Hunger and Poverty in India and Pakistan: Day 18

Swabi District of Pakistan on July 2009 by Daniel Berehulak of Getty Images

On this, Day 18 of 21 days for world hunger, I maintain my attention on Asia and tomorrow I take a look at hunger in the U.S.  But today, I will address my critics, the people who blame Third World hunger because of too much breeding.

My stomach had a definite growl at 2:17 pm.  I know this, because I happened to be checking the time just as the rumblings began.  The hunger pangs were as fleeting as the thoughts about them – over in five seconds flat.  I needed some council from my husband today after saying something inappropriate in a work-related situation.  I was really beating myself up as he so aptly pointed out.  He also told me, Kenda, you are only behaving like an average person now.  You’ve just been bumped down to normal – something that would’ve happened to most people just a couple days into this thing.  What else can you expect given the lack of food and sleep you’ve had for over two weeks?

I know he was just trying to make me feel better, and it worked. But there is an element of reality to the last part of his comment.  My body and mind have been thrown into complete disarray.  I’ve been fighting a fog for the better part of 18 days.  And while I’ve had moments of great clarity, today the fog is winning.  During that client call, I could feel myself fade in and out.  Usually I’m quick enough to catch a faux pas before it escapes my mouth, but today the words eked out before my brain could install the safety net.  Now, I not only have the fog but I have damage control.  No, I will not share what I said.  It will disclose something confidential and that would compound the problem even more.

Imagine my delight when I discovered last week that Alternet picked up the series, and today I saw it on the front page! I saw there were twenty-some comments and thought, cool.  THEN I read the comments.  Jiminy crickets.  Granted, some of the comments were supportive and compassionate.  While I’m not including those comments, I do appreciate the articulate efforts those folks made in sharing their thoughts.

Here’s a sampling of the not-so-kind comments from Alternet:

Bearglove: “2500-5000 gallons of water per pound of beef”
Bullsh!t. Anytime a report uses “gallons of water” as a measuring device, they’re just making up sh!t.  I suppose that everytime I fill my glass of water it took 30 billion gallons of water because of the erosion of minerals into sand over hundreds of thousands of years to make the type of sand necessary to superheat and turn into a beverage receptacle, not too mention all of the gallons of water and backsweat necessary to dig into the ground, lay pipe that ran to what is currently my house, the energy necessary to build the house I live in…People just like throwing around huge numbers to try and make us feel guilty about doing what we need to do to survive-eat.

Bearglove continues on with a grand display of language and an ability to get his point across in a way that opens up dialogue for healthy discussion…or not..
I can’t take a person seriously who uses this form of measurement-so f*ck the rest of the article.
Also, you know where most of that supposed “2500-5000 gallons of water” comes from? The f*cking sky. It’s called rain, dip sh!ts, and its the single most renewable resource on the planet(aside from ocean water), so we’re not going to run out of it anytime soon…

Bearglove continues on with sharing his knowledge on organic farming and how humans could not possible survive on that (sharing a dated statistic with no backing) and how he doesn’t want to be turned into a villain for eating steak because meat is an essential part of the human diet.

Honky the Nihilist wrote: I ate plenty of meat in Cambodia last summer. If the locals don’t care about starving children, why should I? Honky then added: Who cares how much cereal crops are needed to raise beef? Third worlders would not be able to afford them anyway. Also, importing them would waste oil, increase the population and is therefore unsustainable. To feed is to breed. – A. Huxley

@ honky: As usual you are right honky. This article is middle class bullsh!t. I stay in wintertime in thailand; many poor girls eat mainly rice because they must payoff the motorbike and the cellphone. And they dream of a hamburger, they dream of pizza. Watch the tv on Haiti; young healthy men hanging around, women with babies pregnant again. for them; No breed… more feed.

Wonderking adds: I find it strange that no one seems to blame people for continuing to breed when there is not enough food. Lack of planning on other people’s part, does not require me to feel sorry for them.

Tony-Opmoc:  This article is a bit pathetic. If she feels it worthwhile half starving herself and writing about the sh!t she eats – which tastes like sh!t – for 3 weeks, then why not do something far more constructive instead, in an attempt to address the problem she is writing about.

