Cause of hunger?

[Sibling Chatty]

According to Common Dreams: Injustice

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1017-01.htm

Oct. 16 was established as World Food Day in 1979 by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), commemorating the agency's Oct. 16, 1945 founding date. Monday also marked the first day of Anti-Poverty Week, which will include events in Spain and around the world to raise awareness of the issue.

...six million children a year die of hunger, which is responsible for half of all deaths of children under five. In addition, many children who survive hunger and malnutrition suffer disabilities for the rest of their lives.

Maybe it's time to rethink the whole 'foreign aid' thing, and quit giving some countries arms, and start giving more countries food. Or helping them grow food. (Not genetically modified stuff that can't produce the next year's seed, either, and make sure the Big Agra's pesticides that kill off all crops but their own are banned as well.)

[Opsa]

Maybe we as a group can help. Aggie was thinking of re-starting the Million Noodle March here. Should we change the title to reflect the HOT?

[Aggie]

Definitely.  I was also thinking that perhaps we should focus less on individual achievement here, and have anyone making donations or volunteering PM in their contributions, and we'd just report on the totals.  More humble that way.  If anyone cares to do some research into EFFECTIVE organizations that could be donated to or volunteered with, please post them here.

I'm not sure on a name for our movement, though, but I think it's critically important for the Toadfish to establish charitable acts. 

[Sibling Chatty]

HOT Meals.

Not a noodle necessisarily...beans, rice, tinned meats and fish, or fresh if your foodbanks accept it.

Cereals, baby food, even cleaning supplies and bath products in some places. (After my last round of allergies, the local food bank where we used to live was delighted to get a huge box with all the excess good facial soaps and lotions that I couldn't use anymore. Buying by the case at Sam's saved me nothing, becouse I couldn't use the stuff, but it was appreciated by the recipients.)

www.wjfb.org/about_us.htm

[anthrobabe]

HOT meals
I like that


lots of our school counselors here in AR make up backpacks for kids that are in need and send them home with them on Fridays-filled with easy to micro foods,ready to eat foods that need no refridgeration, juice packs,shelf stable soy and organic milk pouches and such so the kids have something to eat on the weekends.

here is something to think about...
every year in the world enough grain is grown to provide everyone (man,woman and child) on the planet with like 2.36 pounds a day-- but most of the grain grown is used to feed animals which will then be consumed by less than 10% of the worlds population-- and I will do my best to search for the correct link, and I have parapharased some - I used to have it but for now I do remember it is from WHY and here is a starter link for them
http://www.worldhungeryear.org/info_center/just_facts.asp

[Opsa]

That, my friend, is one of the reasons I became a vegetarian.

I love the idea of HOT meals as a banner for the Toadfish Monastery food drive. Brilliant, Sibling Chatty. Let's start a new thread.

[Aggie]

And a reason I need to start hunting again (as long as the masses don't all do it, it's more environmentally responsible than eating feedlot meat).

Water resources will become a factor too... I should try google up the stats on how much water is required per pound of food (broken down by type of meat or carb-source); beef is astoundingly wasteful.  Chicken and taters are top for water conservation.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Water resources will become a factor too...

water is only a problem because we do not have the will to use it wisely.

Facts are, water is totally recyclable. Even "used" water can be re-converted into drinking quality water, easily enough.

Sea water is very easy to convert, especially for equatorial countries -- solar-water distillers are very cost-effective, very efficient, and once constructed, cost very little to operate.  And, there is a salable by-product: sea-salt.

Some have suggested converting the oil piplines into fresh-water pipelines, pumping converted sea-water into the interior regions.

The only reason water is an issue, is because we don't have the will to deal with it rationally - we've had the technology to make a surplus of fresh water for years.  We just don't have the will to implement it (rather spend the $$ on other things, like new pocket-linings for politicians.  You know the kind I mean:  those pocket-linings made up of $1,000 bills? )