Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Chinese Proverb
Having been involved in some work in the Rome headquarters for the FAO and WFP, at which point I became far more informed than I had ever been about poverty (especially in relation to food concerns), this is now an issue close to my heart.
"The U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, which founded World Food Day, estimates the number of people around the globe who are undernourished at 923 million.
The World Food Program estimates 15.7 million of those in need of assistance are in the Horn of Africa; 8.6 million in Afghanistan and 3.7 million in North Korean. UNICEF reports that 143 million children under the age of five in the developing world are underweight. Worldwide, the price of staples, such as wheat, flour and cooking oil have tripled and even quadrupled."
If you'd like to see a dynamic map of how how this picture has changed since 1970, have a look here. Interesting.
I find it incredible and tragic that in an age like ours, where there is no practical reason that we cannot distribute food across the globe, and while there are food surpluses and affluence in some parts of the world, other people are dying of starvation. Often, and in times of crisis especially, for no reason other than that politics prevent aid getting to where it needs to be.
If you'd like to see a dynamic map of how how this picture has changed since 1970, have a look here. Interesting.
But it's about more than just supplying food. It's about enabling food production, so that aid will only be needed in extreme circumstances of drought and famine and natural disaster.
This is not a simple issue and there are all sorts of considerations around over-population and environmental impact too. I appreciate that there are no magical overnight solutions but I hate the thought that when I have more than I could ever need, there are people who are dying because they are without the very basics for survival.
I love to give gifts and I love the idea that we can contribute in some tiny way. This has become one of my favourite gift sites.
A site where (amongst other things) one can buy...
A village oil press
Basic livestock
A fishing pond
Allotment, seeds and wellies
I think there are going to be a few of these on my Christmas list this year.
Food for thought today...
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2 comments:
What really urks me is the amount of waste here- Dumpster diving used to be a saving grace to those in need- perfectly good food tossed- but now the dumpsters are locked and it is against the law to take anything from a dumpster! The amount of goods is unbelievable- capitalistic greed will most surely be our undoing.
What a wonderful way to contribute! And I agree with Linda Sue that food waste is so terrible - locally there is a woman who started a programme - I've forgotten the name of it now - she has organised drivers who go around to restaurants to collect food waste (not the waste on people's plates, but what's left over at the end of the evening in the kitchen) and redistribute it to shelters and other programmes in Cape Town. I have enormous admiration for people who do something like this - like most people, I have wonderful ideas and plans and intentions, but seldom do I execute them ...
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