RKT9: Kendra, Let’s cut through the pure BULL$HIT in this article, first of all cattle are not fed corn and soy beans from day one, cattle gain most of their weight from grazing on grasses, and are fattened up at the final stage on grains, before heading to market, this was done, even when I was a child in the 50s on sustainable farms.

This commenter continues on with lessons from a higher place: Kendra, you seem to me like a immature little bitch, who likes to rant about things, making up crap as you go along, to support your rantings. I hope from this fast that you are about to go on, you find some new truths, and grow closer to God.

Nuff said.  I imagine you can draw your own conclusions.  Some of the folks argue with reason (I didn’t include those comments) and some of them…well, not so much.  I’m aware that by writing this series I’m putting myself out there potentially in more ways than I care to.  Interestingly enough, I’m a rather private person.  I know, hard to believe, right?  I’m also aware that I will do my best not to take comments personally.  That’s easier said than done sometimes!  The comments speak volumes – they lend themselves to reasonable debate or unreasonable criticisms.  They speak of compassion or of a hardened heart.  They speak of enlightenment or of provincialism.  I once had a mentor who told me, Kenda, any judgment someone attempts to bestow on you only speaks to the values of that person and has nothing to do with you. I’ve learned over the years that there’s little I can do with judgments and a lot I can do with specific and constructive feedback.

But what strikes me more than the profane language are statements like:  why should I care? and to feed is to breed.  Really?  Does this mean we should let people starve to death so they stop breeding?  To me, this type of cruel, black and white thinking perpetuates the problem.  Putting aside government abuses of power that oppress a people into poverty, there are innumerable reasons people procreate including socioeconomic.  And really, it’s a lot easier to slam someone when you haven’t walked a mile in their shoes (or lack thereof), on an empty stomach, carrying water, wondering if they are going to survive ‘til tomorrow – especially if you choose to view humans as expendable.

There is an article by Frances Moore Lappé and Rachel Schurman titled The Missing Piece in the Population Puzzle that became part of the book Taking Population Seriously.

The authors look at the illogical, extreme Neo-Malthusian cases perspective and determine that population density and hunger are not causally related. To cite but one example, China has only half as much cropped land per person as India, yet Indians suffer widespread and severe hunger while the Chinese do not. (In fact, India is a net food exporter.)

The authors also look at the social perspective that drives the threat of populations overrunning resources and point to a complex interaction of economic, social, and cultural forces that keeps third world fertility high. These forces include the low status of women, the high death rates of children, and the lack of old-age security.

They continue to detail how, with the lack of government support (including that of people in old age), the inability to acquire adequate land and secure tenure or the simple lack of a source of support outside the family, children can be critical to one’s very survival for those in extreme poverty.

And in nearly all third world societies, those rendered powerless by unjust economic structures also know that without children to care for them in old age, they will have nothing.

WOMEN + POWERLESSNESS = HIGH BIRTH RATE

In many regions of the world, women do not have the power to decide their own role in a family – including decisions about fertility.

It has been widely documented that after several births many third world women want to avoid or delay pregnancy.  But women simply do not have the power to act on their desire.

Women who want to reduce their pregnancies receive little or no help.  Their subordination to men reflects their powerlessness in making decisions about fertility.  Women living in poverty are limited by health services including birth control.  And for those woman practicing Catholicism, their culture limits their freedom to determine whether or not they want to get pregnant.

One can well imagine how difficult it is for Catholic women to use birth control if it means having to confess to a central authority figure in your community, the priest, that you have sinned.

For many poor women whose self-esteem is already low, challenging church authority can be virtually unthinkable.

Women’s education turns out to be the single most consistent predictor of lower fertility. As women’s schooling increases, fertility typically falls. For women, education could equal power.

In summary, the authors share their analysis from the power structures perspective, freedom of fertility choice is non-existent where:

One’s financial security depends entirely or largely on one’s surviving children. Many births are necessary to ensure that even several children live to maturity. Health services, including birth control, are available almost exclusively to the better-off in urban areas, not to the poor. A woman has no choice other than marriage and her only source of power is derived from her children, especially sons, and few opportunities for education and employment exist for women outside of homemaking.

A friend of mine put it like this: paradoxically, it is not overpopulation that creates poverty; it is poverty that creates overpopulation.

