Feast vs Famine
Haitian father, talking about his children: “They look at me and say, ‘Papa, I’m hungry’ and I have to look away. It’s humiliating and it makes you angry.”
How brutally does the above mentioned quote sums up the problem of food crisis that is affecting the world at large today. The problem is enormous and somehow the whole bridge between the rich and poor continues to widen even as there is increase in humanitarian aid and support from various International organizations and individuals. The problem doesn’t really seem to show its head and tail and it is indeed a big task to handle it on a global scale, forget about cutting it off from the root.
The cruelest aspect of food crisis is the malnutrition among the young children. They are born with innumerable deficiencies and that affects their overall growth and development. These little children who are supposed to be the future of the world tomorrow already struggle at every step to sustain their lives. The countries facing the biggest amount of problems today are not only the third world or developing countries but to a great extent the first world countries as well. I am sure the mention of first world countries in this regard would amuse a lot of people but it is indeed true.
As part of my course in International Journalism at City University, me (Reporter), Zhao Xue (Camera-Operator) & Dominique van Herdeen (Producer) interviewed Carrie van der Hoven, a paediatric dietician on the extent of nutritional crisis faced by the world today. Malnutrition, according to her, was viewed in terms of both feast and famine. She very interestingly mentioned how obesity was a part of malnutrition too, even though the mere mention of the term brings to mind the pictures of undernourished children in various parts of the world. Around 800 Million people in this world suffer from malnutrition and out of that 200 million are children.
However, she drew a very remarkable comparison between malnutrition in first world and third world. The malnutrition in third world countries according to her was more due to the severe socio- economic conditions that affected the growth of children and with the result they are undernourished. The problem faced by the first world countries, on the other hand, is completely different. Here, malnutrition can be seen in terms of obesity. This happens because of fussy eating problems of children and also their choice to succumb to junk food. It is such an interesting comparison that immediately puts two pictures in our minds, one of a undernourished child who is fighting for his life at every step by trying to find whatever little is available and on the other hand, an obese child who is fussy about his food habits and lives on junk food and is malnourished.
This comparison is very clear to understand the exact problem being faced today. It also points out in a very humble way what an individual can do to contribute his/her bit to the problem. More than anything else, it is important for each one of us to understand the problem in order to contribute in every way possible. A lot of us don’t give importance to many things as long as it doesn’t affect us. But there are times when just understanding a problem, being there for it and voicing your opinion for it can make a HUGE impact on somebody’s life. It is very rightly put by Mother Teresa when she says and I quote “The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved”