Monday, November 16, 2009

Thanksgiving in The US

This is my outlook on the post that Natalie at Mouse Grows Mouse Learns posted earlier today. First of all I agree with her 100% about using food in our arts and crafts. We experiment with food through cooking, baking, and eating as you can see from my posts. We did try one art project using dried beans, and some of you might remember it did not go over very big with Selena, she informed me that we were wasting food!

I know for years we have lived in a Country that has been rich and full of plenty of opportunities. I also know that this is somewhat of a myth, something that others would love for us to believe. Have you ever thought how much of our food, clothing, cars, computers, well about everything we buy is not grown nor manufactured here in the United States? Why? When we can drive across the country and see acres and acres of rich farm land? We already know there is no manufacturing in our country, even our American Made cars are made in Mexico, Japan, etc. My new car a GMC was made in Mexico! Most of the parts that go into anything we use everyday come from other countries, if not manufactured in other Countries and then labeled with our US brand name.

My family on both sides were farmers. They have seen the good times of farming and the bad times of farming. We no longer farm since the government decided it was in our benefit to pay us to not grow crops, and what crops we did grow went to seed or feed for animals. Very little food grown in this country actually goes to feed our own people, I bet you didn’t realize that.

We were rich in the fact that we did learn to live off the land which left us very resourceful in times of need. I do however have some stories of starvation that has taken place in our family. Not just during the time of the Depression, but at many different times in history when drought, flooding, locust, fire, the list could go on and on that wiped out crops, left ground unpalatable.

My family has lost many of babies due to not having food enough to keep them alive, this was during infancy when mothers themselves could not eat enough to even nurse these wee ones. Babies who died at birth due to very low birth weight again basically from starvation in the womb.

Everyday here in the US there are more and more families, children, elderly that go without food or with very little. Need some numbers go to Hunger In The US and read the statistics for yourself. There was just a news report today that said the number of those who can not afford food is increasing. I personally have watched families with children have to pack up all their belongings and leave their homes to live in camp grounds and such just because they can’t find jobs, can’t afford their homes, and choose to feed their families over having a roof over their head.

I watched my own Mother go from living a pretty comfortable life to hardly being able to put food in her house, hence she moved in with us for her final years, as she could not survive on her own anymore, and my Dad had provided a good retirement for her. Then just as she was diagnosed with final stage cancer, the company my Dad worked for pulled up and moved out of the US to do business in Africa, where they could produce Aluminum cheaper, filing bankruptcy, and leaving my Mom and many others like her without the retirement that they had worked so hard for and the medical that they so badly needed.

My children experimented with food when they were younger, but it was always learning how to prepare it, cook, bake, preserve, and enjoy it for what it was for. For us that will continue to be the normal in our house. There are too many people right here in our own Country who starve everyday and have for years, that to use food for anything but its intended use is beyond my realm of thought. Too many times we as Americans can whisk our own hungry, starving fellow Americans under the carpet and worry more about those starving around the world in other Countries.

While my husband and I are truly Thankful for everything we have, which has always come at a cost for us, we also know that tomorrow we could lose it all. Believe me I have been there before too, I know the pain and fear that comes from loosing everything one owns, for my family lost everything when I was only 5 years old. Those memories will be burned in my memory forever. They are not memories that go away easily.

I have instilled in my children to be Thankful, and to respect their Country for everything it does have to offer, but also to know they have to work hard for everything they need and want, so why be wasteful. It is my hope that I am able to instill these same values in Selena.

Pin It


  1. I learned one thing from living in three different countries (Soviet Union, France and US) - there is no perfect world anywhere. I am grateful to America for accepting me as a refugee and providing me with opportunity to become a successful professional. Granted, I brought my education with me, so America benefited as well. I don't think it's fair to say that since one contributes to charity, one gets a license to consume at will. The world will only become a better and cleaner place, if we use what we need and donate what we can.

  2. I just read this post, must've missed it earlier. You make some good points about respecting food, but I fail to see how spending 80 cents on a bag of lentils for a child to have in the sensory bin (that will last for years if stored properly) is wasteful. I see it as thrifty. I have never understood how a hungry child, anywhere in the world, will be better off by my not buying a bag of beans to use for something other than eating. "Respecting" a *thing* is no substitute for tangible help to those who need it.

    There are many people who have NO clean water to drink. Do you ever use our clean water that we have in abundance for anything other than necessities? Have you ever used it in any sort of educational way? Used it to experiment with sink or float? Used it just to PLAY in (a wading pool), or used it to color mix... I could go on and on. Was this wasteful? Personally, I would say no, it was used for a legitimate purpose.

    Clean drinking water is vital. I fail to see how it's ok to use clean water for other things, but not a box of pasta.