MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing. Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.  

At a Costco Warehouse in Mountain View, Calif., yesterday, shoppers grew frustrated and occasionally uttered expletives as they searched in vain for the large sacks of rice they usually buy.

Food prices are soaring.  Millions of people around the world are starving.  Who is to blame? 

The answer to that question may surprise you.

34 Then the King will tell those on his right hand, 'Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;35 for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in.36 I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.'37 "Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink?38 When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you?39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?'40 "The King will answer them, 'Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

 41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;42 for I was hungry, and you didn't give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink;43 I was a stranger, and you didn't take me in; naked, and you didn't clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn't visit me.'44 "Then they will also answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn't help you?'45 "Then he will answer them, saying, 'Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you didn't do it to one of the least of these, you didn't do it to me.'46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Every 3 seconds a child dies of starvation somewhere in the world.  Who is to blame for this global crisis?

You are.

That's correct.  You are personally to blame for starving people to death.

Here is why.


When I was hungry...

Refusing to give someone something to eat is one thing.  Taking food away from them is something altogether different.

• 20 vegetarians can live off the land required by one meat eater.
• If Americans reduced their meat consumption by only 10% it would free 12,000,000 tons of grain - enough to feed 60,000,000 people (the entire population of Great Britain).
• If all Americans became vegetarian, it would free enough grain to feed 600,000,000 people (the entire population of India)
• 1 acre of ground yields 165 pounds of beef or 20,000 lbs of potatoes.
• It takes 16 pounds of high protein soya to produce 1 pound of beef.
• 70% of all grain is fed to animals.
• In third world countries 1 in 10 babies die before their first birthday.
• The UK imports 46,000,000 metric tons of grain from third world countries to feed livestock
• Due to overgrazing 850,000,000 people live on land threatened by desertification & over 230,000,000 already live on land so severely desertification that they are unable to sustain their existence & face imminent starvation
• Meat production turns abundance into scarcity. You need an average 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef, 3 pounds of grain to produce one pound of chicken and 5.3 pounds of fishmeal to produce 1 pound of farmed fish, Doesn't it make sense to eat the grain and feed more people?
• An acre of farmland devoted to soybeans will provide roughly 30 times more protein than an acre devoted to cattle grazing.
• The U.S. imports corn from Mexico for ethanol use, causing a food shortage in Mexico.
• The price of corn has risen 30% in the last three months.
• The U.S. will plant 8% less corn in 2008 due to unfavorable  spring planting weather.
• 1 billion people in the west gorge themselves on meat and dairy, causing 1 billion to die of starvation and 3.5 billion more teeter on the brink.

When I was thirsty...

Refusing to give someone something to drink is one thing.  Taking water away from them and polluting the remainder is something altogether different.

• It takes 25 gallons of water to produce 1lb of wheat and 2,500 gallons to produce 1 pound of meat.
• Meat & dairy farming uses 70 litres of water per day per animal.
• The water used to produce 10 lbs of steak is equivalent to the average consumption of water for an entire household for an entire year.
• The water used to produce a 1000 pound beef steer is enough to float a battleship.
• Aquifers (stores of underground water) in the San Joaquin valley in the USA are being drained at the rate of 500,000,000,000 gallons per year to produce meat in that part of the country.
• UK farm animals produce 200,000,000 tonnes of slurry (liquid excrement) every year, the majority of which ends up in rivers.
• Bloody waste water from slaughter houses ends up in our rivers.

Concerned about the high cost of fuel?

• To produce 1 calorie of energy from meat takes 60 calories of fuel, whereas growing grains & legumes to directly feed people produces 20 calories for each calorie of fuel used (that's 1200 times more efficient)
• 1 pound of beef takes 1 gallon of fuel to produce
• A family of four eating beef for a year uses enough fuel to run a car for 6 months (obviously depending on how far you drive!)

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People take food away from the hungry and water from the thirsty to satisfy their lust for meat.

What will you do, now that you know the truth?

James 4:17
To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn't do it, to him it is sin.

Those fighting world hunger, on the right.  Those contributing to it, on the left...

• Topic: Good Steward

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