Hunger
“Hunger does not breed reform; it breeds madness, and all the ugly distempers that make an ordered life impossible” Woodrow T. Wilson, Former U.S. President
Current programs for dealing with hunger
The cost of domestic hunger to our economy now likely exceeds $124 billion (#1R), a total which increases along with the number of people needing food assistance every year. There are many multi-billion dollar programs in place to stave off hunger and the facts prove most if not all are failing - see figure 1-1. They are failing because they do not attack the problem, they merely try to keep the problem from getting worse which the facts also show they are not doing. Most programs try to provide food for those in need when they need it, which never goes after the root cause of the problem and leads people back to the bread line the following week. For a list of our current programs and expenses see figure 1-2.
Figure 1-1 (#2R,3R,4R and 5R)
Figure 1-1 (#2R,3R,4R and 5R)
Figure 1-2 (#5R)
In addition to these programs are organizations all over the country like the Feeding America Network which provides food for 37 Million people facing hunger in the U.S. Their 200 food banks serve all 50 states and distribute more than 3 Billion pounds of food and grocery product annually. The member food banks support more than 61,000 local charitable agencies, which provide food directly to individuals and families in need. Their operating budget in Fiscal year 2010 was $706 million. (#6R)
Despite these programs the facts are:
$2525.45 is spent on average for each food insecure person every year (#2A) and yet all the facts listed above still remain. Some people experiencing food insecurity might be accepting of it so long as they don’t have to work but there are countless others who want plentiful access to healthy foods but don’t - due to a lack of work and/or disability and they deserve the right to feed themselves quality food everyday.
Despite these programs the facts are:
- 50 million Americans were considered “food insecure” in 2009. Food insecure is the government’s label for those who either don’t have enough to eat or have to resort to cheap, low-quality food in order to stave off hunger. Among the 50 million were more than 17 million children. (#7R)
- Infant mortality is directly linked to inadequate nutrition in pregnant women. (#8R)
- 37% of adults requesting food assistance were employed . (#9R)
- ½ of all Americans will use food stamps during adulthood and ¾ of these people will need food stamps in more than 1 year. (#10R)
- At least 4 out of 10 Americans will experience food insecurity at some point during adulthood. (#10R)
- The mental and physical changes that accompany inadequate food intakes can have harmful effects on learning, development, productivity, physical and psychological health and family life. (#5R)
- 15.9% of the U.S. population is food insecure. (#1A)
- Serving food to those in need in public places is being outlawed city by city. (#11R)
$2525.45 is spent on average for each food insecure person every year (#2A) and yet all the facts listed above still remain. Some people experiencing food insecurity might be accepting of it so long as they don’t have to work but there are countless others who want plentiful access to healthy foods but don’t - due to a lack of work and/or disability and they deserve the right to feed themselves quality food everyday.
“To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves.” Gandhi
Eden - A Plan to End Hunger
Edens food program will be able to provide good quality food to all who are willing to work for it at about ½ the currents costs of hunger. Projected costs per person, per year are $1578.82 (#3A) with the total program costing $78,941,000,000 per year (#4A) - if every food insecure person were to participate. It is worth mentioning that these are not figures based on supplementing ones diet, they are based on ones entire nutritional needs for the year. The needs include 228lbs of grains, 428lbs of vegetables, 338lbs of fruits, 195lbs of beans, 195lbs of meat and 68 gallons of milk per year. (#5A) These projected costs also include office clerks for processing clients, farmers to teach as well as the cost of tools, seeds, cows, fencing, food, water, barns and vaccines for the cows. See figure 1-3 for other food that is not included and what it would cost. A large portion of the plant and animal costs should be one-time costs as we will have the animals to reproduce as well as the seeds from plants for next seasons crops. Land, water and crop figures are also estimated extremely high as they assume all crops will take 1 year to grow where in reality most take a few months.
The costs of this plan can be reduced all the way to $0 and even become profitable if people put the necessary effort into it. On average a person will need to farm 1.74 acres worth of crops to provide their entire food needs for the year (#7A). A person would only need to maintain another 0.24 of an acre to bring this plan balanced to a point where they were producing all their food needs and costing society $0 (#8A). Considering 1.98 acres can be maintained with part-time hours (#9A) this still leaves people enough free time to seek and maintain conventional employment.
The basis of Edens hunger program is to allow people who are in need of food the ability to work for it. They will register with the clerk and learn how to grow their own food from professional farmers. Old-fashioned methods of food storage such as - jarring, canning, underground root cellar, drying, jerky, vinegar, alcohol and making pickles, chutney, jam, syrup, beer and wine could also be taught.
Giving people their own land to work individually can be overwhelming and lead to strict schedules because even missing a few days could lead to crop failure. This also raises the question of what happens when someone abandons their crops halfway into growing season? It wouldn’t be fair for anyone new or currently in the program to take it over, the logical thing would be for all to care for it and reap the benefits. It would most likely be in the best interests of everyone involved to farm the area communally and split the rewards based on a grading system described on p.102X, which takes both time and productivity levels into account. This would allow people to have more flexible schedules in doing the tasks they enjoy most all while becoming familiar with all aspects of farming. Working in such a fashion would help reduce crop spoilage and simplify the process of people entering and leaving Eden.
Excess food could also be put in storage or sold. The money generated from excess crops could be split among the clients, held in an account to buy food when necessary, used to pay back the money to start Eden and/or put towards expanding Eden in both size and clients.
It would be in our best interest to plant trees of different ages so that all trees don’t die off together. We’ll also plant many different types of trees that produce at different times of the year so we can have fresh food year round. Between these 2 acts we should be able to maximize our ability to get steady yields at all times and reduce our odds of having harvests that are much bigger or smaller than our needs.
Eden’s hunger program has the potential to end hunger and be financially balanced (need no outside money) while eliminating a great deal of suffering and expenses such as:
The food insecurity of 50 million Americans
Infant mortality due to lack of nutrition
The mental and physical changes that accompany inadequate food intakes and the harmful effects they cause on learning, development, productivity, physical and psychological health and family life
Arrests of those in need of food and those who provide it
Our current demoralizing programs
Begging
$124 billion a year
For those of us who are food insecure and rely on the government for food assistance it would be in all our best interest to provide them with seeds and instructions on planting and make having a garden a requirement to receiving food assistance, so long as they are physically capable. This could greatly reduce and/or end one’s dependence.
We have nothing to lose but the wasted expense and suffering that our current programs are unable to control. People need food and they deserve the pride and dignity that comes along with providing it for themselves and taxpayers deserve to keep their hard-earned money. Eden’s food program can accomplish both of these. People will no longer need to beg and be forced to make due with less than their needs. It will not take much, just one town or city willing to try a new program and then we will have actual numbers to compare the current programs to. If Eden’s food program turns out to be half as good in real life as it is on paper it will become a model to be copied by all who wish to end the suffering of the hungry.
We have nothing to lose but the wasted expense and suffering that our current programs are unable to control. People need food and they deserve the pride and dignity that comes along with providing it for themselves and taxpayers deserve to keep their hard-earned money. Eden’s food program can accomplish both of these. People will no longer need to beg and be forced to make due with less than their needs. It will not take much, just one town or city willing to try a new program and then we will have actual numbers to compare the current programs to. If Eden’s food program turns out to be half as good in real life as it is on paper it will become a model to be copied by all who wish to end the suffering of the hungry.
