All language subtitles for Doomsday.Preppers.S02E05.720p.HDTV.x264-TTVa.en

Narror: Jeff bushaw
is preparing for the

volcanic winter he
fears will folw

a super-eruption

of the massive
yellowstone volcano.

A self-described
shoestring prepper,

he alws onhe
lookout for a bargain.

Jeff bushaw: The 20 to $30,000

that I've spent
prepping is a very

significant amount of
money uh, to my family.

We want to make sure that, ah,

that we get the best
value for our dollar.

Narrator: Today, he
and his son, Hayden,

have spent $500 a
ressesd storage locker

at auction in the
hopes of discovering

some valuable prepng splie

Jeff bushaw: I will go
to those auctions and

purposely look for uh,
units that look like they

will produce items that
are good for prepping.

All right son, let's see
what we have in here.

Here's some blankets.

Hayden: Just what
I've always wanted.

Jeff bushaw: That'll be good.

Ah, arrows.

Nice, I hope the bow's in here!

That's a welding mask.

Not every item in
this storage unit's

going to be good for directly
using foprepng,

but what we can do
is we catakehe

valuable ims a we
catradthose items for

prepping items or
we can sell em a

then buy prepping
items with them.

Oh, oh please.

We have a lockbox,
we got a lockbox.

It is locked.

Just our luck they left the

key right in the unit.

All right, the moment of truth.

Oh and that's how
the cookie crumbles.

Hayden: That's lovely.

Jeff bushaw: Well,
maybe there is one

in there that is full.

Oh, we have a rifle!

Oh, wow.

It's camouflage, that is nice.

That's a good find.

You're going to want to put this in

the truck right away.

Hayden: All right.

Narrator: A black powder
rifle alone can cost

hundreds of dollars,
so Jeff and Hayden

think spending their
entire $500 budget on

this one storage
unit was worth it.

Hayden: It was fun
to find all the uh

interesting little
stuff in there like

we found a lot of medical stuff.

So it'll definitely
help in the long

run with our prepping.

Narrator: Jeff's finds are
kept with the majority

of his other preps at an
undisclosed location.

So today, he and Hayden a donng

bulletproof vests, packing
up first aid supplies,

food, water, guns, and ammo,

and running an evacuation drill.

Jeff bushaw: Alright, let us go.

If the ash cloud is coming ts wa

we plan to take our
bug out bags and

make our way to the
nearest airport.

Narrator: Jeff's taking
pilot lessons in

the hope he will be
able to outrun a

yellowstone super-eruption.

Jeff bushaw: If the super
volcano erupted, uh,

the roads would be
really overly congested

and you might not
be able to travel.

There could be total
gridlock on the freeway's.

So we may have
to go out on foot.

Pilot: Good, good flying day.

Jeff bushaw: Yes.

So you know I'm
preparing for the uh

yellowstone super volcano

and that, uh,
that's to our east.

So we wouldn't want
to fly that way.

Um, if the ash clouds
are in the atmosphere,

they're blocking out the
sun and causing some

climactic cool down,
we wouldn't fly north

where it would be even colder.

Um, we can't fly too
far west because

of the ocean out there,

soe'reonna want to go south.

Alrigh

pilot: let us go flying.

Narrator: In today's lesson,

Jeff wants to learn
the skills he believes

'll ed ihe s to out-fly a

yellowstone eruption.

But he might wind
up dead long before

the volcano ever blows its top.

Jeff bushaw: Oh, my goodness.

Pilo thiis a emergency landing.

Jusmigh not make it.

Narrator: Jeff bushaw
fears he may one day

have to fly his family
to safety through

an enormous volcanic ash cloud.

A super-eruption of the
yellowstone volcano is

likely to be at
least 1,000 times

more powerful than
the 1980 eruption of

mount St. helens,
which put 520 million

tons of ash into the air.

The massive amount of
airborne volcanic ash

could not only make
it impossible to see

where he's going,
it could also clog

and stall Jeff's engines.

