Feeding the hungry and the hunger inside us
The body must be nourished, physically, emotionally and spiritually. We’re spiritually starved in this culture—not underfed but undernourished.
When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the poor have no food, they call you a communist.
On this first day of 2002, I’m visiting The Hunger Site (www.thehungersite.com) on the Internet. By merely clicking on the “Give Free Food” button, I can provide around a cup of staple foods (beans, rice, other grains, etc.) to the hungry of the world. It’s easy, with no cost to me, the food paid for by sponsors of the site.
Usually I just click and leave. Today I briefly reviewed some facts and figures provided on the site and am appalled to see that:
- About 24,000 people die every day from hunger or hunger-related causes around the world. Three-fourths of the deaths are children under the age of five.
- Today 10 percent of children in developing countries die before the age of five.
- 840 million people live in the condition of chronic, persistent hunger.
Even in the U.S. people go hungry. In 1999, 31 million Americans were food insecure, meaning they were either hungry or unsure of where their next meal would come from. Twelve million of these were children.
Contrast this reality with the obesity epidemic in the United States, and the picture is shocking. According to the U.S. Office of the Surgeon General:
- 97 million adults (61 percent) in the United States were overweight or obese in 1999.
- Thirteen percent of children aged 6 to 11 years and 14 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years were overweight in 1999. This prevalence has nearly tripled for adolescents in the past two decades.
- 300,000 deaths each year in the United States are associated with obesity.
So we Americans are getting fatter, gobbling up a disproportionate share of the world’s food (in addition to other resources), and, in some cases, literally eating ourselves to death. And while we’re concerned with the next new diet fad or what we’re going to have for dessert (or both), many families in Asia and Africa are worried about when they will have their next meal and whether their children will survive the night.
Is it any wonder that some people of the world look upon us with resentment, anger, and disdain? The unconsciousness of our consumption and the way we frequently turn a blind eye to the plight of folks outside our borders make us an easy target. Most of our national leaders currently want us to believe that we must wage war to end this hostility toward us. Others believe that more compassionate choices exist.
In the Winter 2001-2002 issue of YES! magazine Rabbi Michael Lerner writes:
So here is what would marginalize those who hate the United States. Imagine if the Bin Ladens and other haters of the world had to recruit people against America at a time when:
- America was using its economic resources to end world hunger and redistribute the wealth of the planet so that everyone had enough.
- America was the leading voice championing an ethos of generosity and caring for others—leading the world in ecological responsibility, social justice, openhearted treatment of minorities, and rewarding people and corporations for social responsibility.
A powerful vision. But let us not only imagine. Let us move from vision to action. We have a responsibility to our brothers and sisters around the world, as well as those in need here at home. If we are to be who we profess to be—a generous, just, and caring people—we cannot be bystanders; we must be agents of the change we want to see. We can work to shift the priorities of our federal government. We can give of our own resources. We can volunteer. And in the process, our actions become more congruent with our words and our declarations of faith. In addition to feeding the hungry, we feed an undernourished part of ourselves, a part that cannot be satiated with calories of any kind. We feed our inner spirits, reclaiming the best of who we really are.
Saturday, February 2nd, 2002No Comments »
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