Tag: Hunger

And Let The World Go Hungry

The news has been released that the world has 700 million hungry people and yet in the same time military spending reached a new all-time record of Total global military expenditure increased by 3.7 per cent in real terms in 2022, to reach a new high of $2240 billion.

But let’s look at the new hunger stats….

The number of humans going hungry stood at an estimated 735 million in 2022, an increase of 122 million people since 2019. That roughly 20% jump is being attributed to the COVID pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, per a new report issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization and four additional UN bodies on Wednesday, reports the Guardian. The 2023 edition of the annual State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report tracks the fluctuations over that three-year period, reporting 7.9% of the world’s population faced chronic hunger in 2019. That figure hit 9.3% in 2021 and stood at 9.2% in 2022. “No progress was made on food insecurity at the global level” in 2022, the report points out.

A standout paragraph from the report’s executive summary: “The economic recovery from the pandemic helped to stem the rising tide of hunger at least at the global level. However, the positive effect could have been even larger without the countervailing winds caused by the global repercussions of the war in Ukraine and rising prices of food, agricultural inputs and energy, together with other drivers of food insecurity such as conflicts and weather-related events.”

The report notes that hunger is not spread across the world equally: The portion of the population facing hunger stands at almost 20% in Africa, compared to 8.5% in Asia, 6.5% in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 7% in Oceania. Current projections put the number of chronically undernourished people at nearly 600 million in 2030. That figure is about 119 million people higher than it would have been had neither the pandemic nor the war in Ukraine happened, and makes clear “the immense challenge of achieving the [Sustainable Development Goal] target to eradicate hunger.”

“There are rays of hope,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said upon the release of the report. “Some regions are on track to achieve some 2030 nutrition targets. But overall, we need an intense and immediate global effort … we must build resilience against the crises and shocks that drive food insecurity-from conflict to climate.” Meanwhile, the AP reports on mounting concerns that Russia will not extend the UN-brokered deal that has been in place since last summer and has allowed grain to be exported from Ukraine to developing nations that rely on it. The Black Sea Grain Initiative is up for its fourth renewal Monday; in the case of the last two renewals, Russia made similar threats before permitting two-month extensions.

I think it is a crying damn shame that bullets are a priority over food or that food is being used as a weapon.

Another shame is that we live in an uncaring world ruled by ‘influencers’ on the inter web…a they determine what we care about….how sad is that?

Enough said.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–22Mar23

This state senator has never met a hungry person….ergo there are no hunger issues.

It’s not clear exactly how many Minnesotans state Sen. Steve Drazkowski has met in his lifetime or during his 16 years in politics, but they have apparently all fallen into one category: well-fed. “I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that is hungry,” the Republican said Tuesday prior to a vote on providing free school meals for all K-12 students. “I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that says they don’t have access to enough food to eat.”

  • He followed it up with a joke: “Now, I should say that hunger is a relative term. I had a cereal bar for breakfast. I guess I’m hungry now.”
  • About the bill: HF 5 passed 38-26 and is expected to get Gov. Tim Walz’s signature, per NBC News.
  • Food stat I: Per a tweet from state Sen. Heather Gustafson, who authored the bill: “1 in 5 students in Sen. Drazkowski’s district qualifies for free and reduced lunch.”
  • Food stat II: Business Insider cites Feeding America’s count that roughly 340,000 Minnesotans are facing hunger, nearly a third of them children.
  • Food stat III: The nonprofit Hunger Solutions Minnesota says food pantries in the state logged 5.5 million visits in 2022, a record high, reports the Washington Post.
  • Less charged criticism: Per the Post, other critics of the bill didn’t dismiss food insecurity issues but said the bill’s $200 million annual cost would be better spent on other educational needs, such as special education, mental health support, and maintenance.

I love these guys….they sit on their high horse so everybody is as fortunate as they.

Call it lack of empathy, compassion whatever….the idiots open mouths and fire it off before brain is loaded.