So Jeff wants to make
sure he's able to

land his plane in
any flat field,

and be able to do
it without power.

Pilot: Let's brief
how we're going to do

this soft field landing.

The most important
thing is we don't want

the nose wheel to touch
as long as possible,

because if we hit a pothole or

a gopher hole or a
stick or something and

the nose wheel collapses,
we're going to flip.

Jeff bushaw: We
don't wanna do that.

Pilot: We don't wanna do that.

Okay, so we don't
have any power here.

We've got to make this.

This is an emergency landing.

If we can make the field
we know we've got room.

There's houses at the end.

If we, we land
long, someone's not

going to be very happy with this.

We just might not make it.

We got a tree we goa wah oufor.

Get the nose off the ground.

Nose off the ground,
nose off the ground!

Beautiful landing!

Beautiful.

Jeff busw: The, m, volno

evacuation drill
went really well.

The uh, instructor
said that he felt

very confident that I
could handle myself

in an emergency uh,
under the certain

conditions that we
practiced for.

If I had to bug out, uh,
after today's practice,

ah, practice run,
I think that we

could absolutely do it.

Hayden: I was very
proud of my dad today,

very proud.

One day I believe
I'm going to be

a prepper like my dad.

I'm going to learn a
lot from him and

that I can prepare to
keep my family safe

in a case of
something like this.

Narrator: Jeff, the experts,

practical preppers have
assessed your preps.

Your water storage
is inadequate.

It's essential that
you save more water

and have a way to purify it.

Jeff bushaw: I agree
with their assesent

on our water storage,
we definitely need to

do something for
our home location.

Narrator: You have
virtually no way to

re-supply yourselves
after your food stocks

have been depleted.

You should store seeds
and grow your own food.

Jeff bushaw: The idea of a
seed collection is a new

concept to me, uh but
it interests me and

uh I think that uh that
might be something

that we um look
into in the future.

Narrator: Practical
preppers has scored

your preps in five categories

of 20 points each.

Food: 11 out of 20 points.

Water: 11 out of 20 points.

Shelter: Bugging
out is your only

long-term solution:
12 out of 20 points.

Security: 8 out of 20 points.

In addition your
ability to pilot a

small plane gives you
15 x-factor points.

Overall, you get 57 out of 100.

If you're able to reach
your bug out location,

your initial survival
time would be six months.

Jeff bushaw: I agree
with the assessment of

needing more water for
our home location.

I disagree with the
length of time that they

give us to survive
because me and my family,

we'll survive anything,
anywhere, anytime.

We've taken a lot of their
suggestions to heart,

and we've made a lot of changes.

We've moved out to a
three-acre piece of

property on the
outskirts of the city.

There's a creek that
runs along the backside

of the property,
which should be a

great source of fresh water.

And I got this great
barn for storing all

our extra food stores.

Narrator: The yellowstone
super volcano has

blown its top three times in the

last 2.1 miion ars;

roughly once every
600 to 800,000 years.

Its last super-eruption
was about

640,000 years ago.

Buscieistsnly givet a in 7,000

chance of erupting in
any given year and

they don't know if it
will ever erupt again.

There are an estimated
three million preppers

scattered all across
the United States.

Many of them prefer
to live in quiet,

isolated areas, or
plan to bug out,

away from crowded towns
to secluded hideaways.

But this town in
southwestern Missouri

is home to not one, but
two families of preppers

who are instead planning
to stay put, hunker down,

and ride out the apocalypse.

To their neighbors,
Allen and Franco may

seem like typical family men,

but behind closed doors they are

heavyweights of
prepper ingenuity.

On one side of town is Allen,

an electrical engineer
and veteran prepper

who's spent the
last 30 years, and

more than $30,000,
preparing for doomsday.

Allen: There may be
some neighbors that

think I'm crazy.

Everybody's entitled
to their own opinion.

I think the crazy
people are the ones who

don't do any prepping at all.

Narrator: Allen worries
that the economy is

failing, and that as the
dollar's value declines,

food prices will
skyrocket out of control.

