Jessica Lee Garrison

Human Relations
5/10/16 We All Have To Eat

One thing we all have in common is the fact that we all have to eat. What is the true cost

of food? Im curious as to how far some people have to go to put food on the table. I think food

has a different value to everybody, but its still high on the priorities list for human necessities.

Maslows hierarchy of needs displays that our physiological needs come first. Human lives

revolve around food, we fit it into our busy routines, its supposed to be healthy and beneficial to

our well being. I feel as though we are being lied to about the business in food.The education on

where our food is coming from is more important than a lot of other things we do learn about in

school. Why is it that so little knowledge is provided about the foods we buy? Not only is the

world fighting against world hunger but were fighting for the truth. I believe there is no reason

there should be starving third world countries. The fact that we as a country are Tuning out the

other less fortunate places in the world is very unjust . I think about poverty often, but the fact of

the matter is its easier to be ignorant with the information overload. Poverty is all around us, but

life has us so consumed in our own lives and avoiding the problem is easier than fixing it. Living

in Portland has given me a good perception of living in low class, Im thankful for everything I

have but there are so many people living in worse circumstances than me. When youre living

around people without money for so long, it changes you, shapes you and molds your world

view. I would say it has taught me motivation, like we were talking about one of the first days in

our human relations class, some people have motivation, a driving force within them to get

things done, and others dont, either because everything has been handed to them or they just

dont have goals. I believe that hungry people have goals and that goal is to eat everyday to

stay alive. The pyramid of poverty is so complicated that it's almost too simple. Theres 99% of
us at the base and 1% at the top. Poverty isnt just not about having enough money, its about

not having enough to eat, its about having people to take care of, having a low paying job, just

getting by, day by day. Its the kind of life most of us live, even here in America. A country like

America has twice as much food on its shop shelves and in its restaurants, than is actually

required to feed the American people. Tristram stuarts Ted talks explains. Thats enough food

to feed twice the amount of people, and there are still starving people.

Food deprivation is a big problem in this world that I just dont understand. I have worked

in the food industry my whole life, a grocery store, fast food and family dining restaurants. The

amount of food waste that we have at the end of each day is disgusting. I almost quit the first

night of working at Safeway because I could not comprehend how this could be possible,

throwing away food that we just cooked, just writing it down in a log book and throwing it in the

garbage every single night. I know not everyone would eat it, but there are people right outside

the Safeways doors on Woodstock begging for money or food. If i were to be caught eating it i

could potentially be fired.The text book for our class says needs that are not yet satisfied will

motivate or influence a persons behavior.(107) maybe we should just starve the people who

are in charge of all the food waste and see if their behavior changes. If we fed the hungry

fellows, maybe those homeless people would stop occupying Woodstock Parking lots. They

wouldnt have to go begging or panning for change, if they had enough food to eat. There is

always something to worry about, which is preventing the distribution of this leftover food, like

germs and loss of profit in this kind of situation (but they were just waiting for the garbage to be

taken out every night) .

Its an epidemic, we need a more efficient use of our global resources. Poverty on the

large scale is disastrous, there are too many things going on in this world that we choose to be

ignorant of because its not our problem and that is probably the ultimate injustice. It relates to
the Johari window we learned about in class. Ignorance in America is probably one of the

ultimate acts of evil being performed every day. We and others, choose to not do anything about

the intolerances that seem too big for us to conquer. It is the Hidden Pane of our country. Just

like when it comes to War, Poverty, and other social injustices we are paralyzed on what kind of

action to take. I wont ever forget when Marsha, a girl in my Writing 121 class said that , people

with the power to make a difference and change things were already born with a silver spoon in

their mouths. so pretty much, why would they ever take the time to worry about changing things

for us when its already working out for them just fine?

Teenagers might just watch a few films about extreme poverty to earn extra credit for a

economy class. No one expects that to change the world, but it does plant the seeds that may

motivate them to great things for the future. For some of those teenagers, the films might be the

start of a lifelong commitment to social justice. For others it might be the inspiration that goes on

to spark unimagined innovation, or inspire someone else's passion on the subject. Throughout

the United States, Global Citizen might awaken the Nelson Mandelas and Martin Luther King

Jr.s of the future. In addition to reporting the world as it is, Global Citizen implicitly invites us all

to imagine the world as it should be. I found through my research a program called the Global

Poverty Project which helps to inform and give the opportunity to donate and help people living

in poverty.

