Some articles in Reuters, TreeHugger are thought provoking. 

The parable of the Grasshopper and Ant.  The old story shows how the ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he’s the ant is a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

The USDA warns that “U.S. consumers should brace for the biggest increase in food prices in nearly 20 years in 2008 and even more pain next year due to surging meat and produce prices.

Food prices are forecast to rise by 5 percent to 6 percent this year, making it the largest annual increase since 1990. Just last month, USDA forecast food prices would climb between 4.5 and 5.5 percent in 2008.”

Americans spend more than $1 trillion a year on groceries, snacks, carry-out food and meals in restaurants. Farmers get 20 cents of the food dollar and the rest goes to processing, labor, transportation and distribution

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2047383220080820?sp=true

TreeHugger comments that this is “No surprise really, given the corn-to-ethanol incentives debacle, grain yield losses due to Mid-west flooding, and fuel price increases. One more reason to modify the Grasshopper Lifestyle and get ready for winter the old fashioned way. Those cheap cuts of meat Grandma used to make in the pressure cooker will be back in fashion. Victory Gardens all around; and, no more throwing out the leftovers please!”

I remember when I was a kid, my mom could stay home, she managed the food supply.  She cooked healthy, wholesome food for us.  My dad would bring home fresh vegetables from local farms that were his friends.  We always had left overs that we ate.  We had a pressure cooker.  We would stock up food.  We would get together as a family on weekends (we were kids so we had no choice ;-) and squeeze lemons for our annual lemon juice supply one weekend, or go the one of many fruit trees my dad had co-oped to pick fruits in bulk so my mom could preserve it and make delicious jams. 

But times change.  Economic pressures and the pursuit of more changes the financial and familial landscape.  Things are reverting back to the old ways though.  That’s a good thing.  Think back to when you were a kid.  Think about how different the food was then.  How good it was to eat a home made meal that mom made from scratch?  In retrospect I should thank my folks for giving us the backbone of simplicity that I take for granted now.  Thanks pops, thanks momma Z. (My Folks)

**About the Photo:

This is a picture of Henry David Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond.  I hope that most of you had Walden as one of the readings in your education.  If not, it should be one of the staples of your collection and part of your brain’s hard wiring.  I have it linked here for you all to get and read:

Henry David Thoreau, Walden