Food Security in 2014

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVcBO3qssUcXD9E9YO8I7fZLQY2x3JEl3D8uJ0VXvTfehVDhfe7idhjxsTibnA5cUHhZXVyePPiwNAjgb2G3IBCdyj9EPqC0zSE2CrkhsQ7ocUJlkY1JmfQAlW5qkMsV6I8CameKBYm8R/s1600/Percentage_population_undernourished_world_map.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVcBO3qssUcXD9E9YO8I7fZLQY2x3JEl3D8uJ0VXvTfehVDhfe7idhjxsTibnA5cUHhZXVyePPiwNAjgb2G3IBCdyj9EPqC0zSE2CrkhsQ7ocUJlkY1JmfQAlW5qkMsV6I8CameKBYm8R/s1600/Percentage_population_undernourished_world_map.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Percent of population that is undernourished, 2012 data -- Wikipedia</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">Thinking of the grim topic of hunger throughout the world, I have been trying to read about food security and insecurity in the coming year -- a very broad topic. Discussions of inequality in our own society often touch on the consequence, for the poorest Americans, of having too little food and on the political motivation that causes much of the hunger in America. Throughout the world, both climate change and population growth are already affecting food supplies in many areas. Wars and conflicts also can drastically change the distribution of food, as when a dominant group oppresses its traditional or new opponents. Certain conflicts, like those in the horn of Africa and Syria, in fact, may themselves have origins in declining supplies of food and other resources.<br /><br />Hunger will continue to be widespread in 2014, and growing: "the reality [is] that by 2050, the world will likely have another two billion mouths to feed and face an estimated 70 percent increase in global food demand." <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/05/the-upside-of-frankenfood-can-gm-crops-reduce-global-food-insecurity/256809/">source</a>  </div><br />First, what is food security? A useful and frequently cited definition from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life." <a href="http://www.philstar.com/business/2014/01/05/1275175/yearender-asean-economic-community-play-major-role-sea-food-security">source</a> <a href="http://www.sustainabletable.org/280/food-security-food-access">source</a></blockquote>Who are the insecure in the US, and why are they suffering in a country that seems so prosperous? Changes to government aid to the poor (such as reductions in SNAP benefits, formerly called food stamps) are a major reason why the poorest people in America are losing ground in the struggle for food security. Poor people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds are suffering; here is one example:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"Even though a large percentage of American Indians receive SNAP benefits, current data suggests that a large percentage of American Indians are food insecure. ... In total, roughly 22 percent of American Indians do not have sufficient food maintain healthy lives." <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/11/04/snatching-food-mouths-babies-snap-cuts">source</a></blockquote>Who are the insecure outside the US? Almost every Asian and African country suffers from the threat of food insecurity. Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, the Phillipines, North African and sub-Saharan countries, and many others have been the subject of recent news articles about hunger.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"'We should expect much more political destabilisation of countries ...,' says Richard Choularton, a policy officer in the UN's World Food Programme climate change office. 'What is different now from 20 years ago is that far more people are living in places with a higher climatic risk; 650 million people now live in arid or semi-arid areas where floods and droughts and price shocks are expected to have the most impact. </blockquote><blockquote>''The recent crises in the Horn of Africa and Sahel may be becoming the new normal. Droughts are expected to become more frequent. Studies suggest anything up to 200 million more food-insecure people by 2050 or an additional 24 million malnourished children. In parts of Africa we already have a protracted and growing humanitarian disaster. Climate change is a creeping disaster.' he said." <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/13/climate-change-threat-food-supplies">source</a></blockquote>What are some of the consequences of this widespread disaster? In the underdeveloped world, the consequences are simple to grasp: many children and adults tragically starve to death; others experience terrible suffering.<br /><br />In the US, things aren't quite as grim, but there are consequences. Two examples:<br /><blockquote>"In the US, chronic food insecurity has been documented to lead to, paradoxically, obesity, especially in women and girls. One theory as to why food insecurity leads to obesity is that episodic periods of food insecurity cause the sufferer to overeat in an attempt by the body to recoup missing calories. The type of food consumed in food insecure households may be another factor: high calorie food made from commodity crops (e.g., fast food and 'junk' food) is often cheaper and easier to access than healthful food with high nutritional value." <a href="http://www.sustainabletable.org/280/food-security-food-access">source</a></blockquote><blockquote>"Poor people with diabetes [in the US] are significantly more likely to go to the hospital for dangerously low blood sugar at the end of the month when food budgets are tight than at the beginning of the month, a new study has found." <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/07/health/study-finds-more-diabetic-hospital-visits-when-food-budgets-dip.html?hpw&rref=health">source</a></blockquote> The subject of food security is broad and complex. I have excerpted just a few quotations to try to grasp the breadth of the problem.

