“The share of private consumption expenditure (PCE) spent on food at home in a country mostly reflects the prosperity or poverty of that country’s citizens, but it also hints at differences in diets.”  Birgit Meade

How aware are you of what other families spend on food in other parts of the world?

…for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.  (Psa. 107:9;NIV)

Our Pastor showed us a short video clip on Sunday entitled, “Are You Thankful?”  The video showed families in four different countries throughout the world and their average spending on food for one week.  Quite shocking and very humbling.  The clip starts with what the average American family spends on food in one week.

Various food items are added to the table at the same time a ticker tape is adding up the cost.  As I watched the clip (and it rolled along very fast), I was immediately struck by the items on the table.  Canned soups, soda (and lots of it), various chips, boxed cereal, packaged cookies, other packaged mixes such as muffin mixes, dinner mixes, white flour crackers and white bread, processed luncheon meats, boxed pizzas, some kind of processed meat that looked like ham, bananas, two cucumbers, iceberg lettuce, lemons, bottled water, and eggs.  With the exception of the few token fruits, vegetables, and eggs, the majority of the items were packaged, processed “food”(?).  The grand total for all that nutrient deficient, disease causing, NON-food was $124.57.

Next, the video rolled to Mexico.  The average family in Mexico spends $40.27 per week on food.  (When was the last time you as an American can remember a week’s worth of groceries costing $40.00?)  Their table of groceries consisted of lemons, peppers, bananas, limes, pineapple, other fruits and vegetables, fresh bread, tortillas, what looked like a fresh chicken, and some soda, although MUCH less than on the American table.  So, in reverse, their items consisted mostly of real food with very little processed food for about one-third the price.

The third nation highlighted was Bhutan.  I didn’t know a thing about that country.  Wikipedia tells us that Bhutan is a landlocked nation in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains and is bordered to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India and to the north by People’s Republic of China. (You didn’t expect that this post would offer a geography lesson too, did you?)  Fresh bread, bottled water, eggs, bananas, tomatoes, and various other fruits and vegetables that I couldn’t identify comprised their weekly grocery list — all for the grand total of $6.75.

Next, the music on the video clip changes to a song of desperation as faces of hungry-looking children come into clear view.  The scene switches to Uganda where we see various grains appearing on the table along with bottled water and a few root vegetables.  An average family in Uganda spends $1.79 on groceries per week.

Again, the video was titled, “Are You Thankful?”  As Americans we live in a nation of abundance, yet many choose to eat food that is actually destroying the health given to them by their Creator.  How thankful are you for good food, i.e., real food?  And what one thing can you do to make a change for the better in what you’re eating every day?

Prayer Power
Father, we have so much to be thankful for.  May we continually offer praise to You, the author and giver of Life.

Link of the Day
Are You Thankful? (Click “Play a Preview” if you’d like to see the video clip)

Blessings on you as you look for ways to be thankful!