Oh and to the commenter who wants to teach me lessons about being closer to God, I do believe I have found some new truths from this fast.  Unfortunately, some of those truths are about the dismal lack of humanity that exists in our small world – in a collective unconscious of sorts.  And other truths are about the power of proactive, compassionate people who are spending each waking moment of their lives actually making a difference in our world.  Taking action instead of throwing caustic barbs.  Frankly, I prefer to learn from the former.

I understand how defenses get in the way of rational discussions.  Been there, done that.  I suppose, however, it’s easier to pass the blame onto those who are oppressed than to take a stand against the powers that put them there in the first place. Despite all of this, I refuse to lose hope for the human species.  I need to believe that we all have compassion in our hearts. While some take a little longer to see the urgency and tap into that compassion, we will find a way to make change happen; change for the greater good – for all humanity – for all living beings.

Concerning this topic, there was an interesting article on The Huffington Post by Jennifer Grayson:  Eco-Etiquette: Should We Stop Having Children?

I’m grateful to the Conducive Chronicle readers for the way in which you post comments.  I want all readers to know I welcome your disagreements and healthy debate (healthy being the operative word), and Conducive Chronicle readers tend to comment in a way that opens rather than closes dialogue.  Thank you.  I noticed Care2 picked up the series as well and I also want to thank those readers for your kind and tasteful messages.

Today, Day 18 (three to go!!), I weighed in at 113 pounds.  Dinner was Spinach Dal on Basmati Rice.  I took the recipe from Care2 and adapted it with the ingredients we have at home (cumin powder instead of seeds for instance).  We both found it tasty, but it was not nearly as good as the Spinach Dal found in Indian restaurants.  This is solely a result of my cooking.  By the time dinner came around, I had no hunger.  None.  It was 7:00 p.m.  I hadn’t eaten all day.  I felt as if I could’ve gone the rest of the night without eating – naturally I ate anyway!  I had a cup of soy milk tonight.

Today’s Nutritional Intake

India, Gender Disparities, Genetically Modified Crops = Poverty + Hunger

India is ranked 65 on The International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI) Global Hunger Index (GHI).  This is considered an alarming rate of hunger. According to the World Food Programme, nearly 50 percent of the world’s hungry live in India.

Around 35 percent of India’s population, 350 million, are considered food-insecure, consuming less than 80 percent of minimum energy requirements.

Food crops include wheat, potato, cashew nuts, coconuts, banana, sapota (fruit), groundnut, vegetables, and rice.

In an article from Health News that quotes research from International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), 40 percent of children in India are underweight. According to the IFPRI, hunger and gender inequalities go hand in hand.   According to Joachim von Braun, IFPRI director general, an important step to ending world hunger is empowering women and eradicating gender disparities in education, health, economic participation, and political opportunities.

Indian Farmers and Genetically Modified Crops

Another problem leading to hunger in India is the corporatization of food crops.   Anyone who knows me knows that I have issues with Agrochemical companies, particularly Monsanto.  I wrote a seven-post series on genetically modified foods called Get Your Gen Mo Out of My Food Yo.  In which I briefly touched upon the suicides of Indian farmers.  The following videos show in greater detail what has been happening with the Indian farmers as Monsanto is taking control of their crops, their farms and their lives.  I only just learned that these farmers are using Monsanto pesticides as a method to commit suicide.  While that may be symbolic, it is also shocking and painfully disturbing.

Scientist and environmentalist Vandana Shiva talks about the 150,000 farmers who have committed suicide in India where their seed has been destroyed resulting in a need to buy seed from agrochemical companies like Monsanto at a higher cost thus creating debt, and a perpetual problem.  Let’s take a moment and think about the level of desperation that would lead 150,000 farmers to end their own lives…

Monsanto Farmer Suicides

Underground Wellness has a detailed interview about Indian farmers and their binding relationship with Monsanto.

You can also check out The World According to Monsanto Part I to learn more about the company that is attempting to change the world’s food system.

Problems with agribusiness has even been blamed for the rise of prostitution.  Under conditions of hunger people are faced with limited choices about how they can feed themselves.  With 40 percent of India’s children are malnourished, India is dealing with a daunting problem.  Zana Briski, a New York photographer, has taken a creative step to help bring awareness to the problem.

A few years ago, I saw Briski’s fabulous documentary called Born into Brothels about a group of children who live in the red light district of Calcutta.  Zana Briski, gives each of the children a camera and opens their world to new perspectives.

