Is Cheap Food Leading to Entitled Americans?

A post I read yesterday on Facebook about the President talking in Kenya struck a chord with me. Farm broadcaster Trent Loos made the comment that in Kenya 35% of the kids under the age of five are stunted because their diets lack proper nutrients and 16% are under weight.

In contrast, Americans spend between $20 billion and $40 billion annually on fad diets and diet products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says nearly 1/3 of the U.S. food dollar is spent on eating out services.

Food is cheaper now in the U.S., taking a smaller percentage of our income, than any other time in history. Perhaps such a cheap food supply is leading to “food fights.” Instead of appreciating the great amount of food available at reasonable prices, many Americans are turning food production into a complicated topic.

Think about this… Most countries are poorer than America. I could just as easily been one born one of those starving kids in Africa. Yet I was born me and I’m glad to be me! I’m not rich but I certainly live better than most. I’ve been able to find work that I enjoy.

Rather than working to buy things we need or want, we have gotten to the point in this country where each one of us deserves the same things. Forty-seven percent of our population is on some type of welfare. Some people want to include cell phones and Internet access – like what I work to pay for – as part of those entitlements. Minimum wage is in the news again. Then there’s health insurance. (I won’t even go there today!) 

Back to where I started… poverty level across the world is considered to be an income of less than $1.25 a day. Let’s think about what we have and who we are. This is an amazing country with so many opportunities if we would only just appreciate what we have and work to earn it!