It is now day three of my world hunger journey. For this week I am going hungry to raise awareness about global food insecurity and the chronic hunger that affects 1 out of every 6 human beings on earth. Today I will turn my focus to Africa and share an interview with Dr. Ateneh Roba, the President of International Fund for Africa, an organization based on the principle of ahimsa, and committed to fighting poverty and hunger in Africa, as well as promoting a sustainable vegan diet.
For seven days I will eat only 1,000 calories a day. As you can imagine, after eating as much in the past three days as I usually eat in one day, I feel miserable. I’m exhausted; my whole body feels weak and frail. Picking up my two smallest dogs, 25 lbs each, is strenuous enough to require me to sit down and catch my breath afterward. Was it really just a few days ago that I was at the gym lifting heavy weights without much effort? How can a change this profound take hold so quickly? When I started this journey I expected to feel hungry and tired, but I didn’t expect to feel like this. I have only known this kind of weakness, and bone weary exhaustion, after a long bout of the flu, or other draining illness. Come to think of it, this reminds me of the time I had mono in high-school and for three weeks could hardly stay awake for longer than a few hours at a stretch.
I’m lucky that during this journey I can have as little or as much physical activity as I want. I work from home, primarily as a writer and a blogger, so if I don’t want to move too far from my couch, I don’t have to. At the beginning of the week I had naively assumed that I would feel antsy and miss my much loved daily hour at the gym. Just three days later and I am having trouble imagining that I ever felt so lively and full of energy. This change in how I feel is so much deeper than simple hunger, it isn’t just my stomach that is empty, it is my whole body. I feel like I am running on fumes, I have no internal resources to draw from, nothing to power me through the day. Rundown and weary, and I’m only halfway there. As always I am struck dumb by the fact that more than a billion people feel like this every single day. There are millions of people who have known only this feeling, who don’t have the luxury to imagine another way of life. For me, this experience of hunger is possible because of my privilege, for others it simply is the only thing possible.
Today I shift my focus to Africa and the widespread poverty and hunger that plagues the continent. Over 30 percent of Africa’s population, some 218 million people suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition, and the causes are as complex and varied as the continent itself. Just as Kenda Swartz Pepper did in her World Hunger Souljourn, I contacted Dr. Ateneh Roba, President and Founder of International Fund for Africa. IFA is an organization based on the principle of ahimsa (non-violence and respect for all life) and works to empower the people of Africa to combat poverty and hunger, while fighting for the rights of animals as well. It was such a pleasure for me to learn about the work of IFA and their commitment to improve the lives of humans and non-human animals, because in the struggle to fight human poverty the plight of animals is often seen as secondary and something that can be ignored until later.
Burge: The reasons for poverty in Africa are as complex and multifaceted as the continent itself, but in your specific work can you tell us what you find to be the main contributing factors to chronic poverty and hunger?
Dr. Roba: That is a politically loaded question. Before I try to respond to it, I would like to make a disclaimer. The views expressed by me are solely my views and not necessarily those of the International Fund for Africa.
At the risk of oversimplifying an extremely complex matter involving hundreds of millions of people and thousands of institutions, we can think of causes of poverty in Africa in two broad categories: external causes and internal causes. I will start with internal causes.
In my view, Africans affect Africans in ways that explain poverty in some instances. There is never-ending inter-ethnic, inter-tribal, and inter-religious conflict. Countries that can barely feed their people spend untold amounts of money acquiring armaments to fight neighboring countries over land or resources. In many African countries, ethnic groups fight each other for control of land or other resources, or fight for independence from the central government. The Congo, Ethiopia, and Sudan are good current examples – Nigeria in the 1960’s. Fighting drains the countries financially, making them unable to feed their people.
A second issue is government’s corruption. Officials siphon huge amounts of money from state treasuries to enrich themselves. Mobutu Seseko of Zaire reportedly stashed away two billion dollars or more in European banks. Some make sweetheart deals with transnational corporations to exploit their countries’ resources. The corporations drain resources out of the countries while native people to whom the resource-rich lands belong receive nothing. Shell Oil’s ravaging the Ogoni people in Nigeria is a case in point. Bankrupting the economies of poor countries leads to serious poverty and eventually to hunger.
Most people think corruption is by far the biggest problem causing poverty in Africa. It is a significant factor, but not the most important one, in my view. China is supposedly very corrupt, but its economic success is undeniable. Some countries can succeed economically, at least in the short term, even with corrupt leaders. This brings me to my main argument: that the main factor in Africa’s poverty is extrinsic.
Of the extrinsic factors, the most debilitating is the so-called structural adjustment policies imposed on African nations by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Also known as neo-liberal restructuring, structural adjustment emphasizes debt repayment, conservative macroeconomic management, large cutbacks in government spending, trade and financial liberalization, privatization, deregulation, and export-oriented production. Latin America and Asia also experience this problem.