Allen: I'm preparing
for an economic

decline of the U.S. economy.

Narrator: Just a 15
minute ride across town

is master electrician Franco.

A relative newcomer to prepping,

he's only be at forhree years,

but he's already spent
close to $20,000.

Franco: Am I paranoid?

No, I'm not paranoid.

Some people may
think I'm obsessed.

It depends on who you ta to.

Narrator: Franco
fears that a backlash

against genetically
modified food could

soon leave
Americans facing empty

supermarket shelves
and widespread hunger.

Franco: I'm preparing for
the rise of food cost,

food shortages, and
the corruption of

our food supply
through big business.

Narrator: Although they
have different fears,

both Allen and Franco
believe the same

disastrous endgame
looms on the horon:

Anarchy following the
complete collapse of

the nation's food supply chain.

Allen: The things we value and

use will become more
and more scarce.

Franco: People will riot
with the food shortages

that are going to take
place in this country.

Narrator: Both of
them dread what life

will be like if most
Americans suddenly

find themselves without food.

And neither wants
to be forced from

homef doomsday comes.

But they're not content
just stockpiling canned

or dried food in pantries.

Instead, they've
each turned their

one-and-a-half acre
backyard into an

elaborate method of
food production.

One not for the casual prepper;

this is the Cadillac of preps.

This is aquaponics.

Franco: Right here
we have some lettuce.

I have basil growing.

I also have cucumbers growing.

Cantaloupe.

I have onions, I
have some celery,

I have Swiss chard back here.

Narrator: In aquaponic systems,

fish and plants are
grown together in a

closed environment
where the fish waste

is converted into
food for the plants.

The fish excrete wae an

ammoa in the water.

That water is pumped
into the grow beds

where bacteria convert
the waste into nitrates,

which the plants
use as fertilizer.

As the plants use the nitrates,

they filter the water,
which is then sent back

to the fish tanks,
completing the circle.

Allen: The water
gets pumped from the

fish tanks, comes in
here and this one

trough up here we've
got water hyacinth.

Heree'veot the duckweed.

They both filter out
the fish waste and

ammonia and nitrates
and so forth

that the fish produce.

The fish can eat it.

It's a high protein source,

and if hard times come,

I can eat it too.

It actually doesn't
taste too bad,

kind of like lettuce.

Narrator: Aquaponic
systems rely on

creating a delicate
balance of nutrients,

which is a challenge
to maintain,

even for experienced preppers.

Allen's system took
one year to set up,

and still requires
daily maintenance.

Allen: It's not easy.

There's, there's a fair
amount of work to it.

It's a biological living system.

And if you get
something out of kilter,

you're going to have
some dead fish.

You got to plan on
being a fish murderer.

You got to kill some fish before

you learn the ropes.

Narrator: In 2011, allerais mor

than 200 pounds of fh.

Allen: I've got engh
od tfeedyself

and immediate family for
an excess of two years.

We do thtilaa, causthe tilaa

are pretty easy to grow;

they grow fast.

They're prolific breeders and

they taste fairly decent.

They don't have a real strong

fishy taste naturally.

I've got about 140 of them.

There we go, that
one's a little fighter.

This one could
be dinner tonight.

Narrator: Advocates of
aquaponics say that

by re-circulating water,
it uses 95% less

water than traditional farming.

But to have enough for
himself, his wife,

two children, and all
his sh aer dmsda

Allen's been banking
a reserve supply.

Allen: If the poop hits the fan,

I've got 3,000 gallons of
water storage capacity now.

Narrator: Across town,
Franco believes his

aquaponic farm may be
the only source of

fresh food he, his
wife, Amy, and

their two children will have,

if Americans revolt
against genetically

modified ingredients

and the nation's food
supply chain collapses.

Amy molea: I honestly can't,

I can't raise a plant
for the life of me.

I kill everything
green that I touch.

So I'm glad that
I have a husband

who is doing that for us.

Franco: I have about
2,000 gallons here

worth of water storage.

In aquaponics you get
a lot of evaporation.

