(This is a Soap Box thing for me)
When people talk about saving the planet they usually want to talk about driving your car less, wind energy, organics, re-usable shopping bags.... but I've been gnawing away at something else recently. So, in the spirit of Earth Day....No, actually this sort of fits in a more inclusive category for me - requiring an observance of its own: "Quit Being So Spoiled Day".
Here's the thing, as a country/western culture we consume a lot of stuff, I think we've established that. One sure measure of our oppulence is the number of picky eaters among us. Kids & adults alike. To me this shows a serious lack of understanding about where food comes from and the rules of graciousness. I have strong opinions ...I make fun of myself for being kind of a food nazi when kids eat over ("In our house we TRY it"). And my kids have heard on NUMEROUS occasions: "There are people starving in the world." Which brings me to my next point. I was listening to the radio a week or two ago and listened to this guy say basically, "Yeah, the 'economic down-turn' is tough...but there are a lot of people in the world who have it worse. They actually starve to death." The University of Arizona did a study in 2004 showing that on average, American households throw away 14% of the food they buy - $590 worth a year. When you add food producers into the equation the number goes up to like 40%, wasting millions of tons of food and huge amounts of money. There are programs out there attempting to chanel some of that wasted food (mostly from mass food producers and restaraunts) to places where it can be used. But what about on a personal/household scale? Maybe along with our attempts to use less of everything else we should try to only USE what we need of food and EAT what we use. (Been on a cruise? Yikes.)
It really all comes down to a sense of gratitude. When I was in high school my Dad took me with him bow hunting. We rode around on horses for several days looking for deer. When one of the guys killed one we all gathered as he skinned and cleaned it. I had never been on a hunt, and I was a little worried that I would be squeamish - never be able to eat meat again. Surprisingly, as I watched him carefully work over the animal - I felt this sense of reverence - among all the people there. It was amazing.
While studying in Russia in 1995 I stayed with families living a very different lifestyle than the one I knew. They offered me their food - some of it strange to me, some of it hard to eat. But that food represented a sacrifice, a gift to me. It would have been SO wrong for me to reject it.
We have grown so prosperous, and food is so accessable that we have become disconnected from it's use, it's meaning, and a proper sense of thankfulness. My kids tell me about how certain school mates throw away apples, bananas, etc. without eating a bite... regularly. ??? That's crazy - and wrong. What have we become that we show so little reguard for the plenty we've been blessed with? I can't help but think that we'll be accountable.
No dessert until you've cleared your plate!
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/US-wastes-half-its-food
When people talk about saving the planet they usually want to talk about driving your car less, wind energy, organics, re-usable shopping bags.... but I've been gnawing away at something else recently. So, in the spirit of Earth Day....No, actually this sort of fits in a more inclusive category for me - requiring an observance of its own: "Quit Being So Spoiled Day".
Here's the thing, as a country/western culture we consume a lot of stuff, I think we've established that. One sure measure of our oppulence is the number of picky eaters among us. Kids & adults alike. To me this shows a serious lack of understanding about where food comes from and the rules of graciousness. I have strong opinions ...I make fun of myself for being kind of a food nazi when kids eat over ("In our house we TRY it"). And my kids have heard on NUMEROUS occasions: "There are people starving in the world." Which brings me to my next point. I was listening to the radio a week or two ago and listened to this guy say basically, "Yeah, the 'economic down-turn' is tough...but there are a lot of people in the world who have it worse. They actually starve to death." The University of Arizona did a study in 2004 showing that on average, American households throw away 14% of the food they buy - $590 worth a year. When you add food producers into the equation the number goes up to like 40%, wasting millions of tons of food and huge amounts of money. There are programs out there attempting to chanel some of that wasted food (mostly from mass food producers and restaraunts) to places where it can be used. But what about on a personal/household scale? Maybe along with our attempts to use less of everything else we should try to only USE what we need of food and EAT what we use. (Been on a cruise? Yikes.)