Taking advantage of the Third World debt crisis, the World Bank and the IMF imposed structural adjustment in over 70 developing countries in the 1980s. Trade liberalization followed adjustment in the 1990s as the World Trade Organization (WTO), and later rich countries, imposed free-trade agreements. Countries that were poor exporters were reduced to being food importers. Haiti and the Philippines come to mind. In practically all structurally adjusted countries, trade liberalization wiped out huge swathes of industry. Countries with surpluses in agricultural trade became acquired deficits. By 2000, the number of people living in extreme poverty had increased globally by 28 million from the decade before. The number of poor increased in Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe, the Arab states – and sub-Saharan Africa. Reductions in poverty mainly occurred in China and other East Asian countries, which spurned structural-readjustment policies and trade liberalization.
Other external causes have been the support and protection afforded to despotic feudal African leaders who allow transnational corporations to exploit their countries and who transfer public monies into Swiss banks for their own personal use. The corollary to that is the forceful removal of enlightened leaders who are willing to serve their countries and stop chronic poverty via assassinations or forceful removal (coup d’etats). Examples are Patrick Lumumba of the Congo and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.
Another cause of poverty in some African countries is Western nations’ unrelenting drive to replace native crop seeds with genetically-modified (GM) seeds, to create dependency on GM seeds. This sets the stage for future famines.
There are other factors in hunger and chronic poverty in Africa, but I think those I have mentioned are the major ones.
Burge: It is a common misconception that hunger is caused by lack of food, or famine. How can we best demonstrate to people that it is actually a mismanagement of food resources and lack of equality that leads to chronic hunger?
Dr. Roba: I think the only way to do that is by using fact-based arguments to change people’s minds.
There is enough food to feed the world’s human population. The cause of hunger is not a lack of food. We feed 38 percent of the world’s grain crops, or more, to nonhuman animals, mostly to provide meat to people in the West. Seventy percent of U.S. grain is fed to factory-farm animals. Cattle consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people. The cause of hunger is not lack of food, but lack of political will and the indifference of those with influence. Forty percent of people in Brazil are hungry, and seven million children work as slaves or prostitutes. An estimated 20 percent of the population in the developed world consumes 86 percent of human-generated wealth. In other words, severe social injustice and inequality, more pronounced in poorer countries, lead to severe misdistribution of resources favoring the extremely wealthy. This impoverishes the have-nots, producing hunger and starvation.
Other factors include modern-day non-chattel slavery, child labor, and other economic tyranny. Less-unfair, less-unjust distribution of resources, a fair global economy, less inequality, and an end to meat could prevent 30 million human deaths each year from hunger, half of them children.
Burge: IFA promotes veganism throughout Africa, as a more sustainable method of feeding the population, a better choice for human health, and out of ethical consideration for the animals. Can you tell us about some of the hardships you have faced promoting the vegan diet in Africa, as well as some of your success stories?
Dr. Roba: To be honest, our efforts so far are limited to promoting veganism to interviews on local media outlets in Ethiopia, giving out brochures to vegetarian groups in West Africa, participating in vegetarian conferences in Africa like the one in Accra, Ghana, in October of 2009. We recently took part in the formation of the first Ethiopian Vegan Association in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and will be heavily promoting veganism in Ethiopia by holding seminars, festivals, and town-hall meetings, lobbying, and providing a lecture series on the health and environmental benefits of veganism.
I have some anecdotal evidence from my experience in promoting animal rights in Ethiopia. One of the major challenges we have encountered and will no doubt encounter in the future is the notion that we care more for nonhuman animals than for people. Or that we have a radical agenda, insisting on only fruits and vegetables in a country with serious food problems. The challenge is to show people that veganism means food security.
Our success so far is that our humanitarian and animal-rights activities connect animal rights to human rights. Our unwavering commitment to establishing constitutionally nonhuman animals’ moral rights and to promoting compassion for both humans and other animals makes people reconsider their views. We have persuaded some people to change from meat-eating to veganism or and from vegetarian to vegan.
Burge: You began IFA after a 2003 trip to your homeland of Ethiopia exposed you to the suffering of children dying needlessly from preventable illnesses. For many people living in affluent Western countries, this kind of tragedy seems remote and surreal. How can we work to raise awareness about the interconnectedness of all life and inspire people to take action in their own countries?
Dr. Roba: We must put ourselves out there and share our experience. We live in an information age. Those of us who bear witness to the suffering of others in distant lands must bring reality to the West through the Internet, seminars, town-hall meetings, radio, television, and other events and media. We must inspire others to act.