So I really need to
get about four to

6,000 gallons of water
at my disposal uh,

for my family and
for my garden and

for my aquaponics.

Why don't you go feed the
fish a little bit, okay?

Narrator: With so
much on the line,

Franco spent 30 hours
a week customizing

his own system.

Franco: Welcome to my

interpretation of aquaponics.

What I'm doing here is
I'm growing vegetables

in the same manner
using grow beds.

But I use a different
method than Allen,

that's called a bell siphon.

Narrator: A bell siphon
operates as a drainpipe

for each grow bed,
preventing excess water

from building up and
drowning the system.

Franco: The reason why I
like mine a little bit

better is because my grow
beds drain individually,

not all at once.

So if there's ever
a problem with one

grow bed, I can address it and

not have the whole
system shut down.

Amy molea: They
definitely but heads on

which system is better and

which one operates better.

Allen comes over and
checks out our system.

Franco goes over and
checks out his system

and then they both work
and see who can ramp

it up a little bit
better you know.

Franco: In your system
what happens is,

is that you go a
problem with the whole,

with the system,
then the whole thing

has to shut down.

Amy molea: It's great
because they cooperate

and assist each other
even though they've got

theiown ndset about what's best.

Naatorwith7 mo years preing

experience than Franco,
Allen is confident

he'll be better prepar to rviv

doomsday than his neighbor.

But lately, the
rivalry between the

two has been heating.

And in the quest to
outdo each other

they may have taken
advice about having a

bug-out plan a little
too literally.

Bella molea: Eww!

Narrator: Allen and
Franco are neighbors,

friends and highly
competitive preppers

living in Missouri.

Each one believes the
nation's food supply

will soon be impacted
by a catastrophe.

And each of them
has responded with

the same elaborate prep.

Allen: Franco and
I've got kind of a

rivalry going on with our preps.

We've both built our own
aquaponics greenhouses.

He's got a little bit
different style in his.

Amy molea: Franco and Allen,

they've got a really
friendly rivalry going.

But it's great.

It's friendly competition.

Allen: He's my friend,

but I'm a much better prepper.

Franco: Who would
survive longer?

I would.

I would, definitely.

Narrator: Allen's and
Franco's fears of an

America ravaged by
starvation and anarchy

has driven them to
drastically alter

their once normal,

small town lifestyle
to prepare for hunger.

Allen: This is my
maggot mansion,

where I'm trying to raise
black soldier fly larva.

The female black solider
flies will come in,

they're attracted by the
putrid smell of the

rotting vegetables and corn mash

and so forth.

They lay there eggs in here,

the eggs hatch out,

drop in there, become maggots.

After that they go to my fish to

provide fish food.

These guys are supposed
to be high in protein.

In some part of y'know
third-world countries,

uh supposedly maggots
are a delicacy.

Uh, they're not to me
quite yet, but who knows?

If the poop hits the fan,

who knows what one might eat?

Franco: I don't think
Allen has anything

that can beat my red wigglers.

Red wrigglers are the
Cadillac of worms.

They serve three purposes.

You can get compost.

You can feed it to the fish.

And if the food
production all goes

downhill and there's no food,

then aa st rort.

Bella: Eww!

Franco: Have it as a
protn soce awell.

Bella: That's gros dad.

Franco: It's not that bad.

Bella: Did you really eat it?

Franco: Yeah.

Franco: Well, I'm
telling you that

is a last resort.

It's slightly bitter.

Bella: I'd rather drink pee.

Narrator: As their
preps get more extreme,

some members of
their families are

concerned their
obsessions with doomsday

may be getting ouof hd.

Rachel: My father's
eccentric and

kind of lives in
his own reality and

is a little odd like that.

Personally I think
it's all kind of

pointless unless he was
to make money off it.

When my friends come
over we kind of treat

as joke

cause they all kind of have
the same opinion I do,

that the end of the
world won't affect us

while we're still living.

Allen: I think that, ah,
my daughter and my wife

and my son; On some
days they might

call it obsessed.

