It Just Makes Good Scents
By Trent Loos

Driving home from Illinois over the holidays, I encountered a thought-provoking occurrence. East of Lincoln, NE on I-80, some sort of utility pickup had flipped over in the median. EMT, ambulance, Highway Patrol and firefighters were all on the scene. Our westbound lane had no impediments although every vehicle slowed to get a glimpse of the guy lying in a pool of blood under the overpass as emergency officials attended to him. As soon as the spectators got a good look, at 25 mph, the traffic flow was back up to 75 mph like nothing happened.

That is when it hit me. The same people who slowed down to see as much blood as possible could hear about a plane crash and tell their spouse, “Honey, I am never flying again”. We humans sure are messed up when it comes to assessing risk aren’t we?

The National Highway Safety Authority reports that in the year 2003 there were 42,643 automobile crash victims while there was only one commercial airline crash with 21 fatalities. I admit that every time I get on an airplane I think, “this could be the next one.” Yet I drive my car over 100,000 miles a year without giving the idea a moment to enter my head.

This thought process happens at the same time that every news report begins with details about the death toll from the Tsunami, which stands at just short of 150,000 people. News reports would like us to believe this natural disaster is the worst thing we could ever imagine. While I am thinking about this I got an email from Robert Fasl who lives near Kansas City. He had done a little research himself on the causes of death.

Here is a portion of what Mr. Fasl had to say:

Now I think it's noteworthy to mention how middle of the road this disaster is compared to the disasters of the past. Over 156 million have died from hunger.  Only 7 million from all the natural disasters to date have perished and many of them died due to lack of food and aid in the region.

I urge Americans to read up on famine, quit the bickering and grow food for the rest of the world and quit dumping it as if it were free for the taking.  Food and water are life.  Not paper money.

  I suppose there is no way to say what I am about to say without sounding heartless but I will try. I do feel for any family who lost loved ones and all of their earthly possessions in the natural disaster, but we do need to keep it in perspective. Like a plane crash, it is headline news but in the big picture it is not affecting nearly as many lives as a disaster that doesn’t seem to have the same sizzle.

United Nations Food and Agriculture reports that 800 million people worldwide are malnourished including 160 million children under the age of 5. Worldwide, someone dies from hunger every 5 seconds which amounts to 10 million per year, far more than tsunamis, hurricanes, malaria and AIDS combined. Right here at home, USDA says one out of every eight children goes to bed hungry.

For those of us in food production, these statistics are infuriating. We produce the world’s cheapest, safest supply of food but political games prevent us from getting it to the people who need it the most. While news of the tsunami will motivate individuals to extend a helping hand today, will tomorrow be business as usual?

Farmers don’t need a hand-out to fix this problem. We need societal pressure on a global basis to make it happen. It is estimated that it would take $13 billion to correct the world’s sanitation and food requirements. This figure happens to be the same amount that people living in the U.S. and European Union spend annually on perfume. I am willing to give up my smelling salts for the cause. It just makes good scents.

 

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