Frank J. Buchman

Cowboy • Horseman • Writer

Unappreciated Abundance Must Be Distributed

“Don’t complain about the price of food with your mouth full.”

We’ve never been hungry. Oh, like most, we’ve complained when we missed a meal, were late for supper, or fasted for a few days. Yet, we’ve really always had plenty to eat.


Most of those who’ve made statements about the grocery cost increases in recent months have seldom been without provisions to the point of more than a growling
stomach.

That’s not true for many around the world, as starvation has been an evil since the beginning of time. While it seems the situation would be improving with production advances, that is not the case, as there are more truly hungry people than ever before.
Total food output may be higher, but it’s not where the need is. Distribution is quite poor.

Public awareness of malnourishment seems to go in trends, despite the continuing dilemma. Four  decades ago, we penned a winning state FFA newswriting story on the topic after a World Food Problem news conference with K-State’s Dr. David Mugler.

The subject remained on our mind, so the following fall we prepared a speech on the topic and presented it in competition and at other public gatherings. While the grueling facts were incorporated into the talk, and we received feedback on our   presentation, there was no heartfelt expression of truly understanding the extent of the crisis.

Our pride was stomped appropriately at a family reunion, when somebody remarked, “There’s no food shortage here,” as our oration followed a gut-busting dinner. It was a  mistimed appearance, certainly, and no-one there really had an inkling of our concern. They enjoyed their abundance and turned a blind eye to the fact that it wasn’t the norm.

Sadly, that is the standard for most people in this country. Bountiful fare of the highest quality is very inexpensively available at their fingertips, when compared to all other essential overhead. Likewise, if the supermarket ring-up is reviewed, a lot of
the total is for toiletries, medications and paper goods, nothing to do with meal preparations.

Farmers typically get the blame when there is a hike in the grocery bill, but it doesn’t take long to figure out they haven’t reaped much of the increase, if any. There are so
many fingers in the pot, and everyone has to make a living, so by the time produce reaches consumers, the penny here and there can become what seems substantial.

Worse than cost complaints is wastefulness of the bounty. Surveys indicate as much goes in the garbage as is consumed. Our food is still the very best there is. We wish it   could be better proportioned to the hungry who appreciate it.

Horror of hunger is warned about in Lamentations 4:9: “Better to have been killed in
battle than killed by starvation. Better to have died of battle wounds than to slowly starve to death.” However, the problem is stated in Proverbs 13:23: “Abundant food is in the fallow ground, but it is swept away by injustice.”

Therefore, we must work for the promise of a parable in Daniel 4:10: “A big towering tree at the center of the world reached the sky and seen from the four corners of the
earth, abundant with enough food for everyone.” “Bless us Oh Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.”

+++ALLELUIA+++

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