You think you're hungry and complain because you haven't got enough money to go large at McDonalds? Well, Ctrl.Alt.Shift has been tracking the food crisis, from Indonesia to Thailand, it’s a devastating issue that brings hunger, starvation and probable death to the forefront.
Indeed, the escalating prices in our fast-food nation must be of massive inconvenience to our earn or burn lifestyles. But while here in the UK the ever rocketing expense of food might be causing some pain and heartache, it's nothing compared to the struggle of the people battling with the ‘silent tsunami', a name given in the developing areas of Africa, Latin America and Asia where famine runs ragged.
When reading up on it, a project which caught my attention was Northern Aid, a national Non-Governmental Organisation targeting communities in Northern Kenya, most marginalised by historical, political and socio-economic factors.
Here are some words I found from Secure Livelihoods Officer Mohamed Adow depicting the suffering in Nairobi, Kenya:
“The food crisis is affecting everyone in Kenya, including my own family...
It is poor families who feel it the hardest; they already spend over 70% of their income on food."
Adow also talked about a 63 year-old man he knew who earns 80p a day which is all he has to support his family of three wives and 14 children, aged between two and 22 years old. They often go without food.
So next time you're deciding between Nandos or Pizza Hut (sorry Pasta Hut as it's soon to be called), imagine having to share that platter with a table of a dozen ravenous mouths. And remember, it wouldn't be a one off, but life.
In the words of Diogenes the Cynic, way back in 412 BC: "If only it was as easy to banish hunger by rubbing the belly as it is to masturbate."
Makes you think doesn't it.
Words: Dwain Lucktung. Assistant Editor, Ctrl.Alt.Shift.