On other days, they
might be a little milder

ankind to me.

But I think for the most part,

they think it's probably a
rather benign obsession.

It doesn't really hurt anything.

Prepping has made
my life different.

I consider it an improvement.

I can sleep better at
night knowing that family

is provided for if
something should happen.

Franco: I think, uh,
Allen's preps are

great for how Allen
interprets prepping.

But I think mine's a
little bit better.

Prepping is not a ste ofind.

It's getting out
there, it's doing it.

That whe thfun.

Narror: Len d
Franco, the experts,

practical preppers, have
assessed your preps.

Allen, your gardens and
uapoc systemre a

great asset, and you
have plenty of stored

food to fall back on.

Weecomnd y pplent iby

raising other renewable
food sources,

such as rabbits and chickens.

Allen: I agree.

I have full plans to start
raising chickens soon,

however, the other
members of my household;

mainly my wife and
my daughter are

both adamantly
opposed to chickens.

Narrator: Your water
supply is efficient,

but in the event you are
forced from your home,

you must have more mobile
water storage units

and purification methods.

Allen: That wasn't so bad.

Let's see how you do, Franco.

Narrator: Franco,
although you have

efficient methods for
collecting water you

should also have backup sources,

because yourain
catcent stem will be

of little use, if there's
no precipitation.

Franco: I may agree
with that one.

My goal is to get
up to 4,000 gallons.

Narrator: You currently
lack weapons and

have no tactical training.

Without them, you
will be unable to

protect your home in a crisis.

Franco: Yeah, you're
right about the weapons.

I do not possess them,

nor do I plan on possessing them.

It's not what I believe in.

Narrator: To determine
how long you could

initially survive a catastrophe,

practical preppers has
scored your preps in

five categories of
20 points each.

Food: Allen, 18 points;

Franco, 11.

Water: Allen, 18 points;

Franco, 15.

Shelter: Allen, 12 points;

Franco, 13.

Security: Allen, 12 points;

Franco, 3.

Allen, your abundance
of fish for bartering

gives you 17 x-factor points;

Franco, your mechanical
skills give you 7.

Allen, overall you receive
77 out of 100 points.

Franco your total score is 49.

Allen, this gives you
15 months initial

survival time.

Franco, your initial
survival time

is four months.

Allen: I'd agree
with most of that.

I like the
constructive criticism,

I appreciate it.

Franco: Actually, I'm glad

I'm actually glad, because, ah,

he's been doing this
for over 30 years,

and um, he deserves that one.

I'll give him that.

Narrator: Experts
generally do not expect

the use of genetically
in a case of
something like this.

Narrator: Jeff, the experts,

practical preppers have
assessed your preps.

Your water storage
is inadequate.

It's essential that
you save more water

and have a way to purify it.

Jeff bushaw: I agree
with their assessmt

our water storage,
we definitely need to

do something for
our home location.

Narrator: You have
virtually no way to

re-supply yourselves
after your food stocks

have been depleted.

You shld sre sds
d grow your own food.

Jeff bushaw: The idea of a
seed collection is a new

concept to me, uh but
it interests me and

uh I think that uh that
might be something

that we um look
into in the future.

Narrator: Practical
preppers has scored

your preps in five categories

of 20 points each.

Food: 11 out of 20 points.

Water: 11 out of 20 points.

Shelter: Bugging
out is your only

long-term solution:
12 out of 20 points.

Security: 8 out of 20 points.

In addition your
ability to pilot a

small plane gives you
15 x-factor points.

Overall, you get 57 out of 100.

If you're able to reach
your bug out location,

your initial survival
time would be six months.

Jeff bushaw: I agree
with the assessment of

needing more water for
our home location.

I disagree with the
length of time that they

give us to survive
because me and my family,

we'll survive anything,
anywhere, anytime.

We've taken a lot of their
suggestions to heart,

and we've made a lot of changes.

We've moved out to a
three-acre piece of

property on the
outskirts of the city.

