Many Oxfam supporters showed their dedication to fighting world
hunger on Super Bowl Sunday by skipping the game to participate in a hunger
banquet. The Oxfam CHANGE club at Chicago's Loyola University hosted the remarkable
event- intended to shed light on the situation many rural farmers in Africa
find themselves in.
As we filed in, student organizers and Oxfam Action Corps
members handed each of us a card marked with an economic class and the story of
a person in that class. These determined our seating arrangements. Those who
were in the 'upper' class were given a seat at a table near the podium,
'middle' class participants sat in chairs, while the 'poor' class were required
to sit on the floor. LUC’s CHANGE leader, Kaitlin Madsen, read a narrative
along with other club members about how the uneven distribution of wealth
affects access to basic needs. The audience was involved in the narrative,
switching economic classes based on unforeseen circumstances like floods, or
assistance from agricultural development programs.
When it was time to eat, we lined up in order of class, and
men ate first as a reflection of how real-life circumstances (often inherited
rather than earned) affect the lives of people throughout the world. The 'rich'
were given a nutritious buffet, the middle class received rice and vegetables,
while those of us in the lowest economic class received only one cup of white
rice. Because of what they lacked, some members at the bottom of the
socioeconomic ladder bartered their shoes and phones for utensils or water.
As we ate, Roger Thurow, Senior Fellow on Global Agriculture and Food Policy in the Chicago Council on Global Affairs gave an inspiring talk on the
opportunities and challenges that face Africa's smallholder farmers. For
example, as Mr. Thurow details in his second book, The Last Hunger Season, many of these farmers go through a
'hunger season', or the time of austerity between the end of food from one
harvest and the gathering of food from the next. Fortunately, initiatives like
Oxfam's GROW campaign are bringing modern methods, technology, and seeds to
these farmers that can eliminate the 'hunger season' and bring new economic
freedom to those who need it most.
The hunger banquet was inspiring, and we all felt the
experience we had was well worth waiting to watch the Super Bowl.
Think you understand about the hunger problem? Test your
knowledge by answering these questions in the comment section below!
In order to adequately meet demands of a growing global
population, food production:
a) must double
b) depends on smallholder farmers obtaining new techniques
and technology
c) must be a priority in foreign aid
d) all of the above
'Microdosing' crops can nearly double yields in Africa with
__________ of fertilizer per plant.
a) One cup
b) One gallon
c) 1/2 cups
d) One bottle-cap full
-Jeffrey Rozelle
No comments:
Post a Comment