Increasing numbers of Americans are hungry...

[Loquisimo]

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/78986.html

This is what happens when a country exports all jobs, including agriculture, to foreign lands, thus making it impossible for many to buy the low quality food that exists, and even those with "food security" are in many cases eating poor quality food such as fruits and veggies grown with chemicals, livestock fed antibiotics and hormones, etc. Americans have plenty of food, but it is low quality and contains tons of synthetic compounds. Americans are also the fattest people on earth from diets high in poor quality food. Most food in the suburban American diet is processed, and if it is a fruit or vegetable, it is grown with chemicals in another country and shipped thousands of miles to a grocery store, by which time it is partially spoiled. If it is a piece of meat, it is grown with antibiotics, hormones, and bio-incorrect inputs (feeding cows ground up sheep, etc). It is vital that as many people grow as much of their own food as possible. In the future, it will not be possible to ship food thousands of miles by ship or plane.

[CamM]

Yep. And if your community hasn't destroyed all the farms for miles around, buy local. At this point I don't think everybody growing their own food is possible either.

[firegirl969]

Good point to make. DH and I are working toward food self-sufficiency as much as possible. I have asked for money for Christmas to put in more fruit and berry trees and to buy the steam juicer I want to make our own juices ourself. We know that it will be several years before the new fruits produce, but at least we have a plan. I hope others take heed and do the same thing. I found a banana tree and an olive tree from TyTy nursery that will grow here in GA. Maybe next year I can even get one of these. That will be the ultimate in self-sufficiency for us. We know that we will need sugar, tea, and coffee, but hopefully we will have most other items accessible from our own few acres. We plan to butcher our own pig and steer in the next few weeks. This will be a big step towaards self-sufficiency. If we can add in the solar set-up with energy star fridge and freezer, we will even add more self-sufficiency.

[texican]

Unfortunately, probably >95% of the population lives without dirt under their nails, in towns, cities, metropolitan areas. The only way to feed them is through mass means... small time, 'pure' and 'organic' will never be able to fill everyone's bellies.

Personally, I'm all for keeping the urbanite masses where they are... the last thing I want is for all those souls depending on the clean, lightly populated, rural countryside. If it's cheap food, so be it.

This lifestyle we've chosen isn't for everyone. I'm where I'm at now (in the sticks) because I abhor crowds, and for some reason, cities seem to always have crowds around. If everyone picked up my lifestyle, the cities would be abandoned overnight, and the golden horde would be swarming the countryside, wreaking havoc. [In which case, I might have to leave the countryside and head to the abandoned cities]

After the shtf, most of those urbanistas will realize the food they eat is raised out here in dirt country... but by then it'll be too late for them.

[Beeman]

Food might be raised in rural areas but most rural areas couldn't feed 1/10 th of their population with what they grow. Monoculture is one of the biggest problems. A rural county might have a lot of agriculture but what is it? Many times it's miles and miles of corn and soy beans and not even a processing plant around. Many areas will have a lot of beef cattle and hay fields, unfortunately no processors in the state. Dairy?, that's another story as we've allowed the corporations to control the milk processing.

[English Oliver]

I think that this "Hungry Americans" thing is an urban myth. Why the government is paying farmers not to grow things, we are devoting hundreds of thousands of acres to grow crops for synthetic fuel, and dairies all over the U.S. are slaughtering their cows because they can't sell the milk. This couldn't happen if there were hungry americans could it?

"O"

[Delrio]

I was wondering how they got their figures. In one of the articles I read it said, "they interviewed 44,000 in a survey." And from that they say 49 million are hungry. Right.

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by English Oliver

I think that this "Hungry Americans" thing is an urban myth. Why the government is paying farmers not to grow things, we are devoting hundreds of thousands of acres to grow crops for synthetic fuel, and dairies all over the U.S. are slaughtering their cows because they can't sell the milk. This couldn't happen if there were hungry americans could it?

"O"

No urban myth, I've seen it all my life. I've been hungry a few times myself.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I'm skeptical, too. You can still buy basic ingredients for a reasonable cost. Cornbread, beans, etc., are cheap.

If over 60% of the country is obese, where are all these starving people?