Burge: IFA was founded on the principle of ahimsa (non-violence and respect for all life) and works diligently to improve the lives of both humans and non-human animals. Can you explain why it was important to you that the plight of animals be central to IFA’s mission?
Dr. Roba: It is important to expose and ameliorate nonhuman-animal suffering because how we treat other animals mirrors oppression, domination, and exploitation of humans. I find Charles Patterson’s Eternal Treblinka helpful. Human domination of other animals for the past 10,000 years initiated hierarchical domination beyond the original human social structure and laid the groundwork for war, genocide, human slavery, patriarchy, and other violent and oppressive institutions. Violence against humans is clearly linked to violence against other animals. Pythagoras said, “As long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other.”
So for us it makes sense to fight for animal liberation because it is intimately linked to human liberation and it makes no sense fighting for one and not the other. Another reason we feel fighting for animal rights is essential because establishing rights of all animals will mean protecting those whose oppression is encouraged in every country. Every other form of discrimination against a perceived weaker group has been abolished at least on paper. Speciesism is universal, and the vast majority of sentient beings are viewed as property like inanimate objects, to be sold or bought, beaten, killed, mutilated at will by anyone, anytime, anywhere. Imagine trying to rationalize subjecting a black person to that anywhere today. Such mistreatment of any sentient being is unacceptable. We reject it – we embrace interspecies unity, nonviolence, and respect for all life.
Burge: Vegans are often accused of being elitist for promoting a plant-based diet by people who believe veganism is unrealistic and not possible for people dealing with poverty. Have you come across this attitude before, and how do you, or would you, deal with it?
Dr. Roba: To be honest, I have never been accused of being an elitist because I am vegan, but I have come across the argument that it is not practical and it is unrealistic and not natural. I came across such an argument when I tried to publish an article about ritual killings of bulls in South Africa. The editor of a progressive website objected to my article on the grounds that I advocated an end to meat consumption worldwide and he felt that was unrealistic, naïve, and not practical. Obviously, I tried to convince him otherwise, but I did not succeed, and my article was not posted.
I use logical arguments based on empirical facts to refute false and harmful assertions, insisting that people support their claims, no matter how popular. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes not, but I believe truth will prevail.
Burge: What do you think are thee things we can all do right now, wherever we are in the world and whatever our circumstances, to fight world hunger?
Dr. Roba: (1) Educate, educate, educate. Knowledge is power. One must arm oneself with knowledge and share it with others. We live in an information age, and we need to inform people of the true causes of world hunger and poverty. We should use all available avenues.
(2) As Mahatma Gandhi said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” Avoid practices that exacerbate poverty. Live simply so others may simply live.
(3) Help those in need in your community. Support organizations that strive to eliminate hunger and poverty. Demand political change, and support politicians who at least help fend off the worst injustices if they cannot embrace your agenda due to popular misconception. Challenge the status quo.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my views on such important matters. And if anyone one wants to learn more about the International Fund for Africa, visit www.ifundafrica.org and contact us anytime.
Burge: I am absolutely humbled by the scope of the challenge Dr. Roba and IFA have taken on, but I am grateful that there is an organization fighting injustice to humans and non-human animals and that recognizes the interconnectedness of all oppression. Thank you Dr. Roba for sharing your thoughts with us.
***
Day three is drawing to a close and I cheer myself with the knowledge that I’m about halfway to the end of this World Hunger Souljourn. I feel scattered and my mind can’t focus on one thing for more than a few minutes, which made writing this post a frustrating exercise in perseverance. Carrying on conversations is difficult, I forget what I just said or what was just said to me, and worst of all, I am becoming an insufferable grouch. Me a few hours late for lunch is not a pretty sight, me three days with barely any food is abominable.
I find myself desperately missing fresh fruit and vegetables, especially my typical green smoothie breakfast. I miss the crunch of a leafy green salad for lunch and I desperately miss the melty richness of dark chocolate, typically a several times a day snack. I have come to realize how incredibly varied my standard way of eating actually is. During a typical day I eat dozens of types of food, and there are dozens more that I could eat if I wanted to. This Souljourn has severely focused my diet onto just a few foods every day and while each meal is delicious, my taste-buds are never really satisfied.
