Food Wasted, Children Hungry and Officials Worrying about Landfills – 17 Sep 09

City:
New York
Country:
United States of America

Today I read in the newspaper something about which I want to write in the diary. Reading the newspaper is not one of the things that I do regularly. They wrote that only in Great Britain, which is not really a big country, 4.1 million tons of food land in garbage boxes each year.

The government now tries to make rules to reduce this amount, which is very good, but then I read that they are actually not worrying about food being wasted, but about the landfills into which the food is thrown after emptying the garbage boxes of the houses. And these landfills are getting more and more full and grow bigger.

They also gave some stats for America and then wrote that only the food that is wasted in America and Great Britain together would be enough to feed 1 billion people. When I read these news, I was thinking that still in so many countries children and people are hungry, don’t get enough food, get sick because of this and die. And on the other hand so much food is being wasted! This waste of food also makes the prize of food increase. Then rich people have the money to buy food and throw it away but poor people have even more difficulties to afford food.

I read in another article that 880 Million people in India earn less than $2 each day. And they have to live on this. Where do they end up if food gets more and more expensive? It is a very big problem and as I wrote before, it is one of the reasons why parents send their children to work rather than to school. So that the children can earn some money, too, to afford their food.

It is sad but you can start helping! Be careful with how much you buy and cook. Buy enough, but not so much to store it in the back of a cupboard and throw it away after some days, weeks, months or even a year or two! Love your food! This love can help the world!

Child labor, Children, Food, Hunger, India, Poor, School, Western culture

7 Replies to “Food Wasted, Children Hungry and Officials Worrying about Landfills – 17 Sep 09”

  3. McDonalds” Food” should get thrown away. It is not “food” dudes say it like it is. Ground up cows, guts hoofs, brains, eyes, with some beef broth, so it tastes “gotta have it good”Watch the documentary get educated. Do it for you.

  4. I’m well aware of this Swamiji and thuroly agree with you and it’s terrible, and appalling. I used to work w God’s Love We Deliver, creating meals for the homebound people with AIDS and elderly, so I know what you’re saying is true. How do we teach those people that what they (we?) are doing is wrong? Being at the Ashram is quite an eye opener.

  5. That is why my friend and I do something called bin-raiding. We find perfectly good food, produce, pasta, canned goods, and we take them home and feed everyone we know.

  6. There is no way to regulate trash unless you say “everyone take what you want” or “everyone stay away” but come on… the waste it causes! the waste. There has to be a way.

  7. Whenever I read these shocking sentences about food and which amounts are thrown away, I have to think about what Ghandi once said:The world has enough for everyones needs, but not for everyones greeds.
    What a sad fact, that children in Africa and Asia are starving and kids in Western countries have problems with overweight!