Don't you know that the kids in other countries are starving....
By Arieles
@Arieles (2473)
United States
January 12, 2013 6:46am CST
This is what my mother told me and my brother when we were growing up and there was something on our plates that we didn't want to finish. We were full. We were members of the clean plate club. Never mind saying anything about portion sizes. We were always so concerned about the food. We never did pay any attention to the amount that we put on our plates.
What about the water though? So many countries don't have a nutritious supply of water or any water for that matter. So what do we do? We let the water pour down the sink without giving a thought to our valuable water supply or about those children in other countries that don't have any clean water to drink.
It seems like such a small thing to complain about but really if you add up all the people that are running the water while brushing their teeth, rinsing off their dishes, taking 30 minute showers, and never even give a thought to our valuable water supply and what is becoming of it.
Yeah, I'm a tree hugger, I love nature and I love the air I breathe. What are your thoughts on this? Can we find a solution?
1 person likes this
8 responses
@reddog25770 (212)
• United States
13 Jan 13
My Dad was real big on clear your plate. It wouldn't have been so bad except my mom can't cook. Everything in our house got doused in ketchup or some kind of sauce. Most things were burned or unrecongizable. She tried hard but some people should stay out of a kitchen.
As far a conserving water. I think everyone should make some effort everyday. I have been putting buckets under my raing gutters to catch the water to use in my garden and flower beds. So that I don't have to use the hose as much. We have a well here so not really sure if we have a high usage of water or not but I always remind the kids not to run the water when brushing their teeth.
@reddog25770 (212)
• United States
13 Jan 13
So sorry about your dad. My dad was never one to push us to eat more. You had to clear your plate but if you took more than he thought nesseccary he was quick to tell you about. Always with the do you really need that much or leave some for the rest of us. He was a very obsessed with weight. It was a very confusing message. Eat all your food but not too much. I hope i'm not giving my kids the same food obessions that he passed on to me.
@csabaholcz (843)
• Hungary
12 Jan 13
Oh yes that so famous "You should eat it, in other places children are starving". Well if you don't eat that food it has more chances to get to Africa, right? Lol!
You know most hard-working people (or simple students like me) feel they don't have enough yet.
@Arieles (2473)
• United States
12 Jan 13
Yeah, my thoughts were always "Well, send them this food!" I understand how we can be wasteful but instead of telling us to clean our plates, we should just take a little bit and then if we want more we can have more.
I wish we would take the same example with the water we consume.
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
13 Jan 13
The average family wastes much food and this is so for young children especially. If there is left over food then in my local area it can be put in a green bag that is biodegradable and then around three or four of them fit in a brown bin. The local council collect it take to their recycling center.
I eat a vegan diet, love animals, care for people and love our environment. I believe in green issues. I followed the story of a man called Graham Hughes who traveled to every country in the world using scheduled ground transport. The charity he helps is one that gives clean water to developing countries. This has set up valuable water supplies to needy people.
I wish nobody in the world was starving or had a dirty water supply. I can try to use less water and use all the food I buy in my family.
@Arieles (2473)
• United States
13 Jan 13
Hi Maximax, we're ovo vegetarians here. We eat only eggs from animals. I haven't heard of Graham Hughes, but I will definitely check his story out.
I love the idea of the biodegradable bags. That's a start in the right direction.
We recycle cans here, the rest goes to the local garbage collector and they in turn create energy from the garbage they collect.
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
14 Jan 13
We were brought up hearing that same quote. However, I have learned over the years to conserve has much as possible. I think for the people who don't conserve water they are being so selfish. I don't think we can come up with a solution because there are to many people who don't really care. In fact I believe half of the people care and the other half try their best to conserve. I do not run the water while brushing my teeth. I take a three to five minute shower at the most. I water my garden at a minimal and I pray for the rain so I don't have to waste water. When washing clothes I do a full load so to keep from wasting water. I just wish everyone would realize that we need to preserve this country for the future generations to come. 
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
13 Jan 13
ya for sure and they are even struggling for single cup of water each day and it is increasing day by day,the best thing would be to treat them friendly and share the meals each day for sure and the ideal thing is to allocate resource equally or the world is getting doomed again
@Arieles (2473)
• United States
13 Jan 13
It is truly disheartening when I see these groups of people on tv that are living in huts, have no clean water supply and even less food to eat.
Knowing too that the cattle they are clearing the rain forests for, doesn't help the situation much either. I have heard that the one thing that we can do that would have the biggest impact on saving our earth is to go meatless. Stop raising so many cattle (they fill them with hormones, feed them genetically modified soy and corn) just to get them to the table all that much faster.
Our ancestors never ate that much meat. Even if each family has one or two meatless meals a night, that would make a great dent in our plight to save the Earth.
@BrodCobalt (11)
•
13 Jan 13
My mom always say that as well but she always add that although saving water and food would not quench their thirst and fill their tummies we have to be responsible with what we have.
@ryanong (9665)
• Vietnam
13 Jan 13
Yeah, i just read a news about this problem..and i told myself i should save food, save water ...whenever i wanna waste it, i should think of the other people in other places where people don't have enough clean water to drink, don't have enough food to eat everyday...
Thank you so so much for your sharing and it reminds me once again about saving and protecting our earth.
@Arieles (2473)
• United States
13 Jan 13
Hi Ryan,
Agreeing with you. I think if we are constantly being conscious of our Earth and what we can do to protect it the better off we are.
The amount of chemicals in our food and in our drinking supply have a lot to do with a lot of the diseases people are contacting these days. One small change by all of us can really help.
@vernaC (1491)
• Romania
12 Jan 13
Because of this I am now cooking that's enough for me and my husband. And I usually eat from what's left and avoid throwing out some foods although it happen sometimes.
I'm slowly convincing my husband ot to buy more than what we need to avoid raw foods from spoiling and be thrown out eventually.