My dinner tonight was a Liberian inspired dish of millet, black eyed peas, okra, onions and a bit of ginger. I lived in the beautiful but troubled West African country of Liberia for a short time when I was younger, and this meal reminded me of the dishes we enjoyed while there.
| Food Name | Amount | Calories | Fat (g) | Carbs (g) | Protein (g) |
| Millet | 2 cups | 414 | 3.5 | 82.4 | 12.2 |
| Black Eyed Peas | 1 cup | 209 | 4.7 | 36.4 | 5.7 |
| Onion | 1 cup | 115 | 9.4 | 6.8 | 0.8 |
| Okra | 1 cup | 81 | 4.4 | 9.6 | 3.6 |
| Ginger | 1 slice | 2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Olive Oil | 1 Tbsp | 119 | 13.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Total Calories: 941
Total Fat: 35.5
Total Carbohydrates: 135.6
Total Protein: 22.4
To support the organizations I write about in this 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
Natasha’s World Hunger Journey
7 Days for World Hunger: Day 1
7 Days for World Hunger: Day 2
7 Days for World Hunger: Day 4
7 Days for World Hunger: Day 5
7 Days for World Hunger: Day 6
7 Days for World Hunger: Day 7
To follow Kenda Swartz Pepper’s World Hunger 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 20
21 Days for World Hunger: Day 21
Solutions for World Hunger: Part I
Solutions for World Hunger: Part II
Sustainable giving programs dedicated to providing solutions that help eliminate poverty and world hunger.
Natasha is a 3rd generation expat, born and raised in Saudi Arabia, where she currently lives with her husband and herd of rescue animals. She considers herself a global citizen, having found the essence of home in more than 40 countries, although she never feels more comfortable than when she is on the road traveling. A political scientist educated in the United States, she returned to the Middle East 3 years ago to work on women's rights issues and create feminist empowerment workshops for young women attending university.
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As an individual from an African country, Ethiopia, I appreciated your observations, analysis and the content of the paper.
Globalsiation has just aggravated on what has existed in countries like Ethiopia. Because poor coutries like Ethiopia have ever had poor government adminstration and policies which have affected all developement in general. First and for all, there are poor policies and no democracy, no transparency in the governemnet systems and governace. The regiuem is composed of mainly certain ethenic or, one-sector party system which is a totaliterian dictator. They makes the policies, they use the use it, and they control it by them selves.
As to the globalisation, it is more devasteting and has aggraveted the mismanagement, disparity between the poor and the rich, and corruption processes. One of several examples, to day, in Ethiopia land is simply leased for 100 years for some investor from other countries only for cheap money on the expenses of poor people. The investors pay only a small money for the land, the meager water, fertility, labour and infrastructure. And yet the money is not for the poor people. It is uesd by the regime’s personnel who are only selling the land without the permision, without any compensation or other negotiations with thge small-sacle poor farmers.
So, Globalisation is a general policy framework for the rich groups or counbtries, but aggraves and has aggravated problems on the poor and disadvantaged groups, especially in Ethiopia. I think, the IMF, the World bank and other doners must analyse for what they are using to send money to the poor farmers i addition to this poliy framework. It does not at all favor developement in countries like Ethiopia where huge amount of money is being send every year. The dectators say, they are growing, because they have to sustain their incom or sources of money. If there is negative change in their report, then there will be no money from the doners!! Ethiopians know very well but difficult to voice the message.
Please people like youy and other who observ must do some thing to address the problems in all possible ways!
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Thank you so much for this wonderful comment, Benti. It is great to hear your point of view on this subject, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’m so glad you pointed out how these policies aggravate the disparity between the rich and the poor – so true! And I agree completely, globalization seems custom made to help the wealthy countries while not doing much to improve the lives of those living in poverty in the developing world. This is a crisis that must be stopped before we can see any improvement in world poverty or chronic hunger. Thank you for your comment!
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[...] Comments The Voracious Vegan Goes Hungry – Day 1: Hungry for a Cause | Conducive Chronicle on World Hunger Journey – Day 3: AfricaThe Voracious Vegan Goes Hungry – Day 1: Hungry for a Cause | Conducive Chronicle on Souljourn [...]
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Excellent Tasha! Three cheers to you and Dr. Roba!
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Thank you very much, Kenda. And thank you for introducing me and so many other people to IFA and the work that they do. What an amazing organization!
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About time that someone with a brain started doing something that promoted sustainable living in these countries rather than trying to promote meat production, which is much more unhealthy, more complicated and bad for the environment. Yea to these people!
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Thank you for your comment, Lauren. I, too, was thrilled to learn about IFA and the unique work they do. Let’s hope more organizations follow suit!
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[...] of the world hunger journey. I took the leftover millet, okra, and black eyed peas I had enjoyed on Day 3 and added a yellow bell pepper for crunch. It was delicious, but I’d be lying if I said my [...]
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[...] of the world hunger journey. I took the leftover millet, okra, and black eyed peas I had enjoyed on Day 3 and added a yellow bell pepper for crunch. It was delicious, but I’d be lying if I said my taste [...]
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i feel very sorry for all of u and wish i could help
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I have no clue why google sent me here but I might as well say I have been certainly fascinated by the blog content you have sourced together. How many month did it take that many people to your blog pages? I am very new to this interenet thing.
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[...] Day 3 – Africa [...]
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