Could this be the beginning of the end? These are some pathetic figures. How can we have so many people go hungry in this country? This is really really disturbing. http://story.news.ask.com//article/20071114/D8STNFAG0.html
We both know why that is mate. It is because some A-Hole is spending millions and millions of $'s a day on a bullshit illegal "war" instead of looking after the American people.
Sorry but it is total and utter bullshit. You can't claim on the one hand that everyone in America is obese then claim they don't have enough food to eat. On the other hand people who have too much to eat and not enough work to do and are overweight are quite often hungry. And that kind of hungry has nothing to do with a lack of food. Food is some peoples drug. Ahhh the old single mothers and children BS.... Ya forgot to say "breast cancer victims" are starving! Crap.....I'm so tired of this propaganda.
you buy 25 cent bags of chips and dollar burgers all over the country they give out free food many places in any major city I just can't really get excited about hungry americans
The 'obese' argument in this situation is pretty damn lame. One reason people are obese is because on a dollar basis it's cheaper to buy crap food. For many that is all they can afford. Using the 'we can't have hungry people yet so many obese' is trully misinformed. There are plenty of hungry people in the states, plenty of people obese as well as it's expensive to eat healthy.
Throwing money at the poor and more government spending wouldn't solve the problem. Giving a poor person $40 a day to make salads and spend $4.00 a pound for tomatoes is impossible. In fact, the government has caused part of the problem with poor zoning laws. Most of the good farm land near major cities has been paved over and there is no land set aside for public markets. There are plenty of cheap foods available but people either don't know how to use them or don't want to eat them. Examplea of foods that are both healthy and cheap include dry beans, rice, chicken, squash and fresh corn (seasonal) and vegtables like cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes, beets, turnip, leeks, and other greens. US bean dry bean consumption is 7lbs per year against 30-40 lbs for the rest of the world. A good bean, meat and vegetable soup with make a hearty meal. Dishes like egg noodles and cabbage, perogies, home fries and eggs, and meat stew stick to the bones. Mediterranean , Middle eastern, African and Indian cusine makes some good use of beans.
Yes there are 'some' cheap items, such as beans. Chicken however is not as cheap as many other high fat, high fructose corn syrup based foods. There has been multiple studies showing how many 'good' calories you can buy compared to how many crap calories. Alot to do with another government F up, farm subsidies has made crap food cheaper than good quality food. Fresh vegetables are not cheap on a dollar per dollar basis versus calorie, etc compared to some of the preprocessed foods. When you can buy a family frozen meal for like $2.99 compared to just a small pack of chicken for $4.99, plus the veggies and others things that go with it bring you up to well over $10.00 even on the cheap end. I totally agree though, the government themselves have messed things up greatly. I also am not for throwing money at people, I know so many that are simply too lazy to work, they get free rent, free food, health care, etc, etc. Personally if it's a food basis I would support more of a soup kitchen style 'help' than letting them buy damn near whatever they want at a store. It sickens me seeing those on government aid eating Tbones and lobster 'which does happen'. The facts though, study after study proves without a doubt it is cheaper to eat unhealthy than it is to eat healthy.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The free market has to determine what is available and at what price. The government is totally unable to make these determinations for us. Would you trust Dick Cheney to cook you breakfast or to pack a lunch for your children? Then why would you let the politicians decide what you can eat (through subsidies), where it is available, and for how much? It's like all of the people who want the government to do something about global warming. What is there to stop them from forming 501(c)3s and doing something about it themselves? Does anyone here truly believe that Hillary Clinton can legislatively solve a global atmospheric crisis? The same people we put in charge of the economy are the same ones who lost $9 billion in cash that was sent to Iraq. The same ones turn a blind eye to war profiteers and give away no bid contracts through corporate cronyism. And we look to them for all of the answers, as though we have no faith or confidence in ourselves, or the goodness of man. What an irony. The goodness of government over the goodness of humanity. Sure sounds like socialism to me.
You know what's trully funny? The 'obese' problem the government is trying to tackle now, the same government partially caused via years of subsidies driving crap food prices down and causing good healthy food prices to raise. It didn't make sense for farmers to grow good quality foods as the government paid them so much more to grow crap. Now we are in this current situation, simply dreadful IMHO.
Potato Beef Soup will cost you something like $4.00 to make and $3.00 for the Cabbage Potato Soup. Basic protein and vegetable matter. In this area chicken quarters are 5lb for $3.00 and served with beans and rice. The illegal aliens never go hungry. A cheap resturant meal at a place like the Unico with cost you $2.50 for pollo asado (roasted chicken) with black beans, rice and fried plantains. Potato Beef Soup 1 pound chuck or bottom round 1 marrow bone (optional) 2 quarts water 1/2 large onion, finely diced 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced 1 stalk celery, finely diced 2 tablespoons cup barley 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 bay leaf 1/2 tablespoon salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste 3 large Idaho or russet potatoes Cabbage Potato Soup 1/2 cup chopped onion 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 4 cups coarsely shredded cabbage 1/2 cup chopped carrot 3 cups vegetable broth 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 3 cups diced potato 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) evaporated milk minced parsley dash paprika
I woulnd't call that Cabbage soup a meal in itself, not something even remotely healthy, doesn't appear to have much protein at all. Of course there might be a few cheap meals one can make, on a normal basis however it is more expensive to eat healthy. You also bring up a meal for $2.50, that is per person. A family of 4 is going to cost $10.00 plus drink, tip, etc. A dry noodle meal at the store, $.99 or less.
It's true that to eat healthy on a low budget will be difficult. There really isn't a culture of making a meal in a pot in the US that existed in the hard scrabble European past. I'm thinking that in some of these places where the poor are going hungry, it's possible to plant gardens. Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma and South Carolina have a lot land. In places like Detriot they can tear down the thousands of abandoned buildings and start community gardens.
I was hungry when I woke up this morning but I went out and exercised then came back and ate. Does that count....Ohh I guess not because I'm not a single mother or child. I lived way below poverty level for years and years and not once could I not find food in fact I was overweight from too much food not low quality food. People give food away everywhere I have lived...it just wasn't possible for me to hungry unless I chose to. Now if you trade your food stamps for crack........you might get hungry.
A single mother with 2 or 3 children is going to have a much harder time to feed herself and her child than a single person 'living below the poverty' level. There are many reasons for people being over weight, being lazy, eating too much, quality food does play a roll though believe it or not. BTW the community garden idea is a great idea Bogart. I personally believe more people could be fed properly with alot less money than we currently spend if the government either woke the Fuxx up, or it was totally taken out of the governments hands.
The country is getting way out of hand they are making it impossible to live , I do agree with that , I also agree that Grim and Bogart have some very good points. Hey Bogart , Have any more recipies ? I need more like that, I have 6 kids