People enjoy telling my son, Chris, and his wife, Wendy, parents of 16, that they are guilty of causing the hunger problems in the world by overpopulating the earth. These are usually people who have very few children, as you might guess. Irregardless of the choices these people have made about the sizes of their families (and I would defend their right to choice as much as I do my son’s), I actually think they are mistaken about the cause of world hunger.
A number of years ago I received as a gift from my brother-in-law, More-with-Less Cookbook. In addition to the wonderful recipes, it includes suggestions by Mennonites on how to eat better and consume less of the world’s limited resources. One of the pieces of info that was new to me was how much land it takes to produce meat verses fruits and vegetables. I remember thinking at the time, I can eat less meat, but not be a vegetarian. I am not proud of that thinking. I am less proud of the fact that I haven’t really cut down on the meat I eat for more than a couple of days at a time…
I received this short documentary on food waste which I’d like to share here on my blog. It gives me pause again. How little we care about the hungry of the world. How little we give a rip about how the way we consume causes harm to the earth. There are a few lone activists, speaking out, organizing food programs, and watching how they themselves eat. I think I’d like myself better if I would put into practice what I say I believe.
http://www.upworthy.com/how-waste-isnt-just-throwing-things-away?c=ufb1
The problem with this kind of information is that, if you believe it, it haunts you and you either have to change your behavior or numb your brain by some means. I would like it if the world…individuals, cities, townships, states, countries…would at least try. I wish I had more faith in people. We in this country are so accustomed to overindulging and waste that is feels normal.
Well, I best not preach unless I give practice a try.