People have resources for us to help end poverty, but what good is our money that we

have helping other people if we can't see that blessing being put into action. People get to that

point where they have to decide if theyre going to buy food or pay the rent, they have to choose

if they want quality medical, Its hard enough to eat healthy, how is it going to be possible to pay

the medical bills? Were all living our lives in physical and mental pollution, working long hours,

for little pay. Why do some people get it all, while we get nothing? If you really think about it
were all slaves, were eating the food we can afford which is ultimately making us ill and forced

to make unhealthy choices which affects us financially. Its a vicious circle, were like hamsters

on a running wheel, working just to stay alive. When you grow up a poor child, watching your

parents fight about not having enough to eat, how its always someone's fault. Sometimes its

about how they dont have enough to pay the babysitter so they can go to work to pay the rent

for a roof to cover our heads at night, and buy gas gas to commute them to work, and the store

to buy food. We're all dying to live, while we're living to die, its the cycle of life. Growing up in

poverty proves that moneys worth is close to zero. The lies of this world are keeping us from

growing as a community, the individualistic nature were living is holding us back from a stronger

bond that could help us conquer these massive injustices.

What does the law say about giving away food? Each year, 14 billion pounds of food

are sent to landfills. Meanwhile, nearly 30 million Americans, including 12 million children, are at

risk of hunger. Potential donors most often cite fear of liability as the reason they refuse to

donate to feeding programs. Before passage of the national law, all 50 states and the District of

Columbia had adopted laws protecting donors. Yet, differences in language and applicability

between states often discouraged national and regional companies from donating I think this is

really sad that theres billions of pounds of food going to waste when there are millions of

starving people everyday.Food, air and water are the most basic necessities that human beings

need, not including shelter, clothing and fuel, those things can be bought and sold, but for the

forces of the earth, no human owns those. Yes people grow food and sell it, and therefore they

own the food they grow, but then let people grow food, I dont think there should be a mandatory

cost of food, there is so much left over in the end, we should use everything to the fullest extent

without wasting it. When they had all had enough to eat, Jesus said to his disciples, "Gather the

pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." John 6:12 (NIV) Knowing that you should
share and offer food to your neighbor in need is just as important as making sure your own

family has food on the table.

I wanted to know what the law said about selling food, or giving it away after the hours of

sales and I found that The Emerson Act provides protection for food and grocery products that

meet all quality and labeling standards imposed by federal,state and local laws and regulations

even though the food may not be "readily marketable due to appearance, age, freshness, grade,

size, surplus or other conditions." So its good that there are rules according to sales of food, but

still, are the places that these foods are coming from, imposing the best interest on us as the

consumer? How about us as a country and providing a sustainable world for generations to

come? I dont think so.

I think it's pretty crazy, you can even go to some McDonalds now, and they don't even

have a dollar menu anymore. Food isn't what it used to be, the naturality of it has been sucked

dry in most parts of America. Mcdonalds should be close to free for what its does to our bodies,

Its sad to me that we even accept to eat some of the things we do, It's now just another

substance we're putting through our body without any of the benefits that should be there. No

matter what color you are, black, yellow, pink or white or brown, being poor affects us all.

Chronic stress can be caused by living a life of poverty, It leads to making us more susceptible

to cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, depression and diabetes. When you grow up in

poor living conditions you realize how no one cares. We need to start making the issue of

poverty a priority.

Saying that you own food, is like saying you can own the sun, air and ocean. I dont get

how as individuals, we have to fight for survival because if we all could join forces then things

might not be so hard. Maybe im dreaming, but I believe that the people of the world have a

powerful impact on the way things are run around here, and even though we cant buy our way
to the top, we can speak up for ourselves and others. Were all striving to have good paying

jobs, and if were not already working a good job, were paying to go to school to get that better

education that will get us a better paying jobs that can provide for our families. The labyrinth of

this life can either lead toward a downward spiral of mass destruction or it can have a paradigm

shift which leads to ending wealth inequality, ending food waste, joblessness, poverty and we

can start forth in a better direction.

Bibliography
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Web. 10 May 2016.

Lamberton, Lowell H., and Leslie Minor. "Ch.3 Self Awareness & Ch.5 Motivation." Human

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Rose, Patrick. "Take Action;The Global Poverty Project, Inc." Get Involved. Global

Poverty Project, n.d. Web. 09 May. 2016.

Food Donation Connection - Donate Food - Harvest Program. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May.

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The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments : Translated out of the Original

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