Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Huainanzi - Entry 29

Trey Smith

Food is the basis of the people; the people are the basis of the country; the country is the basis of the ruler.
~ a passage from
The Book of Leadership and Strategy by Thomas Cleary ~
Every type of creature needs food (or something like it) to survive. Our planet has the capability to feed every critter and yet so many go hungry.

Like so many other aspects of life, food has been transformed into nothing more than a commodity. In today's world of complex financial speculation, food is treated like an expendable pawn that is utilized to fatten a few pockets while millions starve.

To say the very least, ANY system that withholds the basic necessities of life in order that a few greedy bastards can pile up ever more money is an immoral system. And that's the kind of system that so many lionize today!

To read the introduction to this ongoing series, go here.

2 comments:

  1. I kindof feel it's alright for people to be wealthy, so long as they aren't robbing another's ability to live. You know, when people are struggling to stay fed or in their homes because of rich companies and/or governments, then it's a problem.

    I mean, in a perfect world, there'd be no need to be rich while others are poor, power wouldn't be inequally distributed, etc. but for the real world we live in, I accept that some are gonna be wealthy. I just hate it when it becomes predatory.

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  2. Many people who are going hungry --I'm thinking Somalia adn Darfur-- are victims caught in the middle of political struggles. The food's there; it just doesn't get to the hungry.

    I am actually more concerned about a system that provides plenty of cheap but poor quality food...the Walmart food pyramid. A balanced diet: three starches, two sugars and a fat. I just came back from middle America where I was astonished and embarrassed by the obesity. In China, I feel fat, but in the midwest, I feel thin.

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