 a gallon now. There is no way we can stop buying gas no matter how high it gets. They can raise it as high as they want to, it still will be bought. We "gather" fish and moose and caribou just your so called "eskimos" from the north. We do the same thing down here in Southwest. I eat the same foods as you do, ribeyes, tbones, chicken, and pork. We don't rely only on subsistence foods. We are a diverse culture. Where do you "forage" for food at? Or are you one of the farmers who rely on the government loans?...crap, he got me started.

[msina]

Here,... we "forage" for Fiddleheads Fiddlehead ferns - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
We (not me personally) also hunt, and fish. I am in a small town and we do get some bad weather. We tend to stock up on many things before winter, and I can a lot of produce.

[Arcticthaw]

When the price of oil gets that high, you all will be out of water and we will start selling that to you!

We enjoy that people from other states think Alaska is remote and isolated. Dependent on shipping and trucking. What they forget is we are also an aircraft state. Have our own oil wells and instate refining capacity. So if push comes to shove, we turn the pipeline to our refineries and supply our needs first. What is left over we sell to the highest bidder. Simple Economics. Aircraft from all parts of the world stop here for two reasons. We are in direct path for most air routes to the major cities and ports. We provide fuel at competative rates. Also just a bit of trivia, if the Shuttle ever had a higher lattitued orbit we are an alternate landing site for them. Most the major runways are designed for heavy transports. The odds of all three methods of freight delivery being down over a long period of time is negligable.

The traditional life style you mention is only a generation or two ago. Look around your community and ask if outside food sources were stopped tomorrow. How long would you last, and what skills and more important what seeds do you have stocked up for the next garden.

My point is everyone is in the same boat. We are just a bit more visible to others.

[Glitch]

Why does this thread smell of another Chris McCandless wannabe?

There is a very good reason McCandless starved to death, besides not having the appropriate skills. There isn't much to forage most of the year, except for game, and in some areas even that is scarce.

[Woof]

Originally Posted by Arcticthaw

When the price of oil gets that high, you all will be out of water and we will start selling that to you!

We enjoy that people from other states think Alaska is remote and isolated. Dependent on shipping and trucking. What they forget is we are also an aircraft state. Have our own oil wells and instate refining capacity. So if push comes to shove, we turn the pipeline to our refineries and supply our needs first. What is left over we sell to the highest bidder. Simple Economics. Aircraft from all parts of the world stop here for two reasons. We are in direct path for most air routes to the major cities and ports. We provide fuel at competative rates. Also just a bit of trivia, if the Shuttle ever had a higher lattitued orbit we are an alternate landing site for them. Most the major runways are designed for heavy transports. The odds of all three methods of freight delivery being down over a long period of time is negligable.

The traditional life style you mention is only a generation or two ago. Look around your community and ask if outside food sources were stopped tomorrow. How long would you last, and what skills and more important what seeds do you have stocked up for the next garden.

My point is everyone is in the same boat. We are just a bit more visible to others.

Well I do look around my area and ask about what foods could be eaten if outside sources were stopped. Probably not so much different from Alaska other than I'd be eating acorn mush and not so many berries, and deer or jackrabbits rather than moose or caribou. I'm asking about Alaska because it's slightly possible I'd move there, and because I'm interested in such things as a hobby.

Now concerning the gas and heating oil, I thought Alaska shipped most of the crude elsewhere and then imported back the refined stuff ..... I didn't realize you had enough refining capacity to make your own gas and heating oil. In fact I distinctly remember reading that many remote villages couldn't afford to heat as much with oil anymore .... wasn't Chavez going to supply some to them for free as a sort of publicity stunt?

Also, I realize that Anchorage and Fairbanks are on major flyways, but I was asking more about remote villages. What happens if the world price of aviation fuel goes up .... presumably Alaskans won't get a special discount .... the price of food goes up because fuels are needed to farm .... and the cost of shipping even to Anchorage increases. Since most outside foods are flown in to the small villages away from Anchorage .... what happens if local paychecks simply aren't enough to cover more than occasional supplies for wealthier people?

Originally Posted by Glitch

.... There isn't much to forage most of the year, except for game, and in some areas even that is scarce.

There now, you've managed to give a relevant answer. Now let's see what others think, if anyone here knows about such things.