That Black Dirt......

Spending time at campsites as we travel westward means that many nights we are unplugged. We don't have television reception, radio is not strong and there is absolutely no internet connection. Not necessarily a bad thing....as we become pretty tied to technology. I won't pretend that I don't miss it....but then again, sometimes it's nice to be unplugged. So much of the news is bad or frightening....so confusing and so depressing that I don't mind not knowing what's going on "out there".

But a few days ago I heard a quick story about four famines threatening millions of people in our world right now. Desperate people living in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. And the next story described families desperate for food in Venezuela.

All of this after we'd just driven through fertile Iowa farmland. The black earth, freshly plowed, waiting for seeds. Other fields boasting straight lines of tiny green shoots....future corn or soybeans perhaps? Acres and acres of good earth, good for producing food.....food for families. And cattle ranches after that......thousands of pounds of beef on the hoof.

Many fortunate America citizens go into any grocery store and expect to find the huge selection of fresh produce (shipped in from many countries or states way across our continent), ten kinds of peanut butter, dozens of salad dressings, an entire aisle of breakfast cereals, pastas and ethnic cuisine. And meats, and dairy products, and snacks and everything else they might ever want to stock the pantry.

So, why can't we find a way to feed the world? Why can't we find a way to feed those families in the USA who wonder where the next meal is coming from? Oh I know it's complicated and there are trade deals and tariffs and import/export problems. But look at that beautiful black earth that our Country boasts.....and look at the pictures of the families, the children with matchstick arms.

Black earth.....black gold....we have so much....others have so little.....