Giving Tuesday: Give Cows to Help Feed the Less Fortunate

Many people get caught up in the spirit of "BUY-BUY-BUY" at this time of the year, not necessarily for others but because there are such great deals in every single store at the mall. How can you avoid a good deal when Black Friday, Shop Small Saturday and Cyber Monday bombard us starting in mid-November? In my opinion, we really should be focusing on "Give. Give. Give some more" amd when is a better time than Giving Tuesday? Material possessions often cloud the real reasons behind Christmas and I believe we should always be striving to help those who are less fortunate.

I'm part of the Rockin' Rural Women group on Facebook and this year we are encouraging our fellow rural women and social media networks to buck this materialistic trend and help others by participating in a Heifer International drive to purchase cows for families suffering from hunger and poverty.

Our group has a collective fund, which you can access here, and our goal is $1000. With that we can purchase a cow which has the potential to have a massive impact since its offspring are passed on to even more members of the community. If you choose to donate, your gift will be multiplied and create a sustainable impact for future generations.

Please help us purchase a cow for a family who needs a helping hand. Even if you can only spare $5 that is so very much appreciated. If you have questions, please feel free to shoot me an email and I'll be happy to answer them.

I'll close with this quote which is taped up on the mirror in my bathroom - please keep this in mind on today, Giving Tuesday, and for the remainder of this holiday season and consider helping those in need.

Somewhere, someone else is THANKFUL for less than you have

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

 

I Don't Want to Live Without Meat in 2050

I just read an article on Yahoo! that said the world may be forced into vegetarianism by the year 2050, according to some scientists at the Stockholm International Water Institute in Sweden. Here is a link to the article -- http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/vegetarian-2050-190426669.html.

Hell no. I refuse to live in a society where there is no meat. I would starve. Literally. If I didn't die of energy depletion first. 

There's a few things I want to point out on this...

- Cattle spend about 75% of their life eating grass in pastures. In the Flint Hills, where I live, if there were no cattle grazing this land it wouldn't be used. Rolling hills with lots of rock aren't viable for crop production. So putting those acres into crop production isn't realistic.

- Another point that the author makes, who does a very poor job of presenting an unbiased story, is that we can't really produce more food. Wrong! We can produce more food - farmers and ranchers are becoming more productive every year and if legislators in D.C. would listen to producers who have real experience instead of listening to lobbyists, they would know that we can continue to improve our efficiency with science, technology and gasp! the help of GMO's.

- I'd really like to see the study that cites 70% of all water is for agriculture - I want to see how this data is presented. Notice that doesn't say 'animal agriculture' just agriculture in general. Furthermore, I don't know of a cause that is more important than food production that we should be funneling water towards - aside from drinking water. Maybe we should start reusing water from purification plants for water in our toilets, yard spouts, washing machines and dishwashers.

These are just my opinions - but I'd love to hear yours.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Real quick addendum: Cutting meat completely out of production is NOT going to feed the people who are starving in other countries. The infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa needs to improve, for example. There could be 4 tons of food arrive to major societal hubs in food deprived countries but if there is no way for the food to be moved to rural, impoverished areas or if the local government uses food provisions as a way to control people, then all the food aid in the world won't help. There is more than just food production at the center of those issues - it's a web of underlying causes that need to be addressed to stop world hunger.

101 in 1001 Update

Ok, it's been quite a while since I last gave an update on my 101 in 1001 so I thought I'd do some blog filling and catch you up.

Since my last update, the goals I have completed are:

5. Go to bed before midnight every weeknight for two weeks -
  This was really hard because I'm a night owl but I managed to pull it off by scheduling it the same time as Ninja's project when I was getting up at 5-6 every morning to weigh, sort or slaughter pigs.
38. Consolidate/forward all email accounts down to 2
24. Refrain from purchasing any item of clothing, accessory or footwear for 1 month - today is one month since I purchased anything and I am in Perth currently and likely won't buy anything while I'm gone soooo... success!
51. Muster the courage to play blackjack in a casino - preferably win - Only won about $20 total and then lost it all back but still, yay me. This was in Calgary when I attended the ILC 2011.
59. Find the perfect cocktail dress - color insignificant I may have gone overboard - I now have two. A grey one and a black one. Here is the black one:

At my bff Rebecca Tokach's wedding (rehearsal dinner) with two great guys. This picture doesn't do the dress justice but you'll have to trust me on this one.

