The second contemplative practice stood out to me as the most impactful; it came about the time I was plan to eat my first meal of the day, as I always end up forgetting to grab something in the morning. I was starting to get the first feelings of hunger that always precipitate a meal – not really necessity, just the most minor pangs of a building appetite while I decided what to grab to eat. Not eating was not, and had never been, a matter of availability or inability; mainly just laziness, not wanting to be late, or just simply not feeling like eating in the morning.
This apathy towards the sustenance that keeps me going made the juxtaposition of my relationship with food at the moment and those directly affected by world hunger much more impactful; there was no way to really understand what the people described in the Silent Killer face, as any real attempt at comparison between that and “I’m feeling a bit hungry” is inane. The only times I’ve ever been without a meal for 12 hours beyond my control have been for blood tests (and even then, I’d know a meal would come in the test’s immediate aftermath), whereas many will miss meals every day, and not even know if they will have another within a day or two. Taking a few moments to reflect on this is the only real way to properly understand that I can’t really understand this issue in full.
i totally agree with your point in the blog post. The contemplative practices we participated in class really changed how I perceive how we pick and choose to eat. Being a university student, how we eat and get our food sometimes really comes down to how lazy we are. What we learned in class and the videos we watched–like Silent Killer, really pointed out how different our lives are, when compared with the less privileged.
We tend to see and take things for granted, and seldom look into the process or the chains of how we get our commodities. it is hard for us, but it is an extremely important and on going issue that we have to focus on. Professor Litfin, did an extremely great job at capturing our attention and awareness with the videos she showed in class–the raisins and the chocolate farmers. Both were extremely beneficial at making us aware of the importance and complexity of the products around us.
There are ways in which we can try to experience the hardships or burdens these workers and people experience everyday. However, at the end of the day, it is how we change our lifestyles and change how we think that has more effect on us, than just experiencing their lives for “a day”.
Joseph, this is super insightful, thanks for sharing!
When I went through, I thought pretty similarly! I remember Professor Liftin said “If you’re hungry, you’d probably go buy a sandwich or go get something to eat.” I thought to myself, “Well, that makes sense, I’m hungry.” I’m honestly surprised that my mind didn’t connect or realize that World Hunger would be the topic that would be talked about.
Watching Silent Killer, it definitely put my “Duh” moment into perspective. I, like you, really only don’t eat when I think it’ll help me lose weight fast as if that’s how the body really worked, or I woke up ten minutes before my class starts—because that unfortunately happens too often as well. What would it mean for me if I couldn’t just walk five minutes to the HUB and buy a sandwich? How long could my body really go without eating? The families and the children, specifically, had grown accustomed to this single meal lifestyle, and I can barely go two hours without having snacks.
There are a couple things about World Hunger that continue to peak my curiosity. One: What are the long term goals in tackling the health problems that occur from low-cost foods that particularly impacting impoverished areas? For example, perhaps, a family could only afford a bag of rice, and if every meal is centered around such simple carbs without adding in other important nutrients to the diet, how does this go beyond solving “hunger.” Two: Not much was shared in class about hunger in America. How we can look at national barriers within American capitalism that prevent low income communities from partaking in the food market to address widespread problems? This is just a topic I wish we could have delved into a little more!
Blog response two:
Reading the first part of your blog post was very relatable to me, I skip breakfast most days for much the same reasons and typically sit through our lecture like you described, “hungry” but imagining the food I’ll eat afterward.
I had a similar experience after watching “Silent Killer,” feeling that I could not properly understand the hunger-induced pain that was displayed. I think it is important that people in positions like my own, the average American’s, and others in wealthy countries, take time to reflect on the reality that so many others around the world are still suffering from hunger and inflictions that are foreign to us. It is also important to remember that these are not distant problems, many Americans–some of our neighbors–are facing hunger in much the same way. Our country has citizens with personal chefs and haven’t shopped for themselves in years; most with a full enough stocked pantry at home every day; but many others, often forgotten, that go to bed hungry, unsure of when their next meal may be.
Though it may not be talked about often, every person is aware of world hunger and the reality that people are starving, I wonder why we have become so indifferent and complicit in that fact?