Food Security in 2014

Percent of population that is undernourished, 2012 data -- WikipediaThinking of the grim topic of hunger throughout the world, I have been trying to read about food security and insecurity in the coming year -- a very broad topic. Discussions of inequality in our own society often touch on the conse…

Baca selengkapnya »

Wordless Wednesday: How the Squirrel Defeats the Bird Feeder

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmBi1_fB6taRq3zlAxUI7k_pVMCYB0mMuBOFfOf1OK2ScPrY7yA0GM-ngMRiflNOYpVBDxyDNyFnudRe7QRf11LdtfeRAVQA1lNl5C-kg_cBpuEFrgL8o6mUTVFbBCohBfBnIfaiuNGqD/s1600/squirrel2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmBi1_fB6taRq3zlAxUI7k_pVMCYB0mMuBOFfOf1OK2ScPrY7yA0GM-ngMRiflNOYpVBDxyDNyFnudRe7QRf11LdtfeRAVQA1lNl5C-kg_cBpuEFrgL8o6mUTVFbBCohBfBnIfaiuNGqD/s1600/squirrel2.jpg" width="314" /></a></div><br />

Wordless Wednesday: How the Squirrel Defeats the Bird Feeder

…

Baca selengkapnya »

Wordless Wednesday: A Photo of Dessert

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJCNm7fRcn4BOH9_4FlY0-3ENB1JsQsF-sZiMIbmYJaV7C0qPjojDr5gh1YnjWAs4IZLQbIg9rwcgFyeZzgGviLr3jjsm4UWmRLtoHjvQVJDaJpm26GryOVXqH4Lyw1XHvp3qYJLmkfqA/s1600/dessert-photo5718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJCNm7fRcn4BOH9_4FlY0-3ENB1JsQsF-sZiMIbmYJaV7C0qPjojDr5gh1YnjWAs4IZLQbIg9rwcgFyeZzgGviLr3jjsm4UWmRLtoHjvQVJDaJpm26GryOVXqH4Lyw1XHvp3qYJLmkfqA/s1600/dessert-photo5718.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />

Wordless Wednesday: A Photo of Dessert

…

Baca selengkapnya »

Goodbye, Sunshine

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gQR-nzXWy6a0yX4TLhD8zTwNAdSQ1jZ3tkcH1fpMgjm8K2JJSexdeEQ2Woz-SK1omouSRSdbVuTETdoc1hyphenhyphen5piZaZsNF2Ma5ykRqNkjWO7Inh2aaxrWecZOszNj2lDTqOMInMcIiVkcv/s1600/in-n-out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gQR-nzXWy6a0yX4TLhD8zTwNAdSQ1jZ3tkcH1fpMgjm8K2JJSexdeEQ2Woz-SK1omouSRSdbVuTETdoc1hyphenhyphen5piZaZsNF2Ma5ykRqNkjWO7Inh2aaxrWecZOszNj2lDTqOMInMcIiVkcv/s640/in-n-out.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In-N-Out Burger, Carlsbad, California</td></tr></tbody></table>After a glorious sunny morning in Del Mar, California, yesterday, the six of us checked out of our motel and headed north. We stopped just up the freeway in Carlsbad for our last cultural experience: lunch at In-N-Out Burger. We seem to agree that it's a good burger -- though maybe not quite up to the hype and poetry that it sometimes inspires.<div><br /></div><div>By the time we drove up to our airport hotel near LAX, we had lost the good weather: fog or smog now obscured the blue skies we had enjoyed for 10 days. We said our goodbyes to each other and to California in the evening, preparing to fly back to our separate homes early in the morning. It was still dark when the shuttle dropped us at the airport this morning, so I don't know what the LA weather is today.<div><br /></div><div>We arrived back in Ann Arbor happy with our experience of on-time flights and good luck with lines in the airports. As soon as we got home we had to shovel the snow out of our driveway and get over to Whole Foods to stock up the house in anticipation of a predicted storm that's supposed to drop more and more snow (though the predictions are currently being moderated). So many people had the same idea that there were empty shelves and depleted supplies at the store. But we're ready for whatever storm comes our way tomorrow.<br /><br /></div></div>

Goodbye, Sunshine

In-N-Out Burger, Carlsbad, CaliforniaAfter a glorious sunny morning in Del Mar, California, yesterday, the six of us checked out of our motel and headed north. We stopped just up the freeway in Carlsbad for our last cultural experience: lunch at In-N-Out Burger. We seem to agree that it's a good bur…

Baca selengkapnya »