There's a creek that
runs along the backside

of the property,
which should be a

great source of fresh water.

And I got this great
barn for storing all

our extra food stores.

Narrator: The yellowstone
super volcano has

blown its top three times in the

last 2.1 million years;

roughly once every
600 to 800,000 years.

Its last super-eruption
was about

640,000 years ago.

But scientists only
give it a 1 in 730,000

chance of erupting in
any given year and

ey dwill ever erupt again.

There e anstimed
three million preppers

scattered all across
the United States.

Many of them prefer
to live in quiet,

isolated areas, or
plan to bug out,

away from crowded towns
to secluded hideaways.

But this town in
southwestern Missouri

is home to not one, but
two families of preppers

who are instead planning
to stay put, hunker down,

and ride out the apocalypse.

To their neighbors,
Allen and Franco may

seem like typical family men,

but behind closed doors they are

heavyweights of
prepper ingenuity.

On one side of town is Allen,

an electrical engineer
and veteran prepper

who's spent the
last 30 years, and

more than $30,000,
preparing for doomsday.

Allen: There may be
some neighbors that

think I'm crazy.

Everybody's entitled
to their own opinion.

I think the crazy
people are the ones who

n't any prepping at all.

Narrator: Allen worries
that the economy is

failing, and that as the
dollar's value declines,

food prices will
skyrocket out of control.

Alle I'm preparing
for an economic

decline of the U.S. economy.

Narrator: Just a 15
minute ride across town

is master electrician Franco.

Ahe's only been atr
it for three years,

but he's already spent
close to $20,000.

Franco: Am I paranoid?

No, I'm not paranoid.

Me pple y think I'm obsessed.

It depends on who you talk to.

Narrator: Franco
fears that a backlash

against genetically
modified food could

soon leave
Americans facing empty

supermarket shelves
and widespread hunger.

Franco: I'm preparing for
the rise of food cost,

food shortages, and
the corruption of

our food supply
through big business.

Narrator: Although they
have different fears,

both Allen and Franco
believe the same

disastrous endgame
looms on the horizon:

Anarchy following the
complete collapse of

the nation's food supply chain.

Allen: The things we value and

use will become more
and more scarce.

Franco: People will riot
with the food shortages

that are going to take
place in this country.

Narrator: Both of
them dread what life

will be like if most
Americans suddenly

find themselves without food.

And neither wants toe foed fm

ho if doomay comes.

But they're not content
just stockpiling canned

or dried food in pantries.

Instead, they've
each turned their

one-and-a-half acre
backyard into an

elaborate method of
food production.

One not for the casual prepper;

this is the Cadillac of preps.

This is aquaponics.

Franco: Right here
we have some lettuce.

I ve basil growing.

I also have cucumbers growing.

Cantaloupe.

I have onions, I
have some celery,

I have Swiss chard back here.

Narrator: In aquaponic systems,

fish and plants are
grown together in a

closed environment
where the fish waste

is converted into
food for the plants.

The fish excrete waste and

ammonia into the water.

That water is pumped
into the grow beds

where bacteria convert
the waste into nitrates,

which the plants
use as fertilizer.

The plants use the nitrates,

they filter the water,
which is then sent back

to the fish tanks,
completing the circle.

Allen: The water
gets pumped from the

fish tanks, comes in
here and this one

trough up here we've
got water hyacinth.

Here we've got the duckweed.

They both filter out
the fish waste and

ammonia and nitrates
and so forth

that the fish produce.

The fish can eat it.

It's a high protein source,

and if hard times come,

I can eat too

it actually doesn't
taste too bad,

kind of like lettuce.

Narrator: Aquaponic
systems rely on

creating a delicate
balance of nutrients,

which is a challenge
to maintain,

even for experienced preppers.

Allen's system took
one year to set up,

and still requires
daily maintenance.

Allen: It's not easy.

There's, there's a fair
amount of work to it.

It's a biological living system.

And if you get
something out of kilter,

you're gna he me dd fish.

You got to plan on
being a fish murderer.

