Farmer to the mouth

The Journey of Rice - from the hands of the farmer to the mouth of the consumer.

How often does one think about the journey of a rice grain ?

Is the plate with food disposed by people consciously ?

Should we remember the toil and sweat shed by the cultivator each day we eat food ?

Would it be a panegyric if we thought twice before we disposed the food into the bin ?

      

         It consumes huge amounts of energy, time and commitment to obtain a grain of rice. 

 
 Not only a farmer has to                  
 dedicate himself to agriculture



                                                                                                      but also he has to bite the bullet





while sowing the seeds.                                                                    

This ia because the weather does not remain constant every year. If the rains fail, he and the crops are left at the mercy of fate. The Herculean task coupled with hope gets shattered when the crops are at the stake of calamity.  Agriculture receives a heavy blow with excessive or untimely rain. Similarly, scanty or no rainfall, also result in a steep decline in the agriculture produce.
      In a world of globalization, it becomes quite          
difficult to obtain enormous amounts of manure,
 which ensures a healthy produce.
   
       Weeds need to be checked from emerging, which leave little nutrients and minerals for the crops.            

Then, the business of nourishing the crops, gain significance, This would continue until they ripe.
     Again, the farmer has to protect them from being spoiled by pests, rats and rodents.

     A farm with mere embankment, may be intruded by stray cattle that may graze the crops.

          Having faced all these challenges, the final produce, which is the output, comes into the mill,where it gets separated from the husk. Further, the grains sacked into bags, need to be carried to the godowns, where one has to face difficulty in storing the bag as long as they are sold to the retailers or the customers.

Rodents and rats pose an additional challenge.


The bags of grain should be protected from getting drenched by any means.


    The numerous challenges observed above would inculcate a sense of conservation and responsibility in an individual.  

FEED THE STARVING

Is it not divine to feed the unfed ? The wisdom of a person lies not in disposing the plate with food in it.
                                                                                         
One needs to come out of the false prestige that eating the food completely at a formal or informal occasion would diminish one's status. The greatness of a person lies in the good qualities but not in being gaudy. To reach modesty would be difficult as we are placed in a modern context that gives little scope for it, but once attained, it would take the person to the summit of satisfaction. Wasting food has been prevalent for a long time but       
 it has leaped to new heights.

It is time we saved food resources. Most of us do not take the pains doing the extra mile journey. so that food might reach the mouths of millions starving.    

IS WASTING FOOD, A SYMBOL OF STATUS ?

Wasting food on occasions like wedding, birthday, informal parties or other formal occasions, is undoubtedly,an act of foolishness and barbarity. Status doesn't lie in the act of leaving remnants or huge amounts of food in the plate being disposed. Status lies in the great qualities of a person like generosity, simplicity, honesty, modesty, the power of a person to inspire the people around, with the great deeds and words.

                            Instead of wasting food, the invitee should estimate about how much he would like to eat. If one really has the urge to show his status, one should do the extra mile journey and feed the destitutes who are deprived of the basic needs.Civility lies in stopping the wastage of food, not in disposing the plate with food in it.
                       
                       One needs to understand that a large part of the population confines its life to merely making bread and butter. 

A GRAIN OF LIFE

Would it be wrong to call a grain of rice, a grain of life ?  A handful of grains of rice, can question the last heart-beat of the person who is about to starve to death. It would be unpardonable sin to dispose a grain of rice or a morsel of bread.  Everyone among us, must think twice before a grain of food or a morsel of bread or roti, is thrown away. Food cannot be wasted with a lame cause that owner has plenty of riches. One should see that food comes to the hands of the eater after a great deal of labour and consumption of time.Seasons together join hands in ripening the grain to the level of harvest.

The sinner has to compensate every morsel and grain of food that he wastes.