Why you should grow your own garden and live a SS life.

[homesteadmomma]

Redhen, my post said I totally agree with you and I still do. I have a friend who does foster care and while we live in a small community some of the children who have came into her care have been very SAD cases. Things I couldn't even imagine.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I'm with redhen on this one, too.

I remember watching a documentary once where an actress (I'm thinking it was Julia Roberts, but I could be wrong?) wanted someone to prove to her that some places in the US were just as bad as some other countries.

They took her to meet two single moms who shared living in a two bedroom singlewide trailer that was barely still standing., They had about, well it seemed like 10 kids between the two of them, but I think it was more like 6. The mom's both worked full time jobs, but opposite shifts of each other so they could watch each other's kids. The kids were sleeping on dirty mattresses on the floors. The kids themselves were dirty. The house had no clean water, and the mom's were worn out from working themselves 24/7 just to care for their families. They didn't make enough money for enough food so the mom's were going hungry, they had no medical for their kids, and they said it took both paychecks to pay for their run down place. Neither of the women's ex's were sending child support, and their full time jobs kept them from qualifying for any assistance. They only lived together to help eachother, because neither one could afford to be out on their own and care for their kids.

That actress left there in tears, and in disbelief, because she never thought it could happen in America. The situation these mom's were in didn't make them bad parents, just meant they had bad circumstances.

I think we need to fix our own country before we worry about pouring monies into other countries. Teach skills to people, like growing a garden, raising animals for meats, beekeeping. We can throw money at people all we want to, here or in other countries, but if they don't use the money for what they need then we are just throwing away our money and wasting it.

Let's quit giving hand outs and start giving a hand up. Help them learn a trade, give them seeds, a plow, a fruit tree....

I'll tell you my biggest pet peeve: restaraunts throwing away left over foods, that have nothing wrong with them! When Fast food restaraunts toss out sandwiches that are 10 minutes old...Uh...a homeless person won't care that it's 10 minutes old or made wrong!

 

[freemotion]

(pictures free out flogging the deer with homemade broom)

So true!!!

 

[reinbeau]

I think people confused issues when talking about taking care of the poor here in America vs. taking care of the rest of the world. For many, many people here in this country, there is a warped view of poverty. They believe if they don't have every single convenience and nicety available to them, they are poor, or someone who doesn't have them are poor. They (and I am not including anyone in this discussion here, although it does color many peoples' views and they don't even realize it) just don't understand that even the poor here, the very dirt poor, even those two women in the video mentioned above, really aren't as poor as some in other countries. Truly.

My sister in law is Philippine. My brother's dowry present to her mother was a cement floor in her house. She raised eight children on a dirt floor, her husband died very young, and my brother said we could only imagine what they had to do to survive. Even in big cities like Manilla there are open sewers, and poverty like we can only imagine. Yet from what I've seen and read over the years, even they were better off than some in India, or parts of Africa.

Does this mean we should take care of them first? I don't think so. I think we should take care of ourselves and our own, first, and get everyone to truly understand what they need to live - that they need to breathe, they need to eat, but they don't need so much of what's taken for granted here. Once we have our own straightened out, then yes, definitely, help others in other lands, but the right way, teach them, give them skills and tools to live their own lives, not lives that we think they should live.

 

[2dream]

What reinbeau said.

 

[SKR8PN]

What reinbeau said.

TIMES TWO!!

 

[Wifezilla]

teach them, give them skills and tools to live their own lives, not lives that we think they should live.

Here is one overseas charity I think it worthy of contributing to...

"CARE Internationals Poultry Rearing Program
helps impoverished widows become self-sufficient
income earners by training them in small-scale poultry
farming techniques. Participating women are given 50
chicks, feed, use of an incubator and other start-up materials, as well as technical support to develop and run a small business. CAREs HAWA project enables vulnerable widows to generate income by raising and managing livestock (cows and lambs). Livestock development is an ideal way for poor widows to generate income, as feed and other inputs are available and inexpensive, and milk products usually command competitive prices at the market. In addition, by-products like manure can be sold or used for kitchen gardens, and calves can be sold for profit."
http://www.changingthepresent.org/nonprofits/show/2322/about

 

[redhen]

The problem i find is..sure..we can give them seeds..sure we can show how to plant the tree. We HAVE been doing this for what..40 years now already?? Peace corps and missionaries have been over seas for A LONG time now. And what have they learned from it? What life style changes have they done?? Not much, in ALL the years of our helping them. THen i go and watch a documentary on Africa on Discovery channel or one of those channels. ANd it shows how they know they have AIDS and yet dont care. THey keep spreading it KNOWING they have it. THey DO go to what they call "clubs" and party and get drunk on their version of moonshine..and they said that is one of the places that the AIDS is getting spread around...i wish i could remember the name of the show..it was done by a black man..he went over there to see if he could help. He went in the hospitials..interviewed the people.. they openly admitted they take no sexual percautions (even when WE provide them with FREE condoms!!) when they know they have AIDS..they simply dont care they stated. I'll try to find the documentary and post it. WHEN do we say enough IS enough! And concentrate on the USA?
And yet i remember working at Pizza Hut down south and going out to the dumpster one afternoon to find a black homeless guy going through the dumpster right here in America. He was hungry..just as hungry as the people in Africa. I gave him my lunches every day i saw him there..its all i could do for him. From what i understand he was a war vet. and had some mental issues from it. He deserved more help..he deserved to not EVER go hungry in the country he defended. So i know i'm stubborn.. BUT to me..hunger is hunger..whether its here or in Africa. And we need to make sure there is not 1 hungry person in America before we send food to other countries. Sometimes people want to jump on a popular bandwagon (i.e. feeding all these other countries..) when they should jump on the feed America FIRST bandwagon. Again guys..just MY opinion. We each have our own view of this.

