Posted on 04/12/2008 4:31:07 PM PDT by Lorianne
It is the constant sensation of hunger that makes Kamla Devi so angry. She argues with shopkeepers in New Delhi over prices and quarrels with her husband, a casual labourer, over his wages - about 50 rupees (60p) a day.
'When I go to the market and see how little I can get for my money, it makes me want to hit the shopkeepers and thrash the government,' she says. A few months ago, Kamla - who is 42 - decided she and her husband could no longer afford to eat twice a day. The couple, who have already sent their two teenage sons to live with more prosperous relatives, now exist on only one daily meal. At midday Kamla cooks a dozen roti (a round, flat Indian bread) with some vegetables fried with onions and spices. If there are some left, they will eat them at night. The only other sustenance that the couple have are occasional cups of sugared tea.
'My husband and I would argue every night. In the end he told me it wouldn't make his wages grow larger. Instead we went down to one meal a day to cut costs.'
It is a grim, unsettling story. Yet it is certainly not an exceptional one. Across the world, a food crisis is now unfolding with frightening speed. Hundreds of millions of men and women who, only a few months ago, were able to provide food for their families have found rocketing prices of wheat, rice and cooking oil have left them facing the imminent prospect of starvation. The spectre of catastrophe now looms over much of the planet.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Thanks, teacher;^) I thought, when it is liquid, it is always 16 oz.
I think a certain plant is being grown in Kansas to use for biofuel, can’t remember the name of it. Sawgrass?
My food bill has increased 50% in the past six months. We make enough to not notice a slight fluctuation, but a family of 7, you tend to notice a $50 increase a week.
I find myself taking less frequent trips to town (ok, I don’t mind) but now I find myself becoming more miserly with food. Thank heavens for my depression era grandmother who cooked like it was the depression still and my mother teaching me how to cook that way if needed. I can make a meal to feed us all on $7. Not everynight, but it is possible.
Tupperware. I store flour there and have never had a problem.
I stock up on rice too, buying an extra bag each week.
And that 1.75 pints is $6 here. Well, $5.78, but STILL! Thank goodness for Ingles that allows you to buy one item for half on a buy one get one week.
In just a couple minutes I am leaving for a restaurant wholesaler I’ve been to before.
I plan on buying large bags of macaroni and other staples and then resealing the portions in smaller sizes with Ziploc bags, stocking up on olive oil and maybe those huge cans of tuna if they have any.
I come from a pretty low income background myself, so I know how to stretch a menu.
Hopefully this will blow over in a few months when people wake up to the stupidity of ethanol fuel and go back to planting wheat, but it might get a bit tight in the meantime.
I’ll be ready.
I bought bacon ends cheap last week and they were better than the brand name packaged bacon... save the fat for cooking.
Exactly! We have a food pantry in the closet for emergency and low fund cases.
But mostly dry goods and I can make a meal out of it.
Once, while in Florida with some friends, we had one can of government pork (that everyone was gagging over), a bag of potatoes and that was it. We scrapped up $3.75 and I went to the store to get a pack of bread, BBQ sauce and a small bottle of oil. Fried the potatoes, drained the pork and crumbled it to bake in the oven with the BBQ sauce and six of us had BBQ sandwiches and french fries. I was voted ‘most desired to be on a deserted island with’. hehe (Bad english, I know)
Works for me!
Actually that sounds pretty tasty.
One thing I am going to have to convince my bride about is that it is time to get out of central Tokyo and out into the countryside. Her mother’s house is on a pretty big plot of land that they are not using now. I figure with a bit of luck and some start-n-stop progress I should be able to grow potatoes, onions and carrots. Maybe green beans if I can find the seeds.
Actually I have been thinking about that for a while because it is impossible to find decent sized potatoes in Japan. Most are the size of a baseball. I want to grow some real man-sized spuds.
I save the grease anyway. I AM Southergirl, you know!
My husband grows a garden every year. If your wife wants to know how to can or something, freepmail me!
I realized that after I posted:)
Um, time to update the profile page (wink).
Have you figured out shelf life for uncooked rice? I am going to buy some for backup.
I posted earlier. The shelf-life is indefinite. It will last forever if stored in a cool dry place with proper protections against mice and rats.
Thanks.
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
I have been doing this type of above ground gardening and it works. I cover the frame with garden fabric and have about zero weeding to do. You can put them on tables or stands.
I do the potatoes in two frames stacked one atop another. When they are ready I pull the frames off and there they be.
As a medium this type uses 1/3 compost 1/3 vermiculite(coarse) and 1/3 peat moss.
It is a high volume production.
And since it is above the ground the quaility of the soil ie rocks, acidic etc is irrelavent.
It’s very rewarding. And good fpr people with little space.
Some pictures on the site show guys in Iraq that built some squarefoot gardens.
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