You got to kill some fish before

you learn the ropes.

Narrator: In 2011,
Allen raised more

than 200 pounds of fish.

Allen: I've got enough
food to feed myself

and immediate family for
an excess of two years.

We do the tilapia,
because the tilapia

are pretty easy to grow;

they grow fast.

They're prolific breeders and

they taste fairly decent.

They don't have a real strong

fishy taste naturally.

I've got about 140 of them.

There we go, that
one's a little fighter.

This one could
be dinner tonight.

Narrator: Advocates of
aquaponics say that

by re-circulating water,
it uses 95% less

water than traditional farming.

But to have enough for
himself, his wife,

two children, and all
his fish after doomsday,

Allen's been banking
a reserve supply.

Allen: If the poop hits the fan,

I've got 3,000 gallons of
water storage capacity now.

Narrator: Across town,
Franco believes his

aquaponic farm may be
the only source of

fresh food he, his
wife, Amy, and

their two children will have,

if Americans revolt
against genetically

modified ingredients

and the nation's food
supply chain collapses.

Amy molea: I honestly can't,

I can't raise a plant
for the life of me.

I kill everything
green that I touch.

So I'm glad that
I have a husband

who is doing that for us.

Franco: I have about
2,000 gallons here

worth of water storage.

In aquaponics you get
a lot of evaporation.

So I really need to
get about four to

6,000 gallons of water
at my disposal uh,

for my family and
for my garden and

for my aquaponics.

Why don't you go feed the
fish a little bit, okay?

Narrator: With so
much on the line,

Franco spent 30 hours
a week customizing

his own system.

Frco: Welce to my

interpretation of aquaponics.

What I'm doing here is
I'm growing vegetables

theame nner ing ow bs.

But I use a different
method than Allen,

that's called a bell siphon.

Narrator: A bell siphon
operates as a drainpipe

r ea grobed,
preventing excess water

from building up and
drowning the system.

Franco: The reason why I
like mine a little bit

better is because my grow
beds drain individually,

not all at once.

So if there's ever
a problem with one

grow bed, I can address it and

not have the whole
system shut down.

Amy molea: They
definitely but heads on

which system is better and

which one operates better.

Allen comes over and
checks out our system.

Franco goes over and
checks out his system

and then they both work
and see who can ramp

it up a little bit
better you know.

Franco: In your system
what happens is,

is that you go a
problem with the whole,

with the system,
then the whole thing

has to shut down.

Amy molea: It's great
because they cooperate

and assist each other
even though they've got

theiown ndse about what's best.

Narrator: With 27 more
years of prepping

experience than Franco,
Allen is confident

he'll be better
prepared to survive

doomsday than his neighbor.

But lately, the
rivalry between the

two has been atinup.

And in the quest to
outdo each other,

they may have taken
advice about having a

g-ouplan lite too literally.

Bella molea: Eww!

Narrator: Len d
Franco are neighbors,

friends and highly
competitive preppers

livi in ssou.

Each one believes the
nation's food supply

will soon be impacted
by a catastrophe.

And each of them
has responded with

the same elaborate prep.

Allen: Franco and
I've got kind of a

rivalry going on with our preps.

We've both built our own
aquaponics greenhouses.

He's got a little bit
different style in his.

Amy molea: Franco and Allen,

they've got a really
friendly rivalry going.

But it's great.

It's friendly competition.

Allen: He's my friend,

but I'm a much better prepper.

Franco: Who would
survive longer?

I would.

I would, definitely.

Narrator: Allen's and
Franco's fears of an

America ravaged by
starvation and anarchy

has driven them to
drastically alter

their once normal,

small town lifestyle
to prepare for hunger.

Allen: This is my
maggot mansion,

where I'm trying to raise
black soldier fly larva.

The female black solider
flies will come in,

they're attracted by the
putrid smell of the

rotting vegetables and corn mash

and so forth.

They lay there eggs in here,

the eggs hatch out,

drop in there, become maggots.

After that they go to my fish to

provide fish food.

