Monday, January 3, 2011

Hunger and Obesity

A few years ago while I was in Kenya, I came across an unusual challenge: how do I explain the word "diet" to deaf children in a third world country? I had picked up enough Kenyan sign language to get around, but this challenge was a cultural one. The small lunch room had just released it's guests and the kids at the school had noticed that some of the American girls didn't eat much of their lunch. I did my best to explain that in my country there is so much food that we have to be careful about what and how much we eat. I could tell from the expression on their faces that they weren't getting it. It was a very expansive moment for me.

Ellen Gustafson has also noticed this global inequality. She's done some great work to further understanding about the link between hunger, obesity and the global food issues that we face. Her story is worth listening to.