Crops

'Give us this day our daily bread,' was a line from the prayer given by Jesus to his disciples, and one often misused today.  For his hearers however it was vital, many subsisted on Barley Bread alone during hard times, and those were common enough for many.  Since the middle of the nineteenth century the west has seen a rise in living standards, particularly after the second world war.  There was a determination to ensure the years of hardship would not return and forge a better life for everyone.  Hopes were high and for many years justified.   

Reality is hitting home today.  While the west still lives of the fat off the land, and becoming fat in return (I refuse to use the term 'obese') the signs are that those days have come to an end.  As always some will live in vast wealth, that is the world's way, but today many it appears are struggling to feed themselves and their families, even in the UK.  How can this be?  Clearly the Sub Prime Mortgage scandal brought the good days to an end and exposed the corruption and self interest in the financial world.  While bankers collected their massive bonuses, and politicians 'tut-tutted,' and dodged their own taxes, massive unemployment spread throughout the west.  The far east appears to be shaking somewhat also with less of a market to supply, and this leaves many unable to pay for the foodstuffs they require and the energy they need, especially in winter.

The weather pattern has changed.  The airflow that crosses the Atlantic and heads north has drifted south this year.  This has meant that rain has been a constant companion this year, and it has just finished lashing against my window to prove this, and the rain has ruined the crops for many.  Wheat and Veg have suffered badly here and elsewhere.  The supermarkets are being urged to sell 'misshapen veg,' rather than demand perfect veg this year, otherwise some will not be able to afford the scandalous prices they charge.  There is no doubt they will import more, at raised prices, from Africa, and good for them, but who can afford this?  (We are constantly being told food is too cheap, that is why so much is wasted.  Indeed much is wasted, but others truly are struggling to survive!)  The wheat crops in the US & Russia have suffered from drought, flooding in the far east has hit the rice harvest, and the world is heading for a food shortage once again.  This will lead to 20 or 30 pence being added to the price of bread in the west, while starvation in some places, with accompanying riots and destruction will occur in others.  Remember also many will sell their crop to provide oil for 'green car fuel,' or use the corn for fattening up cattle to be wasted on MacDonalds!  

A conference is to be held somewhere soon to work out the best way forward for the world food needs in coming days.  I fear this will be too late for many.  In the end each nation will put their needs first and aid others only when they have enough to spare, and at a price. Combine also the shortage in many places of water, particularly in the volatile middle east, and war may yet ensue between present day allies.  

The basics of life, bread and water, should be available for all.  For too long we have squandered our harvests on ourselves.  Instead of encouraging better farming we have ignored the world's needs and fattened ourselves.  Now when we have lack we despair.  The west has become used to always having what it demands, in coming days this may not be possible and many will find life tough indeed.  I'm off to stock up on flour and learn to make simple loaves, even Barley ones if they are cheaper.  

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Sunshine

I was going to fill up a few minutes of your empty lives with a few thousand words of bile. But then I realised how good God has been to me, how lovely the world around us actually is! The good Lord has created a wonderful place for us and I thought it better to muse on the good things around us in stead of the bad.

"Consider the lilies of the field" said Jesus, and I have no idea which 'lilies' he meant, "They neither sow nor spin yet even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like them." And this is true! Flowers come in all sizes, a wide variety of colours and shapes, give off a wonderful fragrance and yet while almost flimsy to the touch they endure all sorts of weather conditions. Plants of various kinds can be found hidden under desert sands, appearing as if by magic when rain falls, some live high in the snows of the mountains and others even survive in Scotland! On top of this they lay an important part in our ecology, if that is the right word, without those little flowers the planet would not survive, and they say we 'just evolved?'

I cogitated on the wildlife around us, partly because passing through the gardens I was disturbed from my daydream by a 'roebuck' which lives there and occasionally races past the unsuspecting. There is a huge assortment of animals around us, from the family cat to the rhino in the local zoo! Such beasts come in all shapes and sizes and have a great many uses for us, and if not we eat them! So at least they have some use. Those animals forbidden to Jews and Muslims appear to be the scavengers of this world, on land and sea. They were banned because what they ate cleaned up the environment around them but did little for your insides, so there was a purpose for them. Try eating a local pigeon today and find out how it would feel.

While it is clear the world can only get worse, overpopulation, shortage of water, routine political instability, famine and natural disasters will lead us in this nuclear age to melt down in a few years, this does not mean there is nothing to enjoy on a day by day basis. Sometimes enjoyment comes with guilt. I felt this today while watching a news broadcast that actually said something! A photographer back from Ethiopia brought pictures of folks starving to death, and in the UK we complained when Gordon Brown said we throw away too much food! We throw away a third of what we buy and millions starve, can this be right? Luckily I have been careful in this regard for some time now, wasting food is awful in such circumstances, but while they starve I am overweight! While we complain about our 'obesity' problem this photographer spoke of sitting before a woman his age dying of starvation, this is 2008 isn't it? 'Tear Fund,' some years ago had a slogan, 'Enough for everyman's need, not for everyman's greed!' I believe it was dropped, maybe someone thought it to 'communistic!'

However, while we do what we ought to help those suffering we enable them to enjoy the world around us. I think it's great, especially in the sunshine. Kids playing happily in the park, fussy mum's scolding them for no good reason, blue skies, flowers and fauna, glares from half naked ladies who do not think old men are the ones who should be looking (close your curtains then hen!), swifts tearing through the sky, screaming as the pass by the window, and an altogether better atmosphere from all around.

Isn't life good?