These guys are supposed
to be high in protein.

In some part of y'know
third-world countries,

uh supposedly maggots
are a delicacy.

Uh, they're not to me
quite yet, but who knows?

If the poop hits the fan,

who knows what one might eat?

Franco: I don't think
Allen has anything

that can beat my red wigglers.

Red wrigglers are the
Cadillac of worms.

They serve three purposes.

You can get compost.

You can feed it to the fish.

And if the food
production all goes

downhill and there's no food,

then as a last resort.

Bella: Eww!

Fran: Have it as a
protein source awell

Bella: That's gross, daddy.

Ancoit's not that bad.

Bella: Did you really eat it?

Franco: Yeah.

Franco: Well, I'm
telling you that

a last resort.

'S slightly bitter.

Bella: I'd rather drink pee.

[Ranclaug]

Narrator: As their
preps get more extreme,

some members of
their families are

concerned their
obsessions with doomsday

may be getting out han

Rachel: My father's
eccentric and

kind of lives in
his own reality and

is a little odd like that.

Personally I think
it's all kind of

pointless unless he was
to make money off it.

When my friends come
over we kind of treat

it aa Jo.

Cause they all kind of have
the same opinion I do,

that the end of the
world won't affect us

while we're still living.

Allen: I think that, ah,
my daughter and my wife

and my son; On some
days they might

call it obsessed.

On other days, they
might be a little milder

and kind to.

But I think for the most part,

they think it's probably a
rather benign obsession.

It doesn't really hurt anything.

Prepping has made
my life different.

I consider it an improvement.

I can sleep better at
night knowing that family

is provided for if
something should happen.

Franco: I think, uh,
Allen's preps are

great for how Allen
interprets prepping.

But I think mine's a
little bit better.

Prepping is not a state of mind.

It's getting out
there, it's doing it.

That's where the fun is.

Narror: Len d
Franco, the experts,

practical preppers, have
assessed your preps.

Allen, your gardens and
aquaponic system are a

great asset, and you
have plenty of stored

food to fall back on.

We recommend y suleme it

raising other renewable
food sources,

such as rabbits and chickens.

Allen: I agree.

I have full plans to start
raising chickens soon,

however, the other
members of my household;

mainly my wife and
my daughter are

both adamantly
opposed to chickens.

Narrator: Your water
supply is efficient,

but in the event you are
forced from your home,

you must have more mobile
water storage units

and purification methods.

Allen: That wasn't so bad.

Let's see how you do, Franco.

Narrator: Franco,
although you have

efficient methods for
collecting water you

should also have backup sources,

because your rain
catchment system will be

of little use, if there's
no precipitation.

Franco: I may agree
with that one.

My goal is to get
up to 4,000 gallons.

Narrator: You currently
lack weapons and

have ntactal aining.

Without them, you
will be unable to

protect your home in a crisis.

Franco: Yeah, you're
right about the weapons.

I do not possess them,

nor do I plan on possessing them.

It's not what I believe in.

Narrator: To determine
how long you could

itiay survive a catastrophe,

practical preppers has
scored your preps in

five categories of
20 points each.

Food: Allen, 18 points;

Franco, 11.

Water: Allen, 18 points;

Franco, 15.

Shelter: Allen, 12 points;

Franco, 13.

Security: Allen, 12 points;

Franco, 3.

Allen, your abundance
of fish for bartering

gives you 17 x-factor points;

Franco, your mechanical
skills give you 7.

Allen, overall you receive
77 out of 100 points.

Franco your total score is 49.

Allen, this gives you
15 months initial

survival time.

Franco, your initial
survival time

is four months.

Allen: I agree
with most of that.

I like the
constructive criticism,

I appreciate it.

Franco: Actually, I'm glad.

I'm actually glad, because, ah,

he's been doing this
for over 30 years,

and um, he deserves that one.

I'll give him that.

Narrator: Experts
generally do not expect

the use of genetically
modified foods or

rising food costs to
ignite a food crisis,

or lead to a complete
societal break down

in the United States.