Since bartering was brought up I thought I'd share a few decisions I've made about it:

1) I will never barter away ammunition. If the person is unprepared enough to not have any - then they might become desperate for something else and use the ammo against me to obtain the other item.

2) Food will likely be the item in greatest demand.

2a) Over the years I've read numerous reports about how the average home has far less than three days worth of food in it.

2b) Super Markets no longer have a "back room" meaning all of their stock is on the floor (not hidden from public view), and the food items get picked over EXTREMELY fast when something happens. I've witnessed this first hand. Issue A and B are tied together (obviously).

2c) The American population has steadily moved away from its agricultural base and toward an urban base. This has meant the loss of knowledge on how to "self sustain". Stated differently - people don't want to know how to obtain their own food and will not be able to sustain themselves once the Super Market is bare.

2d) Historic data shows that food becomes the most sought after commodity during a protracted "event". I often use WW2 Stalingrad as an example. This is a "family friendly" forum so I'll save the graphic details of the cannibalism I've read about.

2e) Hunger / the desire to eat is a natural / biological function and will over ride most other concerns. If you don't understand - go 48 hours without eating anything and just drinking water. I did this for 72 hours, and by the end of it I couldn't think of muhc other than food.

2f) Lastly, once a malnourished person enters Ketosis they will start suffering from dizziness, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, etc. I've never smoked, but have been told this is much worse than nicotine withdraw.

3) Properly stored seeds are an INVALUABLE long term disaster barter item. If people survive long enough to think about food production - then renewable food will be of top concern to them. Additionally, seeds are light and take no space. We have seed packets sealed in "FoodSaver" bags that are 100% air and water tight.