At what point do these d/bags take off the blinders and see what is around them?

Just wondering.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Poverty–Oh SNAP!

There are a few programs that try to help the poor with their struggle with hunger….one of those programs is the SNAP.

SNAP provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency.

Now that the Repubs are in control of most state houses there is a movement to end this program….

Republicans in the Iowa House introduced legislation this month that would impose a slew of fresh restrictions on the kinds of food people can purchase using SNAP benefits, sparking outrage among local groups who say the measure would exacerbate hunger in the GOP-dominated state.

The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC), an interfaith group that operates the largest food pantry network in Iowa, noted in a statement earlier this week that if the bill passes, “Iowans could no longer use their SNAP benefits to purchase meat, nuts, and seeds; flour, butter, cooking oil, soup, canned fruits, and vegetables; frozen prepared foods, snack foods, herbs, spices—not even salt or pepper.”

“This is a punitive policy that will do nothing to improve the health and nutrition of Iowans, but rather be a detriment,” the group said.

The Iowa Hunger Coalition (IHC) also condemned the bill, voicing opposition to its proposed food restrictions as well as new asset limits that would make it more difficult for families to qualify for SNAP, a program funded by the federal government and administered by states.

According to Feeding America, the largest hunger-relief organization in the U.S., roughly 229,500 people—including 80,160 children—are facing food insecurity in Iowa.

The details of the new legislation—which is sponsored by 39 Iowa House Republicans, including Speaker Pat Grassley—were met with national anger.

“This is so profoundly cruel and petty,” said Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of the progressive advocacy group Indivisible.

Sarah Bowen, a sociologist who studies food and inequality, noted in a tweet on Thursday that “Republicans have tried to destroy SNAP for years,” animated by the lie that “SNAP recipients are all stocking up on lobster and steak.”

“This is the most ridiculous proposal I’ve seen though,” Bowen added. “No chicken or ground beef. No chili beans. No American cheese?!”

SNAP recipients are already limited in what they can purchase at the grocery store using their benefits, but Iowa Republicans are seeking to dramatically expand those restrictions.

As Todd Dorman of the Iowa Gazetteexplained in a column on Thursday, the legislation “would require the Department of Health and Human Services to seek a federal waiver allowing Iowa to scrap an already restrictive federal list of approved foods and replace it with a list of food available to recipients of aid to Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC.”

“The bill would also, for the first time, create an asset test, limiting household assets to $2,750 or $4,250 if one member of the household is over 60. It exempts just one vehicle, potentially making households with two cars ineligible,” Dorman wrote. “Beyond all of that draconian wisdom, the bill would force recipients to jump through far more regulatory hoops to become eligible and stay on SNAP, wrapping recipients tightly in red tape and likely costing the state millions more to administer the program.”

“Only two groups support the bill,” Dorman added. “One is the Florida-based Opportunity Solutions Project, which sends its minions across the country to cut holes in the social safety net and oppose policies such as Medicaid expansion. The group is part of a web of conservative think tanks and bill mills bankrolled by rich donors who think if you just make poor people hungry and sick enough, they’ll utilize their bootstraps.”

(commondreams.org.

Read on….https://www.businessinsider.com/iowa-republicans-bill-ban-snap-recipients-meat-sliced-cheese-2023-1

How long will it be before this kind of cruelty expands into other red controlled Houses?

And yet they get votes from the very people they are screwing….where’s the logic in that?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–24Aug21

From The ‘Can’t Fix Stupid’ Files

This is an old story but it still deserves a mention…..

Most sane people know that FOX News is where stupid goes to live and report…..and they NEVER fail to amuse.

This time it is FOX anchor Laura Ingraham on unemployment…..

Republicans have a long history of claiming that unemployment benefits are too generous in the United States — a claim they make even during painful economic downturns. Fox News’ Laura Ingraham made that claim this week on her show, “The Ingraham Angle,” recommending “hunger” as a way to encourage America’s unemployed to find jobs.