 

[Beekissed]

I think there are myriad problems present in just sending food, medical care and/or money to foreign countries to "help" the populace there. We can feed them for a day or we can teach them how to grow crops, animal husbandry, hygiene, how to obtain clean water, etc. , etc. And the list goes on.

And the problem with this is, until they can learn to create stable governments, the poor people will always be subjugated by the dictatorships present in these lands. We can never change this. We can give it our best shot, but we never will. End of story.

I'm not saying it is futile to help these countries and I'm sure to a child or mother who is the beneficiary of these food supplies, those meals provided are important.

In America, regardless of people's circumstances, there is a plentiful food supply. If your child was really, actually starving there are church food kitchens, Salvation Army, Welfare system, even the next door neighbor that would feed you and your child. Children starving in America is due to neglect and poor education, mental illness or drug addiction or a combination of all these things. Two women living in a trailer full of kids are eligible for welfare unless they are making too much to be eligible. Its hard for this type of family structure to make too much, believe me.

Yes, I know there are children who wind up in foster care who have went hungry and are malnourished. And then they went into foster care. I don't believe it was from a lack of available food sources, but parental neglect and abuse or a lack of community caring.

I don't think there is foster care in these other countries. I don't think they have a McDonalds on every corner that throws out food to scavenge. Heck, a person could make some pretty nourishing meals from killing and eating all the fat dogs in America!

The problem with America is not poverty, but misplaced values. When people can afford to buy raw meat to feed their dogs but the little old lady next door cannot afford anything but cat food for her meal, we have a problem that is not about an impoverished country as a whole. Its about the loss of community, of family values, of any values for that matter. There is never any excuse for any one person to go hungry in a country as wealthy as ours.

I'd love to see people caring about their fellow man right here in our country but I see it less and less.

If it makes a rich person feel good to write a check and send some substandard, GM foods to the hungry in another country that is fine with me. If some stupid government program wants to buy corn to help farmers and give it to some hungry folks, I say why not? If our taxes pay for it, so what? They would find some other way to spend our money foolishly, so what the heck?

It behooves each of us to concentrate on taking care of what's in our own backyard, both personal and across America.

Is growing GM foods a good thing and necessary to feed the growing population? Nope. Not if there is enough excess to feed multiple countries. Is GM corn the only source for biofuels? Nope. Sugar beets provides more with less land than does corn growing. Also uses less nitrogen than does corn.

And that is why one should grow their own food and live as SS as one can. So you don't have to go hungry and neither does your neighbor.

I concentrate on being the best I can for my family, teaching them to care about their fellow man, growing the healthiest foods I can and sharing them with those who can no longer grow foods. Its really the best I can do. I can't feed Africa, but I can feed me, mine and my community.

 

[redhen]

I think there are myriad problems present in just sending food, medical care and/or money to foreign countries to "help" the populace there. We can feed them for a day or we can teach them how to grow crops, animal husbandry, hygiene, how to obtain clean water, etc. , etc. And the list goes on.

And the problem with this is, until they can learn to create stable governments, the poor people will always be subjugated by the dictatorships present in these lands. We can never change this. We can give it our best shot, but we never will. End of story.

I'm not saying it is futile to help these countries and I'm sure to a child or mother who is the beneficiary of these food supplies, those meals provided are important.

In America, regardless of people's circumstances, there is a plentiful food supply. If your child was really, actually starving there are church food kitchens, Salvation Army, Welfare system, even the next door neighbor that would feed you and your child. Children starving in America is due to neglect and poor education, mental illness or drug addiction or a combination of all these things. Two women living in a trailer full of kids are eligible for welfare unless they are making too much to be eligible. Its hard for this type of family structure to make too much, believe me.

Yes, I know there are children who wind up in foster care who have went hungry and are malnourished. And then they went into foster care. I don't believe it was from a lack of available food sources, but parental neglect and abuse or a lack of community caring.

I don't think there is foster care in these other countries. I don't think they have a McDonalds on every corner that throws out food to scavenge. Heck, a person could make some pretty nourishing meals from killing and eating all the fat dogs in America!

The problem with America is not poverty, but misplaced values. When people can afford to buy raw meat to feed their dogs but the little old lady next door cannot afford anything but cat food for her meal, we have a problem that is not about an impoverished country as a whole. Its about the loss of community, of family values, of any values for that matter. There is never any excuse for any one person to go hungry in a country as wealthy as ours.

I'd love to see people caring about their fellow man right here in our country but I see it less and less.

If it makes a rich person feel good to write a check and send some substandard, GM foods to the hungry in another country that is fine with me. If some stupid government program wants to buy corn to help farmers and give it to some hungry folks, I say why not? If our taxes pay for it, so what? They would find some other way to spend our money foolishly, so what the heck?

It behooves each of us to concentrate on taking care of what's in our own backyard, both personal and across America.

Is growing GM foods a good thing and necessary to feed the growing population? Nope. Not if there is enough excess to feed multiple countries. Is GM corn the only source for biofuels? Nope. Sugar beets provides more with less land than does corn growing. Also uses less nitrogen than does corn.

And that is why one should grow their own food and live as SS as one can. So you don't have to go hungry and neither does your neighbor.

I concentrate on being the best I can for my family, teaching them to care about their fellow man, growing the healthiest foods I can and sharing them with those who can no longer grow foods. Its really the best I can do. I can't feed Africa, but I can feed me, mine and my community.

Bee, I cant argue with this at all, i can see your point. Very well put!