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| Empanadas! |
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| Shepherd's Pie: Argentinan Style |
But what about the REST of the world?
The world population is currently at 7.1 billion and increasing overall. But when we look at the developing countries and developed countries, we can see huge disparities in the standard of living, especially when it comes to the availability of food.
Below is a "fat" map to help you gauge which countries around the world have a surplus of food vs. countries that have a shortage. Notice where the differences lie...
- Can we continue relying on biotechnology?
- Can we change cultural habits of certain nations to better allocate food resources?
- Should we continue cutting down rainforests for farmland?
- Can youth-to-youth teaching help farmers across the world learn how to grow crops more effectively? (Peace Corps)
- Would there be a "Food World War?"
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| Fighting for Survival |
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ReplyDeleteI am greatly impressed when Dr. Price presented the level of involvements and achievements in the international projects that Texas A&M has done over the years(super-like the coffee project:it is quite extensive and sustainable by the native people)
ReplyDeleteBiotechnology, as discussed by both speakers, would be the "easier" and less costly route to go as of now. For example,Golden Rice (Rice genetically modified for increased levels of proVitamin A or beta carotene and iron--some populations in Africa suffer from blindness because lack of vitamin A in their diets)was launched on market in 2011. The idea of eating "less" for "more" is not new since the first use of functional foods in Japan in the 1980's.
We are already changing our cultural habits for food, I think. (so are many cultures globally)==>The media heavily promotes healthy and lean images of people. Women (and men)spend thousands of dollars for Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, and other methods to stay slim. Since the famous Southern food chef Paula Deen announced her diabetes diagnosis, her son improvises her famously greasy recipes to "ligher versions", etc..
No, don't cut down forests for farmland.
possible solutions: biotechnology on farming, recycling (save $ and energy), reuse water resources (i.e.Singapore's new water), the media increases promotion that favors healthy eating habits ( the Japanese said that we should only eat to 80% of our full capacity --secret to longevity), we should not impose anything similar to "one child policy" like China did, but we could encourage people to have less children using soft policies such as increasing education in poor countries (the more educated, the less-likely to have a lot of kids).
Side note: Japanese Green tea helps with weightloss and provide antioxidants (drink after meal)
to Allen: is that pineapple empanadas? I really like pineapple empanadas.
It's actually chicken empanadas. I've never tried pineapple empanadas before.
DeleteI don't think we should "change" other cultures to fight hunger. I personally think people should be responsible for decisions they make. For instance, if people are dying in countries because they don't want to eat certain foods that are available to them, then they need to take the responsibility of their action. No offense to any culture or religion!
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely a disconnect between the multi-billion dollar weight loss industry and the number of people living on less than a dollar a day, who are just looking for enough calories to make it to tomorrow. I can't help feeling there is away to address this gap--wouldn't it be cool if restaurants rounded up to the nearest dollar on every transaction and then that money were put towards buying food and ensuring that the people who needed it had access to it? It would be an organizational nightmare, I'm sure, but still. After all, even as a tight-fisted college student, not getting seventeen cents back when I buy my lunch is a pretty minor thing--but the aggregate effect would be astounding. Even better would be if that money were used for projects like Heifer International, which go beyond merely providing meals, and give people a steady food supply, plus the means to augment their income. Food for thought... (sorry, I never could resist a good (?) pun)
ReplyDeleteAbbie, you make a good point about rounding up. When I go to other countries, whatever the price displayed is the price of what is. In England, where an item is marked 10 pounds, then you do not have to account for tax. If America could pick up that system and adopt the method of fundraising you just mentioned, I have no doubt that it would greatly impact the world. Looking at how much money we spend on food, there is no excuse why so much of it should go to waste. If any of the other countries on the "fat" map joined in, we could be on the road to putting some meat of the bones of those countries that are relatively skinny.
ReplyDeleteFirst I want to say thank you for posting the pictures of empanadas, because I LOVE empanadas =). I was very surprised that the population in Africa was expected to double, as mentioned in the reading. I always hear of contraceptives measures being implemented in Africa to prevent AIDS. Those measure I would think would decrease the birth rate, but I guess not. What was also interesting was how experts believe that the world would naturally reform the increase in population. Are the experts relying on disease and war?
ReplyDeleteI really like Abbie and Brawnlyn's ideas about rounding up. I have a Bank of America account that would round up to the dollar whatever I spend and put that in my saving account. Nonetheless, Abbie, if you want to pursue this campaign, the easier way would be business sector than through the taxation system (my personal opinion,which might be wrong). Our tax money already are spent on social services in America and as far as i know, a lot of programs within America have been cut.
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