The 58-year-old Ingraham wasn’t shy about bashing the poor and the unemployed during the Great Recession, and this week, she claimed that the unemployed are having it much too easy during the pandemic recession.

“What if we just cut off the unemployment? I mean, hunger is a pretty powerful thing,” Ingraham told her guest Jon Taffer, host of the reality show “Bar Rescue.”

Ingraham went on to say, “I’m talking about people who can work and refuse to work. But the government is literally putting anvils, in many ways, on people’s shoulders — either through the mandates, regulations, now through free money.”

https://www.alternet.org/2021/08/laura-ingraham-2654659900/

Can you believe the crap that comes from the mouths of FOX dullards?

This bitch is a joke…well to most humans that is……the intellectually challenged will nod their heads and yell AMEN! at the top of the lungs…..

She proves the you ‘Can’t Fix Stupid”.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Sunday Thoughts

Food is quickly becoming a main issue around this pandemic.

From Farmers having to let their crops go….to food banks being stretched to their limits…..to the hunger that is approaching.

I wrote about the food bank crisis in an earlier post…..and here it is…..https://lobotero.com/2020/04/16/closing-thought-16apr20/

I had bitched about those people that are allowing the produce and dairy and eggs go to waste…..and now there is some good news on the food thing…..

Farmers around the country have been forced to dump milk and waste fresh produce as schools, restaurants and other institutions remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. In response, Supermarket chain Publix launched a new initiative Wednesday to help struggling farmers — and get the food to Americans who need it most.

The company’s press release said it will purchase fresh produce and milk from farmers impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and donate the goods directly to Feeding America food banks that are in its “operating area.” During the first week of the initiative alone, some 150,000 pounds of produce and 43,500 gallons of milk is expected to be donated, the company said.

“As a food retailer, we have the unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the needs of families and farmers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Todd Jones, Publix CEO. “In addition to providing much needed produce and milk to food banks, this initiative provides financial support to farmers during this challenging time.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/publix-buying-excess-milk-produce-from-farmers-donations-feeding-america-food-banks-2020-04-22/

Publix should be commended for their foresight.

And please stop blaming the farmers…..look instead to the USDA of the Trump admin…….

Tens of millions of pounds of American-grown produce is rotting in fields as food banks across the country scramble to meet a massive surge in demand, a two-pronged disaster that has deprived farmers of billions of dollars in revenue while millions of newly jobless Americans struggle to feed their families.

While other federal agencies quickly adapted their programs to the coronavirus crisis, the Agriculture Department took more than a month to make its first significant move to buy up surplus fruits and vegetables — despite repeated entreaties.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/26/food-banks-coronavirus-agriculture-usda-207215

Yet another incident where the Trump group did not do what was needed when  it was needed….

It is NO secret that I am not a fan of the state of Israel….I think they have pushed the guilt trip on the West as far as it can go….it is time for them to start acting like a civilized nation…..

All that aside there are things that give me pause…like when the IDF destroys crops that people depend on for the life…..and now after bombing Gaza unmercifully they have decided to stop virus testing in the Strip…..

Israeli soldiers conducting coronavirus tests in the Gaza Strip have been ordered to stop by Defence Minister Naftali Bennett due to coordination issues, an Israeli newspaper has reported. According to Maariv, the Israeli government cancelled the initiative and claimed that Bennett himself was not aware of the army initiative due to a “lack of communication”.

The initiative lasted for two days and only 100 samples were tested at one of the army’s bases on the fringe of the besieged Gaza Strip. Soldiers had announced last week that they would carry out 50 coronavirus tests per day on samples from the Gaza Strip at the army laboratory in Tzrifin. The lab is also conducting tests for soldiers suspected of having the deadly virus. As of 15 April, the total number of infections in Gaza stood at 13.

The UN should take this up…it is a crime against humanity in my book….they are acting like the brutes that decimated them in the 40s.

