七分之一的美國家庭are having difficulty feeding their members.

來源: 星星光於 2009-11-17 13:34:16 [檔案] [博客] [舊帖] [給我悄悄話] 本文已被閱讀：次 (13094 bytes)

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這兩天，很多人可能都看到了這一新聞。最近美國農業部的一份資料顯示在美國，有一千七百萬，也就是說14.6%，或是七分之一的美國家庭為沒有足夠的食物擺到餐桌上而擔憂（food-insecure, struggling to put food on the table)。很多兒童會有吃不飽肚子的時候。而且這個數字隨著經濟危機，失業率的增加還在繼續增高。

這條新聞讓我震驚。

說起饑餓，吃不飽飯，我的腦子裏想象的是中國的三年自然災害，是非洲的饑民，怎麽也不會和美國這個世界上最富裕的國家掛鉤，特別是這個貧困人群的數量在美國的人口比例中占到七分之一的比例？簡直讓我感到匪夷所思。

說起來，人類從在地球出現的第一天起就在為食物而奔波勞作，以前是靠天吃飯，碰到老天不長眼，大旱大澇的年代，人們沒有足夠的糧食，會有饑荒，吃不飽肚子。。。

隨著科學技術，特別是基因工程，水利灌溉，抗病蟲害等新技術的進展，科學家研究出優質高產的糧食作物，讓糧食產量成倍增長。在發達國家，吃飯早就不成為問題。

美國的農副業在這方麵是一直處在世界的領先地位，是個糧食生產和出口大國。

在我的想象中，一直以為美國這樣的產糧大國，早就擺脫了還有人吃不上飯或吃不飽的局麵，人們隻是在為能有健康食品，綠色食品而戰。。。

可是這一串串數字，讓人不得不相信，在美國這個世界上最富裕的國家，還有很多人在為吃飽肚子而憂愁。

調查表明，這些家庭多是單親，低收入家庭，而且黑人，拉丁裔占很大的比例。裏麵有很多是兒童和懷孕的婦女。

美國是沒有足夠的糧食嗎？是沒有錢嗎？

答案很清楚，都不是。那這些糧食，這些錢都哪裏去了？

一個世界上最富有的國家，如果連自己的人民都喂不飽，花很多的人力財力去當國際警察，打那結束不了的戰爭，是不是有點兒滑稽？

也許有人會覺得這些人是自作自受，不值得同情。。。

勸你再深層的想一想，這些孩子如果連飯都吃不飽，那就不要談教育了。

前幾天在爬梯上有個朋友在感歎美國的整體教育水平在逐漸下降，他在擔心這對美國今後發展的影響，我現在有點明白他在擔心什麽了。

如果這個陷在貧困線下的人群數量在美國越來越高，貧富差距越來越大，就會出現更多的暴力，槍殺，搶劫等社會問題。。。

這樣下去也會影響到生活在一個國度裏的中產階級和富人階層。

聽說這份調查報告已經引起了奧巴馬的重視，今天國會的參議院會對針對這個調查舉行聽證會。

但願這一切能給美國政府敲響警鍾！

THE US Agriculture Department has released bleak figures on the state of hunger in the United States, showing that more American families are having difficulty feeding their members.

The annual Household Food Security report showed that in 2008, families in 17 million households - 14.6 per cent of US homes - had difficulty putting enough food on the table at some point during the year, an 11 per cent increase over 2007.

The figures "represent the highest level observed since nationally representative food security surveys were initiated in 1995," the USDA said.

"The fundamental cause of food insecurity and hunger in the United States is poverty - marked by a lack of adequate resources to address basic needs such as food, shelter and health care," the statement added.

President Barack Obama described as "unsettling" the report which came as some 60 heads of state and government were attending the World Summit on Food Security in Rome.

"This trend was already painfully clear in many communities across our nation, where food stamp applications are surging and food pantry shelves are emptying," Mr Obama said.

The President said he was especially troubled that there were more than 500,000 US families "in which a child experienced hunger multiple times over the course of the year".

"Our children's ability to grow, learn, and meet their full potential - and therefore our future competitiveness as a nation - depends on regular access to healthy meals," he said.

The first task to reverse the trend of rising hunger "is to restore job growth, which will help relieve the economic pressures that make it difficult for parents to put a square meal on the table each day," Mr Obama said.

The President also said his administration has increased help for low-income families seeking food assistance, especially those with children.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/us-department-of-agriculture-report-shows-17-million-american-families-struggling-to-put-food-on-the-table/story-e6frf7lf-1225798709906

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