Day 20 of 21 days for World Hunger. One more to go until I can stop eating a diet similar to many of the world’s hungry. Yesterday I wrote about hunger in the United States. Staggering figures to say the least. And how do we solve this problem? Fortunately, there are innovators and organizations that are passionate about finding a solution. One of them, the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASF) at University of California, Santa Cruz, I focus on today.
But first I’d like to discuss water and to share my little Water Carrying Experiment. A couple of days ago (cannot remember when at this point because they’re all blurring together) I tossed around the idea of trying an experiment – testing my ability to haul a load of water while on the World Hunger Diet. Today I did it. I used a 3-gallon bottle weighing in at 24 pounds. Yes, it was filtered water. Yes, we use filtered drinking water at home. This is only because our water tastes, well, unsavory. I say this with a tinge of guilt given the truly poor condition of water other places in the world – including some places in the U.S.
Water Facts According to World Hunger Facts 2009
- The average distance women in developing countries walk each day to fetch water: 3.6 miles (U.N. Millennium Campaign 2007)
- More than 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and more than 2 billion lack sanitation. (Millennium Development Goals Report 2006, United Nations)
- Up to one-third of global disease is caused by environmental factors, including polluted water. (UNICEF)
- Twelve million people die each year from lack of safe drinking water, including more than 3 million who die from waterborne diseases. (World Bank)
Water Carrying Experiment
It was about 6:00 this evening and 24 hours since my last meal. I was ripe for dinner. I managed to go for 1.5 miles. While I do believe I could have walked farther, the decision to stop at 1.5 miles was a good one. Right now it’s nearly 1:00 a.m., and my arms are still shaky. Earlier I was debating with myself about carrying the five-gallon bottle and am very glad I decided against it. You can see snippets of this experiment for yourself. My husband was the videographer, and he took his job very seriously.
Click here for Part II, Part III, and Part IV of my Water Carrying Experiment. One day I’ll figure out how to play one after the other…just not today.
Dinner, a welcomed delight, consisted of potatoes and spinach in coconut milk sauce on rice. This was a remake of the past few nights – scrumptious. I actually ate mine faster than the husband ate his. Dinner (at least the eating part) happened so fast I barely remember it.
Today’s Nutritional Intake – weighing in at 112.5 pounds. My energy level today was about a five out of ten.
| Day 20 | |||||||||
| Food | amount | calories | fat | carbs | fiber | protein | sodium (mg) | sugars | K |
| Chai Tea | 12 oz | 192 | 4.25 | 30.5 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 65 | 25.5 | 0 |
| Coconut Milk | 1/3 Cup+ | 175 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 1.3 | 25 | 1.3 | |
| Brown Jasmine Rice | 1/4 Cup Dry | 170 | 1.5 | 35 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Potato | 1 | 278 | 0 | 63 | 7 | 7 | 30 | 4 | 600 |
| Spinach | 1 cup | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 200 |
| TOTAL | 822 | 22.75 | 133.5 | 10.75 | 14.05 | 144 | 30.8 | 800 |
CASF: Creating agriculture and food systems that sustain both human communities and the environments in which they live.
The mission of the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems (the Center) is to research, develop, and advance sustainable food and agricultural systems that are environmentally sound, economically viable, socially responsible, non-exploitative, and that serve as a foundation for future generations.
I had the fascinating learning opportunity to talk with Tim Galarneau, Assistant Specialist – Food Systems Education. This is a guy who knows his stuff. He gave me a tour of UCSC Farm and the Alan Chadwick Garden – both are internationally known sites for organic horticulture and agriculture. The Farm and Garden are training and research sites for schools, international interns, the public, and an apprenticeship program – all for the promotion of a sustainable future. CASF invests resources in community outreach and has an empowerment program for youth called Food What? that teaches teens to grow, cook, eat and distribute healthy sustainably raised food. Galarneau shared how the Center is planting the seeds of change.
I used a FlipVideo (a birthday/holiday gift from the husband last year) to tape my discussion with Tim Galarneau. Disclaimer: It is very clear from this video that I am no videographer or editor! I goofed. I was in dialogue with Tim while holding the camera. You’ll see by the end of Part II of this series that I clearly was not paying attention to composition as Tim’s head slowly fades off camera – sorry Tim! And yet, I still want to include the interview in this post, because I find Tim Galarneau to be incredibly articulate sharing his wealth of knowledge. This information, to me, is too valuable to omit, and I figure it would be easier to listen than to read 25 minutes of transcription. At one point you can only see the top of his head, and my suggestion is to simply listen and ignore my lack of videoing skills, kay? And, again, my apologies to Tim Galarneau that I didn’t do a better job! Maybe we could do a remake sometime?
Tim Galarneau on Hunger in the U.S.: sustainable farming, the U.S. food system, policy, inspiring organizations that are working towards eliminating hunger, and the Center’s Vision for food forward thinking.
Click here for Part II and Part III of my interview with Tim Galarneau.
Many thanks to Tim Galarneau for sharing your time and knowledge!
I end today’s post with two quotes.
Let every individual and institution now think and act as a responsible trustee of Earth, seeking choices in ecology, economics and ethics that will provide a sustainable future, eliminate pollution, poverty and violence, awaken the wonder of life and foster peaceful progress in the human adventure.
~John McConnell, founder of International Earth Day
If you tickle the earth with a
hoe she laughs with a harvest.
~Douglas William Jerrold
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 18
21 Days for World Hunger: Day 19
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
Kenda, originally from Pennsylvania, is now a self-proclaimed Santa Crustacean residing joyfully in Santa Cruz, California. Her undergraduate studies in Organizational Communication were at Penn State, and she received a Masters in Art Therapy Psychology at Notre Dame in Belmont, Ca.
Kenda spent ten years providing art therapy to high risk children – mostly children dealing with loss and grief issues. For the past eleven years, she has worked independently with diverse organizations as a staff and management development consultant and facilitator. Her blog Xtreme Customer Service www.xtremecustomerservice.blogspot.com focuses on solutions to interpersonal issues.
As the daughter of a former District Forrester, she learned at an early age the importance of conserving natural resources and caring for the earth. She plans to publish her first earth-friendly children’s book March 2011.
Kenda describes herself as vegan, an ever-evolving normal neurotic, a gardener, a painter, writer and photographer, a dog-lover, incredibly fortunate to have such a fantabulous husband and adorable step-daughter, and one who whole-heartedly appreciates wildlife and the awe-inspiring natural beauty provided by our earth.
