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46: Soba for $1.01 (BLOG ACTION DAY)
With our economy in crisis I'm sure everyone has thought about how it will affect them and what poverty even means.
It is Blog Action Day today. A chance to spread the message about poverty. I know I'm not the best person to be discussing this since today for lunch I had duck breast with sweet potato frittata and brioche bread and butter pudding with coconut gelato for lunch. Did you know that extreme poverty is defined by living on less than $1 a day? I can't imagine $1 buying enough food to feed one person for a day let alone all the things I seem to require in order to live. And moderate poverty is defined by living on $2 a day. It is hard to imagine that the difference between the two is only $1.
During times of famine it is basic foods such as corn, potato and rice that are essential for survival. My dad used to say he thought eating rice with tea or soy sauce was a luxury. I don't think I ever really believed him.
I calculated the cost of this meal I just had excluding the cost of the bowl, cooking utensils, water or gas that was required for cooking. Pack of soba noodles ($3.20/6 = $0.53), soy sauce (14/700*$2.70 = $0.05), sugar ($0.01), chicken broth ($2.50/6 = $0.42). In total that's $1.01 for two tiny bowls of soba with no meat or vegetables, just the bare minimum. To think that one dollar could bring someone out of extreme poverty is very heartbreaking. Especially when I couldn't feed myself on $1 for dinner (unless I ate a pack of instant noodles).
The United Nations estimates that 854 million people are hungry every day. There are currently more than 6.6 billion people in the world. That means for every 8 to 9 people, 1 person goes hungry. Maybe the problem is too big for one person. Instead why not find 6 friends to help you go out there and make a difference to one person's life. The cost of sponsoring a child so that they can recieve a tertiary education is $2000 a year. Which is $0.80/day if you happen to have 6 friends. That is most likely to be the amount sitting in the bottom of a handbag you never use or the amount hiding between the couch cushions. I am not preaching because I have no moral high ground to stand on. I just feel it's a problem too small for one person and to say you're going to donate $20 is not a long term solution.
In this time of economic crisis many of us are going to start adopting a much more frugal way of life. We will probably not rush out to buy a Chanel handbag or a huge plasma TV screen. But how many of us are worried about what will happen when we have no money for food? I can imagine not owning material objects, but I have never considered the possibility of not having any food. The hunger problem is not just about not having enough money for food. With the erratic global climate the possibility that we will run out of food is also likely. But that's another problem for another day.
Just some of the sites you can visit to make a difference:
Smith Family,Oxfam,World Vision
It is Blog Action Day today. A chance to spread the message about poverty. I know I'm not the best person to be discussing this since today for lunch I had duck breast with sweet potato frittata and brioche bread and butter pudding with coconut gelato for lunch. Did you know that extreme poverty is defined by living on less than $1 a day? I can't imagine $1 buying enough food to feed one person for a day let alone all the things I seem to require in order to live. And moderate poverty is defined by living on $2 a day. It is hard to imagine that the difference between the two is only $1.
During times of famine it is basic foods such as corn, potato and rice that are essential for survival. My dad used to say he thought eating rice with tea or soy sauce was a luxury. I don't think I ever really believed him.
I calculated the cost of this meal I just had excluding the cost of the bowl, cooking utensils, water or gas that was required for cooking. Pack of soba noodles ($3.20/6 = $0.53), soy sauce (14/700*$2.70 = $0.05), sugar ($0.01), chicken broth ($2.50/6 = $0.42). In total that's $1.01 for two tiny bowls of soba with no meat or vegetables, just the bare minimum. To think that one dollar could bring someone out of extreme poverty is very heartbreaking. Especially when I couldn't feed myself on $1 for dinner (unless I ate a pack of instant noodles).
The United Nations estimates that 854 million people are hungry every day. There are currently more than 6.6 billion people in the world. That means for every 8 to 9 people, 1 person goes hungry. Maybe the problem is too big for one person. Instead why not find 6 friends to help you go out there and make a difference to one person's life. The cost of sponsoring a child so that they can recieve a tertiary education is $2000 a year. Which is $0.80/day if you happen to have 6 friends. That is most likely to be the amount sitting in the bottom of a handbag you never use or the amount hiding between the couch cushions. I am not preaching because I have no moral high ground to stand on. I just feel it's a problem too small for one person and to say you're going to donate $20 is not a long term solution.
In this time of economic crisis many of us are going to start adopting a much more frugal way of life. We will probably not rush out to buy a Chanel handbag or a huge plasma TV screen. But how many of us are worried about what will happen when we have no money for food? I can imagine not owning material objects, but I have never considered the possibility of not having any food. The hunger problem is not just about not having enough money for food. With the erratic global climate the possibility that we will run out of food is also likely. But that's another problem for another day.
Just some of the sites you can visit to make a difference:
Smith Family,Oxfam,World Vision