Before I go on talking about another aspect of how jokes are a form of art, I'd like to touch on something slightly more serious. In the previous post, I brought up a joke based on a fictional survey with a single question:
"Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world."
This topic deserves some attention, mainly since 16 October is Blog Action Day, and this year's topic of Blog Action day is FOOD. As basic as that may sound, food is still a very big problem in many countries, and not only in Africa and Asia. Households are starving even in developed countries with a roughly stable social balance. We could say that families like that have probably brought it on themselves by laziness, reckless spending etc, but I'm sure there are many families who, through a series of mishaps beyond their control, end up starving.
So, my question is: what can we, (not exactly rich folks, but people in financially acceptable situation) do to make a difference in this direction?
Setting up homeless shelters and such are good ideas, but that is far beyond our reach and possibilities. We technically can't afford to feed others like that. Some, again would argue, it wouldn't even be fair to us, and in most cases I'd agree with that.
One solution though that occurs to me several times every week is this: we throw away enormous amounts of food. When we buy a fresh loaf of bread, I'm sure most of us throw away the possibly quarter of a loaf left over, even though there's nothing wrong with it, but why eat in when we have a fresh loaf. I often throw away milk, sausages and similar things simply because I know we won't eat it. My parents' and my in-laws' dogs feast on sausages, but sometimes even chicken and pork. Anyone who has ever been at a wedding reception can guess how much food gets chucked out in restaurants. Somehow, it is painful to think that we do that, while others starve daily. So, what I see as a possible solution is this: find a way to direct our extra food (that we would throw away anyway) to those who really need it.
The easiest way to do it is to give it to beggars in the street. Now some may not want it. They'll say they need money. In that case, they probably need money for alcohol or other substances and then, I'm not sure how we could possibly help them. Or, you might be lucky enough to live in a town or in a country without beggars. Even though I find it hard to believe. Donate your extra to shelters or to a neighbour who might need it.
But the most effective way would be an organized system, which allows people to drop off extra food in special centres (which could be placed strategically in such a way that you pass them by as you go to work in the morning, because unfortunately, having to take one extra step will usually deter ordinary people from helping out.) People in need from each town or city could then access these centres to grab a bite. They could be asked to provide proof of their social situation and they should also satisfy some criteria defined by people wiser than me. Those who have no jobs could be asked to do minor community service (such as picking up litter, heaven knows we have plenty of that) or even run these centres themselves.
Obviously, this would be much more complicated to accomplish than it sounds, but I trust there are many smart people out there who would know how to do it. And even smarter people who could find a way to come up with a similar project to direct the tonnes of extra food from developed countries toward famine-stricken areas of the world.
Too naive? Maybe, but I would really like experts in economy to express their ideas about if and how something remotely similar is possible. Also, brilliant minds might come up with completely different, but possibly much better solutions. But we should get those brilliant minds thinking. Fast.
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