The Land Of Plenty (Plenty Wasteful)

The United States is a very rich country.  We have an abundance of resources and food that many other countries don't have.  In many cultures around the world, being overweight is a sign of prosperity because the majority of people in those countries are so poor they are never able to get enough food to be overweight.  Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio created a book called "Hungry Planet" that is a photographic study of 30 families from 24 countries.  One of the most insightful things about this book are the portraits of each family surrounded by a week's worth of the food they consume.  You can see a small sample of these portraits at "What the World Eats, Part 1" found at http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.html. You should go there now.  It will open your eyes.  In our country, obesity is a national epidemic.  We come up with specialized diets that cut out entire food groups so we can lose weight.  We go to the gym where we walk, bike, and climb to nowhere to burn off the excess calories we consume.  Our grocery stores are packed with huge varieties of food that have to be shipped in from far off places so we can have "fresh" produce at any time of the year.  And yet, Americans THROW AWAY 27% of the food they buy.  An average family of four will THROW AWAY almost 122 pounds of food in a month.  In 1997, the Department of Agriculture estimated that Americans wasted 96.4 billion pounds of the 356 billion pounds of edible food.  That was the last year there was a study done on food waste.   Due to the state of the economy, donations to food pantries are down 9% but people showing up at food pantries for help has risen 20%.  In 2008, the Department of Agriculture reported that 1 out of every 21 American households were "Very Food Insecure."  That means that, at times during the year, the food intake of household members was reduced and their normal eating patterns were disrupted because the household lacked money and other resources for food. This means that people were hungry, "the uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of food."  I work part time in the food service industry and the amount of food that ends up in the garbage can is criminal.  My place of employment offers bottomless fries with most of our entrees.  I cannot tell you how often people will demand more fries and eat just 2 or 3.  The rest go into the trash.  The other day a family came in and the teenaged boy wanted fries as an appetizer.  He ate 2 baskets before his meal came out.  He ended up eating about a quarter of his meal and didn't want a to go box for the remainder because he "doesn't eat leftovers."  It also amazes me when parents let their little kids drink 2 or 3 kid cups of soda before their meal.  Kid cups are 12 ounces, the same size as a full can of soda.  Then, when their meal comes out, the kids take 1 or 2 bites and are done.  Guess where the rest of their meal goes?  You guessed it, the trash.  And these are the people that complain the loudest over the menu's prices.  Guess what?  It's not so expensive if you actually eat what you order!  A friend of mine lives near our city's biggest Farmer's Market.  A few days ago he posted a picture on Facebook of a dumpster full of produce that had been thrown away.  People won't buy produce that isn't "perfect" and they can't give it away once it's very, very ripe.  Into the trash it goes.  Drive through my neighborhood on trash day and see the food that gets thrown away.  How many hungry people could we feed on the food that we so carelessly and thoughtlessly discard?  I hear people complain all the time about the economy and the price of groceries.  People who do not know what hunger is.  Here's a thought: How about you stop throwing 27% of your food budget into the garbage.  People behaving badly.