Bet you will not hear this on the MSM in the US….those d/bags protect Israel like they were its child…..well may it is.

Have a good day…..be well….be safe

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Wasting Food?

I am sure that we all have heard the horror stories of the possibilities of food shortages soon if something does not change.

We pretty much know that we Americans eat less food than we throw away……and this disease has brought up more questions about our food supply…..

I read a report that said Florida farmers are selling directly to consumers to avoid a produce dump…..

Farms across Florida have taken a big hit since restaurants, amusement parks and cruise lines halted business.

There are nearly 47,000 farms in Florida that are providing the world with food and our communities with jobs. 

To help ease the pain of lost revenue due to the steep drop in demand, farmers are now selling their crops directly to consumers.

If you can’t find certain fruits or veggies at your local grocery store, CLICK HERE to see if there is a farm near you and pick up what you need.

On the Florida Farm To You webpage, you can learn where to get farm-fresh items like Florida-grown produce, milk, seafood and more, straight from Florida farmers.

(nbc-2.com)

WAIT!  A produce dump?  You mean that people are going hungry and these farmers cannot call the nearest bank to tell them to come pick up fresh veggies and fruit?

WAIT!  A produce dump?

Food is being thrown out at an alarming rate……

In the Salinas Valley of California — known as America’s salad bowl — we visited the municipal dump. The fertile strip of land surrounding the town of Salinas produces an estimated 70 percent of U.S. salad greens.

At the dump, we caught up with Operations Manager Cesar Zuniga as a dump truck pulled in. It was filled to the brim with salads and other waste from nearby farms.

“This one looks like a mixed load,” Zuniga says. As it tipped its load out tumbled a 15 foot heap of greens.

And a lot of it looked crisp and ready to eat.

“Some loads … look very fresh,” Zuniga says. “We question, wow, why is this being tossed?”

Zuniga says the load that arrived today is pretty typical. “This is what we see through the spring and fall months: We see a lot of food waste from the salad processing plants,” he says.

As we step closer to the dumped load, Zuniga picks up a bag of salad and looks at the sell-by date stamped onto the package.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/tons-fresh-produce-dumped-landfills-every-day

Hungry people and these businesses are throwing good food way?

Are you telling me that a food pantry would not go pick it up for distribution….time to make these businesses pay for their cavalier attitude toward the hungry….if anything it should be a crime to throw away food that is still fresh.

This reminds me of the coat debacle from years ago when Walmart got caught throwing away good winter coats with NO thought of the homeless and the needs they may have had…..

The names of companies that are throwing way food should be posted and we consumers should boycott them as much as possible.

Just my thought!

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Closing Thought–16Apr20

Covid-19 and Food Pantries

We all have seen first hand the lack of food on shelves these days……but there are still some food to buy….but what it there is no money to actually buy these food stuffs?

The natural answer would be the local food pantries and food banks….

The death toll in the United States surpassed that of Spain on Friday, with more than 18,400 fatalities recorded. For the first time, the daily death toll exceeded 2,000. Over the past three weeks, 16.8 million Americans have filed for jobless claims in the largest and fastest wave of job cuts on record.

Workers who have been laid off or furloughed are facing the very real prospect of hunger. With supermarket shelves emptied of staples and cupboards increasingly bare, people are lining up in record numbers at food pantries across the country.

In San Antonio, Texas on Thursday, traffic stretched for over five miles as cars lined up for a food distribution organized by the San Antonio Food Bank at Traders Village. Six thousand converged for the giveaway, with some arriving over 12 hours early to make sure they received food.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/11/food-a11.html

And if things do not get better soon then these life savers will start to run out of food…..and then where will this lead?

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–13Apr20

My state is getting hit hard by this Covid-19……not only are our elderly in danger but a side effect of this disease is hunger…..

A report by the The Guardian shine light on the problems this virus is creating for the state of Mississippi….

On the cracked country roads of Lexington, deep in the Mississippi delta, an empty yellow school bus drives slowly, making life-sustaining drop offs on the way.

Here, in the poorest county, in America’s poorest state, the coronavirus has yet to ravage the jurisdiction with infection. There has been one recorded Covid-19 death in the county, Clinton Cobbins, Lexington’s first African American mayor. But even now the coronavirus still poses a serious threat to life.

In Holmes county consolidated – the school district to which Lexington belongs – every single child qualifies for free school meals, a marker of pervasive poverty. For many, said superintendent Dr James L Henderson, breakfast and lunch at school are the only nutritious meals a student will eat in a day. For a few, they are the only meals.

When the coronavirus pandemic led to statewide school closures, Henderson, who was born in the county, left for most of his adult life, but returned in 2018 to assume his position, was left with a significant dilemma: how to feed the 3,000 children under his authority.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/06/in-the-poorest-county-in-americas-poorest-state-a-virus-hits-home-hunger-is-rampant

Just another story that grows around the pandemic and the anemic response we have had so far…..

Sorry to say but I feel it will get worse for Mississippians before it get better……

Why?

Some Mississippians are not taking this thing seriously…..many with no mask and many not adhering to the 6 foot rule…just to mention a few of the stupid things they are doing….keep in mind…”You cannot fix stupid”!

Watch This Blog!

Be Calm…….Avoid Crowds…..Wash Hands Often…..Stay Prepared For The Long Haul……

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

What’s For Dinner?

They say (whoever they are) that climate change will bring about a severe food shortage….and who has any ideas for this coming possibility?

In the 1973 dystopian film Soylent Green, the world is so overpopulated that dead bodies are sold as food.

But Swedish researcher Magnus Söderlund believes this could be a genuine solution to climate change and asserts we must “awaken the idea” of eating human flesh in the future.

At a summit for food of the future called Gastro Summit, Professor Söderlund held a talk called “Can you Imagine Eating Human Flesh?” where he argued “conservative” taboos against cannibalism should be broken down

He suggests people’s aversion to it could be overcome little by little, beginning with people just tasting it.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/scientist-suggests-eating-human-meat-to-tackle-climate-change-a4230561.html

Makes me think of and old Twilight Zone……

Eeeewwwww!

I apologize for I have been given a recipe with some of my weekend posts but I just do not have one to fit this article.

Think I will BBQ some chicken today……on second thought maybe a salad would be better.

Be Well….Be Safe

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Screw The Elderly!

Closing Thought–05Sep19

When I was forced to retire I was fortunate that I had a good pension and Medicare but too many seniors must depend on others for some of the necessities like FOOD.

When I was working for the State I saw just how good such programs as Meals On Wheels were….but that successful program has run into monetary problems thanx to the GOP and their cuts to programs like Meals On Wheels……to the point that many seniors are going hungry.

And government relief falls short. One of the main federal programs helping seniors is starved for money. The Older Americans Act — passed more than half a century ago as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society reforms — was amended in 1972 to provide for home-delivered and group meals, along with other services, for anyone 60 and older. But its funding has lagged far behind senior population growth, as well as economic inflation.

The biggest chunk of the act’s budget, nutrition services, dropped by 8% over the past 18 years when adjusted for inflation, an AARP report found in February. Home-delivered and group meals have decreased by nearly 21 million since 2005. Only a fraction of those facing food insecurity get any meal services under the act; a U.S. Government Accountability Office report examining 2013 data found 83% got none.

https://truthout.org/articles/meals-on-wheels-is-starved-for-cash-leaving-many-seniors-hungry/

This should be unacceptable to ALL Americans.

I feel certain that somewhere some mental midget will try and blame this on immigrants…..as they always do to hide their racism……but this would not be a problem if diverted funds were used where they were needed……a wall is not that spot.

By the way….China built a wall to stop “immigrants” and it stopped nothing…..money pissed away just as the US is doing today.

Learn Stuff!

“Lego Ergo Scribo”