The Human Right to have Affordable Food

[Lisa Newton]

Iowa Avenue’s submission for the May 15 “Bloggers United for Human Rights” is to highlight the unprecedented and spectacular rise in food commodity prices around the world, which has occurred over the last year.

With food prices spiraling out of control this human right has intensified the disparity between the wealthy and the poor.

As the percentage of money spent by people with less incomes for basics increases in percentage, the ability to afford other necessities becomes more difficult, often times impossible.

No country has been immune from this phenomena, including the United States—the richest country in the world.

Maslow’s Basic Hierarchy of Needs, as shown in this pyramid—through visualization shows how that man requires food, water, shelter and clothing to enable him to achieve his higher goals.” Without them, people and nations can not survive.

Maslow saw human beings' needs arranged like a ladder. The most basic needs, at the bottom, were physical -- food, water, shelter, and clothing. Safety needs are next -- security, stability -- followed by psychological or social needs -- for belonging, love, and acceptance.

At the top of it all were the self-actualizing needs -- the need to fulfill oneself, to become all that one is capable of becoming.

Maslow felt that unfulfilled needs lower on the ladder would inhibit the person from climbing to the next step. Someone dying of thirst quickly forgets their thirst when they have no oxygen, as he pointed out.

People who dealt in managing the higher needs were what he called self-actualizing people.

If people don’t have work, food, and shelter, then we can expect further destabilization and instability across the world. This blog post entry deals with the issues of both food commodity inflation and ways to cope with it, and recommendations to alleviate the same.

Food Commodity Inflation – Recommendations to lower food costs

• Stop using corn and food based grains as an alternative to oil. It only drives the prices up as the grains are diverted to other uses, limiting their supply, thus increasing their demand.
• Stop the massive speculation by financiers, hedge funds and others to make a profit at the expense of human suffering
• Stop subsidies to farmers to not grow crops
• Shop at your local stores or farmer’s markets minimizing the costs of driving and transportation
• Shop smartly, look at the food labels and buy the items with the lower costs per oz, lb, etc.
• Write to your elected officials to demand that congress develop effective strategies to stop this massively inflationary increase in commodity costs to satiate the needs of Wall Street
• Eating healthy is not more expensive than junk food contrary to conventional wisdom. Cook at home more with the recommended food groups
• Drive less to save money, use Public Transportation
• Shop in bulk—but don’t hoard food. The prices are lower.
• Don’t waste food—make sure that your food is well stored, and in containers for future use
• Don’t eat out
• Have pot-lucks with your friends, family and neighbors
• Don’t purchase unnecessary food items that you really don’t need
• Check your newspapers every week for weekly sales and specials. Many stores now have this feature online
• Have family meals

Obviously there is no way of totally avoiding the increase in food prices, but there are practical and easy steps, as outlined that you can do for yourself, and your loved ones, that can help your budget and save money.

If enough pressure is put on our politicians and corporations, the poorer nations won’t suffer from the increase in malnutrition also—if you have the means to help out, donate to food banks and to other charities.

Since oil is increasing costs, which results in higher costs for just about all consumer goods, a good place to start is with Maslow’s basic needs—that way you can more easily achieve your other goals in life. Do you have any other ideas? What thoughts would you add to the list above, because,

After all, it’s about a Healthy Lifestyle!

© Iowa Avenue