If there is one thing most of us in Canada, and most of the industrialized world, take for granted, it's our food.
We are completely sure that anytime we go to a local grocery store the shelves will be lined with food, and again, for most of us, we have the money to buy good quality food to ensure we are not hungry at the end of the day.
Given that is the case for most in North America, I suppose it's not too surprising that World Food Day came and went with few paying attention to it at all.
Most of us are not likely to know the day was this Monday (Oct. 16), and the theme of this year's day is from Food Prices - From Crisis to Stability.
We may not know about the day, but the theme may resonate with consumers.
There is a feeling that our food costs are too high, although the reasons for that may be somewhat misunderstood.
To begin with food costs are not the result of what farmers are paid. In fact, in most cases, even with generally better commodity prices, is what farmers are paid a significant element of food costs in the store.
Wheat is a small part of the cost of a loaf of bread, as an example.
Most of the costs go into processing, wages and transportation between the farm gate and the kitchen table.
There is also a general belief we spend more on food than is actually the case. We take the grocery store bill and look at it as a food cost, but it generally includes everything from laundry soap to razor blades and the local newspaper. Those things add to the cost of the grocery cart.
Then there is the fact fewer and fewer of us do a lot to directly impact our food costs.
In the past I have talked about how home gardens are increasingly rare, with few having a store of home grown food canned, frozen and ready for winter.
In many cases we are even losing the skills to cook at home, relying on ready to eat food options, that are more highly processed, and often more costly as a result.
That all said, the theme for World Food Day this year is Food Prices - From Crisis to Stability. The theme was chosen to show the impact food price swings pose for the world's most vulnerable peoples.
Food may not be an issue for most reading this column, but many people are starving in our world, and as population grows, and arable land shrinks, the number may well grow.
And in North America we also have food concerns surrounding ideas about safety, and sustainability.
With all the issues around food we might expect World Food Day to be more recognized, with more events around it to help focus attention on the issues.
Perhaps in the future we will start that process to raise the importance of the day, and to start dealing with the existing issues of having safe, affordable food for all of us.