57. Scuba dive somewhere exotic - Great Barrier Reef 7/2011

This is me and the hubsy after diving the Great Barrier Reef. To read more about that trip, click here.

69. Watch the sunrise and sunset in the SAME DAY - Lamington National Park - 6/2011

I'm not an early bird, so this was difficult but it happened on our roadtrip with Andy, Mandy and Kristen to Queensland. Read more about that trip here and here. This was in Lamington National Park - I didn't get a sunset picture but take my word for it that I was awake for that occasion.

70. Attend an opera, symphony or musical - Love Never Dies 9/2011

Ninja took me to see this opera the day I got back from the states. Read more here.

25. Eat 5 exotic/uncommon foods (Thai seafood 4/12/2011, Tofu Steak 5/2011, Kangaroo 6/2011, Crocodile 7/2011, Octopus 7/2011)  -- Crocodile is chewy but good. Octopus is mediocre, at best. KANGAROO IS FREAKING AWESOME - as good or better than venison.

and these are the goals that are currently in progress:
9. Celebrate one of life's little achievements once/month for 12 months (1/12)
12. Watch 5 movies that Ninja loves that don't interest me (Apocalypse Now, Papillon)
27. Call /visit my grandparents once/month for 12 months (3/12)
29. Attend 6 of Kristy’s sporting events/school events/4-H stuff - (Bourbon Co. hog show, Bourbon Co. beef show - these were on separate days so they are separate events)
49. Pay off my small credit cards - Maurices, Victoria's Secret
55. Face 3 fears (claustrophobia 7/2011, heights 8/2011)
58. Create a wardrobe I love. (This is defined as a closet full of clothes I am equally happy to wear).  This will be complete when my closet is full - it's currently about 1/2 full ;)
68. Purge and donate old clothes from closets at least three times (1- 7/2011)
72. Learn how to make Grandma’s fried chicken, chicken n’ noodles and divinity candy  -- Grandma taught me how to make fried chicken and I practice the art when I got back to Aus. The Ninja loved it and I must say it was purty tasty.

77. Volunteer once/month at a breadbasket, food pantry or other comm. service 6 times (5/2011 - Red Shield Appeal;)
79. Donate 25,000 grains of free rice through Freerice.com (4010)85. Say 'I love you' EVERY day for entirety of 1001 days
88. Attend church once/month for 12 months (6/12)90. Read the books from this list98. Post every day for 1 month on From Oz to Aus - I've posted 22 days in a row - another 8 days and this one is done!
In summary:
Goals completed- 14  (it seemed like a lot more than that)
Days until end of 1001 - 824

Do You KNOW Hunger?

Image taken from www.tysonhungerrelief.com

KNOW Hunger is Tyson Foods new campaign to increase awareness about hunger in our American communities. Tyson recently conducted a survey through the Food Research and Action Center which focused on addressing hunger on the national and community levels. The 3 main takeaways from the survey were:

• One in four Americans worries about not having enough money to put food on the table at some point next year.
• Americans across the country do indeed see hunger as a signficant national problem; one that deserves our support.
• Despite perceiving hunger as a serious national problem, most see hunger as less of a problem in their own communities. 

As the one of the most affluent countries in the world and one that supplies many developing countries with food aid, I find it appalling and sobering that we as a nation don't see what is happening right here at home. Tyson is thankfully, stepping up to the plate to do something about it. They're donating a million pounds of Tyson products in 36 cities across the country. While this donation will by no means solve the hunger problem in the U.S. it is a bold start. JBS enacted a similar initiative in Colorado by donating 16,000 lbs of beef to the Food Bank of the Rockies during the Annual Cattle Industry Convention in Denver, CO. You can read more about that donation here.

I applaud both Tyson and JBS' efforts to end hunger here at home. You can do your part by donating canned goods and nonperishables to the local food bank in your community.  In Manhattan you can donate to the Flint Hills Breadbasket and in Topeka the Randel Food Ministries Food Pantry.

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~