Pakistan – Educating Girls to Improve Quality of Life

Pakistan is rated 58 on the GHI.  This is alarming.  According to the World Food Programme,  84.6 percent of Pakistan’s population earns less than $2 per day. This has contributed to poor human development, especially among women and children. Staple food crops include wheat, rice, sugarcane, millet and corn.

World Food Programme continues with:

Between mid-2008 and April 2009, at least 550,000 people fled their homes in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) and NWFP (North-West Frontier Province) due to increased insecurity. Since early May 2009, armed conflict further intensified, leading to the mass displacement of over three million people. The majority of these Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are residing with host communities, while less than 20 percent live in camps.

The photo at the top of this article shows internally displaced young girls from the Swat valley at a Madrassa in an IDP camp. Approximately 3 million internally displaced persons have been created as a result from recent fighting and ongoing military operations against the Taliban.

Schools and other aid agencies struggle to deal with the needs of so many. The refugees have fled from Swat, Buner, and Lower Dir and are facing extremely harsh living conditions in the searing heat in over crowded camps.

Education and hunger are correlated.  I’m in the midst of reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.  Greg’s mission has been to build schools for the children of Pakistan – especially girls.  He sees female literacy and education accomplishing three goals:

1. Reducing infant mortality (In many areas of Pakistan, one out of every three babies dies before the age of one)
2. Reducing population explosions
3. Improving their basic quality of life

One of the many values in educating girls is to help them maintain connection with their maternal ties through letter writing.  Many young women, when married, are taken away from their villages possibly never to return again.  With the ability to read and write, these girls can stay connected to their original support systems – their families.  Another extremely important gain to Mortenson’s schools is peace.  Education brings knowledge, knowledge brings power and that power helps Pakistani children turn away from the malevolent grip of the Taliban.  Three Cups of Tea is a must-read if you want to better understand the politics, religions and cultures of Pakistan and how the humanitarian efforts of the outside world are helping bring about peace within the walls of uncomplicated, unpretentious schools in unknown and remote villages – places where the Pakistani government is denying its people a right to learn.

Greg Mortenson writes:

I’m no military expert, and these figures might not be exactly right. But as best as I can tell, we’ve launched 114 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Afghanistan so far. Now take the cost of one of those missiles tipped with a Raytheon guidance system, which I think is about $840,000. For that much money, you could build dozens of schools that could provide tens of thousands of students with a balanced, non-extremist education over the course of a generation. Which do you think will make us more secure?

Educate a boy, and you educate an individual. Educate a girl, and you educate a community.
- African proverb via Greg Mortenson

The following is taken from World Hunger Facts 2009:

Education – The World

• Over 100 million school-age children are not in school. (UN Millennium Campaign 2007)
• 46 percent of girls in the world’s poorest countries have no access to education. (State of World Population 2005, United Nations Population Fund)
• In the developing world, more than 1 in 4 adults are illiterate; nearly 2/3 of these are women. (Action Aid 2007)
• Universal primary education would cost $10 billion a year – about what Americans spend on ice cream annually. (UN Millennium Campaign 2007

Okay, so I’m ending my virtual hunger journey of Asia.  I’ve barely skimmed the surface of hunger and poverty in India and Pakistan.  There are several countries who are dealing with serious to alarming hunger issues that I haven’t even discussed – namely Vietnam, Mongolia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Cambodia, and Bangladesh. So much territory to cover and so little time. Alas with only three days to go on this journey, I must move on to the United States.  But I leave you with two final quotes:

Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.  Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation.  Where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice.  Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt.

~ Francis of Assisi

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

~Aristotle

To support the organizations I write about in the series, purchase a World Hunger: Be the Solution Tee.  Proceeds from the shirt will go to the Small Planet Institute Fund and the International Fund for Africa.  All tees are sweat free and available in organic cotton.  To see the selection of World Hunger tees at Conducive’s Humanitarian & Human Rights Tee store, click here

To follow this series from the beginning, you can click the links below:

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 1

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 2

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 3

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 4

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 5

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 6

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 7

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 8

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 9

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 10

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 11

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 13

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 14

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 15

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 16

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 17

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 19

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 20

21 Days for World Hunger: Day 21

Solutions for World Hunger: Part I

Solutions for World Hunger: Part II

Solutions for World Hunger: Part III