[Jenn]

It's because increasing numbers of Americans are poorer. Also less capable in the kitchen. I see those food aid videos and wonder what some helpless American (not an HTer of course) would do if given a container of drinking water, a bowl of raw rice, and a small sack of dry beans. Try to trade them for a Big Mac no doubt.

Many very poor areas have no or terrible grocery service- awful produce and little choice. Economics- noone wants to lsoe money trying to get poor people to eat well, or be in a riot prone area.

[geo in mi]

I'm old enough to remember mothers telling their children to clean up their plates--'because,there are millions of children starving in China'...................

Seriously, I think we all have to admit that there are no sure fire guarantees in this world(this year's difficult corn belt harvest bears this out), and that now, even in this great country, we all have to get busy and fend for ourselves. I also remember my mother telling me the stories of the grasshopper and the ant, of Simple Simon, of the little red hen and the big red rooster(who will help me bake this bread?)--all to remind me that I would always have to work for my food and keep--nobody else would do that for me. It nagged me for many years while I lived the subdivision life--with no food backup plans--until I was able to move here to this place. I've always been hungry--but thankfully, I've never gone to bed hungry--and nobody has left my house hungry, either, for that matter.

But, I recognize that there is only a six week supply of food for this country--and if the grid goes out, only a five day supply, because most of it is in the frozen food sections of the grocery stores. So I am anticipating the arrival of all the seed catalogs in a couple of weeks--and it's time to get started for next year. That's what this homesteading stuff is all about, isn't it?

[Randy Rooster]

Dont believe it for a mnute. Most of the people I encounter are not only over weight they are obese.

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

I'm skeptical, too. You can still buy basic ingredients for a reasonable cost. Cornbread, beans, etc., are cheap.

If over 60% of the country is obese, where are all these starving people?

Except when you don't have money even for beans and cornbread. BTDT.

The obese poor are that way because their diets are high in fat and starch.

[Michael Kawalek]

Originally Posted by Loquisimo

This is what happens when a country exports all jobs, including agriculture, to foreign lands,

Manufacturering jobs have been exported, though I don't know if one single acre of our farmland has been sent overseas.

Originally Posted by Loquisimo

thus making it impossible for many to buy the low quality food that exists

No, I think people can't afford good food because they are too busy paying off their outragous credit card bills for things like their big screen TVs and nice cars. If people learned to live within their means they'd be spending their money on good food, instead of that new pair of strapless heels!

Originally Posted by Loquisimo

Americans are also the fattest people on earth from diets high in poor quality food

Americans CHOOSE to eat the food they want! Nobody is ordering you to go to McD's and order a burger and fries. Our family has a home cooked meal prepared from scratch every single day. And we both work. We still find time to cook each day, instead of plopping our fat asses in front of the TV while dinner warms in the microwave.

Originally Posted by Loquisimo

Most food in the suburban American diet is processed, and if it is a fruit or vegetable, it is grown with chemicals in another country and shipped thousands of miles to a grocery store, by which time it is partially spoiled.

I was at the grocery store yesterday and I didn't buy any processed foods. I bought a peice of beef, some brocolli, green onions, and tofu. None of that is highy processed (well tofu, sort of), and none if it was spoiled. In fact, going through the large fresh produce section of my store, I didn't see anything that was spoiled. Maybe spoilage is something in your own mind.

Originally Posted by Loquisimo

If it is a piece of meat, it is grown with antibiotics, hormones, and bio-incorrect inputs (feeding cows ground up sheep, etc).

Our homestead is in the middle of California ranchland and all our neighbors are cattle ranchers. Maybe the newborn calves get a shot of antibiotics in the springtime, but after that they are raised free-range and live on grass, not ground up sheep. No hormone injections. I can SEE how California cows are raised on a daily basis, and if I was a cow, that's how I would want to live.

Originally Posted by Loquisimo

It is vital that as many people grow as much of their own food as possible. In the future, it will not be possible to ship food thousands of miles by ship or plane.

This is just about the only thing you've said that isn't just histerical ranting. As petroleum gets more and more expensive, our world will become smaller, and things like fresh banana's and pineapples will become a thing of the past. We will have to grow much more of our own food, simply because there are so many people in the world and so little extra food to go around.

