Hummus

Midnight rolls around and I scramble to the fridge. My roommates were holding the fridge hostage until it was my time to consume. What comradery… Usually I have ideas or plans of what I want to cook due to my massive, daily cravings but it didn’t matter at that point. I ate hummus on a spoon. It was readily available. No judging. It was also really late and I didn’t want to throw off my eating schedule let alone my sleeping schedule so I just sat in bed eating hummus till I fell asleep.

24 hours of fasting doesn’t seem like a long time however yesterday felt like an extensive and trying day. It’s also mentally trying. Not being able to eat and knowing people can’t eat is a complete different feeling. I learned that I was a whimp. Some people don’t know where their next meal will come from (and sometimes for days) where as mine was in the fridge waiting. The unknown is the worst feeling.

I’ve always known about world hunger. You’re always told by your parents to finish your meal, don’t throw away wasted food, ect. What got me thinking was it’s not the “be a morally good person and don’t waste your food” feel but the “feed yourself and feed others” feel. As a sustainable agriculture major, I’ve heard big agriculture representatives ask me, “Well your major sounds great but how are you going to feed the world?” This is an overall frustrating question considering no one is feeding the world or at least feeding the world properly. It seems easy to say that considering when I was on my 24-hour fasting, I’d take any food no matter if a proper diet or healthy nutrient intake. But then again, it seems like a lot of people are left with no other choice, including people here in America. Almost like a vicious cycle. Look at the position we’re in! People are left with non-nutritional consumption due to food deserts and easy access to cheap, processed food. Is it coincidental that people are left with little choice of healthy food variety but one, large food company may have a major control over our diets?  The same control they can set forth in other countries with the American flag on the bag full of the American crop?