It really all comes down to a sense of gratitude. When I was in high school my Dad took me with him bow hunting. We rode around on horses for several days looking for deer. When one of the guys killed one we all gathered as he skinned and cleaned it. I had never been on a hunt, and I was a little worried that I would be squeamish - never be able to eat meat again. Surprisingly, as I watched him carefully work over the animal - I felt this sense of reverence - among all the people there. It was amazing.
While studying in Russia in 1995 I stayed with families living a very different lifestyle than the one I knew. They offered me their food - some of it strange to me, some of it hard to eat. But that food represented a sacrifice, a gift to me. It would have been SO wrong for me to reject it.
We have grown so prosperous, and food is so accessable that we have become disconnected from it's use, it's meaning, and a proper sense of thankfulness. My kids tell me about how certain school mates throw away apples, bananas, etc. without eating a bite... regularly. ??? That's crazy - and wrong. What have we become that we show so little reguard for the plenty we've been blessed with? I can't help but think that we'll be accountable.
No dessert until you've cleared your plate!
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/US-wastes-half-its-food
5 comments:
For the most part, I totally agree. We waste WAY too much food. For sure. And we're just not smart or thoughtful about how we use it.
A lot of kids are picky just because their parents don't try and expose them to new stuff or give up making them try things. What is that stat - it sometimes takes like 7 tries to like something? That was pretty true with Tessa and oatmeal. We just kept trying it and now she likes it.
BUT (having sensory challenged kiddos and being a 'picky' eater myself) I don't think it always works that way. I have tried and never liked fish. At all. And for me, it's not just 'ew', I mean I will throw up. For real. I could never be on the amazing race, I guess...
I remember talking about this in a child development class at byu and the professor saying that they're learning now that people have real built in likes/dislikes from when they are born. Even without 'disorders', some people are just super sensitive to smells or textures, and that can cause real distress.
So I think that it's good to have some leniance in some areas. Like my brother never liked peas, so that was his one thing he didn't have to eat. But in a social situation, I think he would eat them.
Another brother, who we now think has some major sensory issues that weren't picked up on then, was SUPER picky. I remember a time when he only ate strawberries... But while for some kids you could say 'eat this or eat nothing', my brother would choose nothing. Every time. He WOULD NOT eat. He was this super skinny little kid and my mom always worried about that. But now as an adult, he's not picky at all. So you never know how it'll work out.
I'm just saying that it's just like anything else regarding parenting, you can't always make clear cut rules about kids. What works for some will sometimes backfire on others.
Also, if you're gonna make strict rules about clearing their plate, you've gotta watch portion sizes for sure. A friend of mine whose parents were super strict about being clean plate rangers overate at college because she'd give herself a little more of her favorite dishes, and then mentally have to eat it all. She didn't so much recognize that 'I'm full' feeling, she just ate until her plate was empty. So there's gotta be some balance there, too.
Nice post, Angie - and sorry this is so long!
wow, that was even longer than I thought... :)
I think this sounds more dogmatic than I actually am. Obviously, you have to make concessions for sensory issues...and my kids have foods they REALLY don't like as well. My point was not that you should MAKE people like every type of food; the point is that our whole attidude about food should be one of deep gratitude. A lack of this type of gratitude manifests itself in throwing away everything that isn't our favorite, or turning our noses up at food that others work/sacrifice to provide, or while others go hungry. I think most pickiness goes beyond parents not offering varities of food - that's part of it. But I think the main issue in parents and kids refusing lots of kinds of foods is their general view of food.
Sorry, something else to say... Portion size is a given. That goes along with what I said about using only what we need and eating what we use. We should put less on our plates to begin with. But a little bit of guilt in this case is healthy.
Hi Ang. Mike sent me the link to your blog today. Nice! I'm glad to see that you guys are doing well. You may have already seen this, but here is a fun way to help the starving million, while filling the hours.
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