[English Oliver]

Originally Posted by ladycat

Except when you don't have money even for beans and cornbread. BTDT.

The obese poor are that way because their diets are high in fat and starch.

Who in this country does not have the money for beans and cornbread? There are no poor here and if there are hungry it is by there choice. I have been in almost every state in this country and seen the worst of it, I have also spent the last eight years in areas of China where a family lives on less than $12 a month and they don't go hungry. Hunger is a choice made by people today.

"O"

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by English Oliver

Who in this country does not have the money for beans and cornbread?

Do you know what BTDT means?

There have been several times in my life when I did not have food or money for food and have gone 2 or 3 days at a stretch with NOTHING to eat, and insufficient food on the days I did eat. There have been those and other times when the only food I had was from dumpster diving behind grocery stores.

I've known plenty of other people in similar situations.

[firegirl969]

I went to the church food bank here yesterday and carried some cases of extra milk the senior citizens center had on hand that would go bad before we could use all of them up. The people that were there getting food chose food to cook from scratch if they were up in age, but the young people were choosing the mixes in a box, chips, cookies, etc. I realized that we as a nation will need to educate these young people on cooking from scratch. I am taking up a mission project myself to put together simple recipes using simple ingredients that can be found at the church food mission. That is just a start in my local area, but maybe others can do similar things. Our Harvey's grocery store chain is putting a simple recipe in their weekly advertising newspaper that they send out. That is a good example of a start. I do realize though that you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. These people will have to want to learn to cook this way. Does anyone know where the link is for the recipes for home storage cooking that someone posted awhile back?

[timfromohio]

I think the vast majority are either too lazy or ignorant to cook from scratch. We watched the movie "Food, Inc." last week. In one portion of the movie they profiled a family going through the drive through at the local fast food joint. They spent about $12 and fed themselves and their two kids. The husband was a diabetic and one of the two kids was supposedly "at risk". They then showed these folks in a food store looking at the price of fresh vegetables saying it was too expensive, they couldn't afford it, blah blah blah. Just laziness. I am absolutely certain (we even priced out a meal last time we went to the food store - a yuppie food store at that!) that my wife could make a healthy and tasty meal for $12.00 and there would likely be leftovers. It would necessitate actually getting out some pots/pans and cooking utensils and maybe reading a recipe, but it could be done easily. I don't deny that there are hungry people in this country every day, but I think a lot of those whining aren't truly hungry - just lazy and whining.

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by timfromohio

I think the vast majority are either too lazy or ignorant to cook from scratch. We watched the movie "Food, Inc." last week. In one portion of the movie they profiled a family going through the drive through at the local fast food joint. They spent about $12 and fed themselves and their two kids. The husband was a diabetic and one of the two kids was supposedly "at risk". They then showed these folks in a food store looking at the price of fresh vegetables saying it was too expensive, they couldn't afford it, blah blah blah. Just laziness. I am absolutely certain (we even priced out a meal last time we went to the food store - a yuppie food store at that!) that my wife could make a healthy and tasty meal for $12.00 and there would likely be leftovers. It would necessitate actually getting out some pots/pans and cooking utensils and maybe reading a recipe, but it could be done easily. I don't deny that there are hungry people in this country every day, but I think a lot of those whining aren't truly hungry - just lazy and whining.

I could eat like a king for a couple of days with $12!!

People THINK cooking from scratch is time consuming, but it seems like it's more time consuming to go get a take out meal.

I do bulk cooking from scratch, and actually spend little time in the kitchen.

[roachhill]

I seriously doubt the findings of the article they used phrases like "food intake reduced" or "eating pattern disrupted". That's meaningless unless you know how much and how often they were eating to begin with. Food stamps are enough to eat on with careful shopping(and no I never accepted food stamps despite the fact that I qualify). When I lived in the city I would go to the grocery store and see people buying steak, chips, and ho hos with food stamps then pull out cash for cigarette and booze. They would still complain the government wasn't giving them enough to buy food as they load it into they're cars (often late model cars) and drive home to watch cable TV.