Feeding The World

Catastrophes are everywhere, sadly. Unfortunately, we just experienced hurricane Sandy here in NYC. It was brutal, to say the least. (I will post more on this later.) But there are more than just natural disasters claiming people's lives. In Niger, nearly one in two children is malnourished. And worse, one in six dies before reaching the age of five. Heart breaking. That is just one story of many.

While I am unbelievably grateful that I am able to provide my own child with wholesome and nourishing food, not every parent is so fortunate. Many families around the world feed their families on just pennies a day and often are not able to provide many nutritious foods. Farmers are struggling to stay afloat and more and more food is being thrown away in the US every day. These are all things we hear about but more of us need to take action.

Not too long ago, Oxfam contacted me to speak out about their GROW method campaign. 

Seems simple enough right? Now there is no giveaway this time. No prize on the blog for most food reduction. There is no donations to make. Your actions speak for themselves. Not convinced? Here are some more facts:

• If your family eats meatless one day a week you save the equivalent of 17 bathtubs of clean water.

• 8% of the WORLD’s clean water goes toward meat production. That is a lot to people who have 0% water  daily. Think about that.

• If Americans living in Urban areas bought just 2 Fair Trade chocolate bars a month, you would benefit 30,000 small scale cocoa farmers. Isn't that enough incentive?

• In the US alone we throw 27 million apples in the trash a year. 1/3 of our plates every day goes to waste. Imagine how many people could eat on what we throw in our trash. This is why shopping smarter helps more than just farmers.

Now I challenge you to take steps to help feed the world. Sounds a little daunting, huh? It doesn't have to be. Here is an easy discussion guide. And here is more info on what else you can do.
Food is something all of us think about several times a day. What will he have for lunch? What snacks should I pack in my child's lunch box? Take a step back and think about having those options taken away from you. That's how life is for millions of people. Think about that.




This post (and my sharing on social media) was inspired by my participation in a compensated program initiated by Women Online/The Mission List to raise awareness about Oxfam America's GROW Method. All commentary and opinions are, of course, my own.