Just because honey is one of humanity鈥檚 oldest sweet treats, doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檚 an outdated relic. It鈥檚 a top-choice food item for preppers and survivalists to stock in their emergency food stores. Here are five good reasons to join Pooh bear on the honey band wagon.

1. Honey doesn鈥檛 go bad. Yes, it may crystallize and get a little funny looking, but that just indicates it鈥檚 real honey. Warm up an old jar of honey under some hot water, and it reverts back to its viscous golden form. It might not last 鈥渇orever,鈥?but neither will we. Honey is naturally anti-microbial, and acts as its own preservative. 聽

2. Honey can be used in wound care. While a dab of Neosporin might do a better job of healing cuts, scrapes, burns, and scratches, don鈥檛 rule out honey as a backup medicinal. The properties that make it antimicrobial can be very helpful in infection prevention. Honey also keeps the wound moist, which facilitates healing, too.

3. Honey is calorie dense. Calories are food energy and the fuel that keeps us going. Although fatty foods have higher calories per ounce than honey, they have a short shelf life. Go with something that lasts for the long haul and you鈥檒l get more of it. Honey contains 60 calories per tablespoon, and 1,290 calories per pound.

4. Honey makes a sweet bait. For numerous trap set styles, honey can be an aromatic lure for omnivores with a sweet tooth. Opossum and raccoon are readily drawn to honey, but be alert that you might score a skunk with honey, too. 聽

5. Honey can be used to make hooch. This isn鈥檛 rotgut, jailhouse pruno, or brown baby鈥攖his is classy stuff. For thousands of years, people have turned honey into alcoholic beverages. Mead is the most common form available today. It is similar to a white wine, but it tastes of honey rather than grape. To make mead, all you鈥檒l need is a gallon jug, two pounds of honey, three quarts of clean water, one pack of champagne yeast, a wine lock for the glass jug, and some food-safe disinfectant (vodka works well). Boil your honey and water for 15 minutes, then allow the mix to cool to room temperature. Add the champagne yeast (or white wine yeast) to the cool liquid. Pour the blend into the sanitized glass jug, and add the sanitized wine lock to the top. Allow it to bubble for six weeks in a dark, room-temperature environment. Pour the liquid off the sediment into a new clean jug, and cap it. Age the mead in a cool dark place for a few months and then enjoy this highly alcoholic ancestral nectar.

One final note: If your honey comes in a plastic container, you鈥檒l want to repackage it in glassware. Hungry and merciless rodents can make quick work of the thin plastic bottles that are commonly used for honey packaging, leaving your pantry shelves a gooey mess. Mason jars with metal lids are a much more secure container.