What do you do when asked to say grace?

My entire family, including fairly extended out, knows I am not religious, and most know I am atheist or at least Humanist, so I don’t really get asked often. My mom used to occasionally ask me in her attempt to get me to be more religious but she was also prepared for me to say no.

If I was asked at someone’s house, perhaps a friends parents, I would probably politely decline. Although after writing that sentence I realized that it would be better to have a Humanist grace on hand. Maybe something like this:

“I would like to thank our gracious host(ess) for having us here today. I would also like to thank all the people, wherever they are in the world, that had a hand in growing the food we are about to eat. The people that harvested it, delivered it to the store, stocked the shelves and took the money for it at the cash register, all deserve our thanks. Their hard work means our work is reduced, giving us more time to enjoy each others company. To those here that prepared the food, and those that will help clean up after we eat, you have our heartfelt thanks. It is only together, as an extended community of people, that we are able to achieve so much in our modern world. May peace and prosperity be yours to enjoy as much as we shall all enjoy this delightful meal together.”

A bit wordy, but as someone that has sat through grace at many Mennonite gatherings, this is short in comparison to some of those.

Thoughts on this grace? Is there a Humanist or other grace you say when asked? I’d love to hear in the comments.