Happy New Year

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sunset on the first evening of the year in Del Mar, California:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSiZks55AzDto4r_607Bxdl0UybnEHcugTbEvxKdPIO7hABeV1E55J8W2mVRCieICaYKZB32swK3zVr3kWEqP7HCn924WjuHhYWpqSKo8UbpCbgB9ooH9c1dzdRoS8FGkLgjlaJA5WOT_/s1600/happy_new_year+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSiZks55AzDto4r_607Bxdl0UybnEHcugTbEvxKdPIO7hABeV1E55J8W2mVRCieICaYKZB32swK3zVr3kWEqP7HCn924WjuHhYWpqSKo8UbpCbgB9ooH9c1dzdRoS8FGkLgjlaJA5WOT_/s400/happy_new_year+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDrbA8T7ib5pgCm3i-T0EGmjcESlm-nWkmHBEoJ_KS7Lq6kqISy48dxooXitBKx8hQDK3FHl45sn6BephjLQd0BlrIFm0jE8zTv5iZUIbr8_C8rQlpO_eHueGDtTrAIrQE8rkH7IdNDr2/s1600/happy_new_year+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDrbA8T7ib5pgCm3i-T0EGmjcESlm-nWkmHBEoJ_KS7Lq6kqISy48dxooXitBKx8hQDK3FHl45sn6BephjLQd0BlrIFm0jE8zTv5iZUIbr8_C8rQlpO_eHueGDtTrAIrQE8rkH7IdNDr2/s400/happy_new_year+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW1A5MULBDm2f6JyzKdYVqk-CKOO7jcFrgtMr3eb87Pc4ccy13AvDyCzN_lUQ8IcdEWiLSdhQp4Na6lioHCB6DcJMwvkJizNRuo-l0ON_1VaKBXnJtG0eUlsMpvldiNoS_ehLsXMN1vMFA/s1600/happy_new_year+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW1A5MULBDm2f6JyzKdYVqk-CKOO7jcFrgtMr3eb87Pc4ccy13AvDyCzN_lUQ8IcdEWiLSdhQp4Na6lioHCB6DcJMwvkJizNRuo-l0ON_1VaKBXnJtG0eUlsMpvldiNoS_ehLsXMN1vMFA/s400/happy_new_year+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBL7meS3apURERXN-Ws4i1onBhikgvmtnmyBWKwiG1KDwRMSG1gdQO9NJXXYR-VeOZTStZpgh-3BtXW6pIARa62Kyu0FZvNy_1bpXSQTJdz3gOBoY6OpxSspSE7pJAK2KS1KycoD2WvwKj/s1600/happy_new_year+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBL7meS3apURERXN-Ws4i1onBhikgvmtnmyBWKwiG1KDwRMSG1gdQO9NJXXYR-VeOZTStZpgh-3BtXW6pIARa62Kyu0FZvNy_1bpXSQTJdz3gOBoY6OpxSspSE7pJAK2KS1KycoD2WvwKj/s400/happy_new_year+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBv1ZfI1vwv5opJqwUYWR7opKH-ZVZlq-PXl5EDuVttbv3vivgv92Zk95PQt07gGS9iA5CwLcYQHy2Qk5_LbnoY4s9QtvttIohJ6Cal2ij-RzyH6_xPfQNJmemORWUM1hqKsrViO-4IcW/s1600/happy_new_year+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBv1ZfI1vwv5opJqwUYWR7opKH-ZVZlq-PXl5EDuVttbv3vivgv92Zk95PQt07gGS9iA5CwLcYQHy2Qk5_LbnoY4s9QtvttIohJ6Cal2ij-RzyH6_xPfQNJmemORWUM1hqKsrViO-4IcW/s400/happy_new_year+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzjLL7t-LeYNIlmQ0sFem0a8PPcqi_sWsyRiVeq_mBVDCTyGqLQgoKC0XqEB1n4ReMUzOQSe39549SSKzN4NPQhgIcrAWprIlLlZ8gK_z1PjfYKk1YCX3_20JY97tCXQQfjZtG9Hw2Bgv5/s1600/happy_new_year+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzjLL7t-LeYNIlmQ0sFem0a8PPcqi_sWsyRiVeq_mBVDCTyGqLQgoKC0XqEB1n4ReMUzOQSe39549SSKzN4NPQhgIcrAWprIlLlZ8gK_z1PjfYKk1YCX3_20JY97tCXQQfjZtG9Hw2Bgv5/s640/happy_new_year+6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... and dinner at Barbarella in La Jolla<br />(behind the bar a sculpture by Nikki de Saint Phalle)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />

Happy New Year

Sunset on the first evening of the year in Del Mar, California:... and dinner at Barbarella in La Jolla(behind the bar a sculpture by Nikki de Saint Phalle)…

Baca selengkapnya »

Fajitas!

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GR7OI3iXla017IWz1-lOTo4Q7wL9jS0FHHrRwpDxRkCryVtapsKthhIjcSU45YEtgEMkRFiXyVsSpXbmFe5KHjRLd6dBj6hQQAXEmqo_z3fHygjUedp6m-kJ-dqLjMv_P4zMnZVahJJC/s1600/del_mar+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GR7OI3iXla017IWz1-lOTo4Q7wL9jS0FHHrRwpDxRkCryVtapsKthhIjcSU45YEtgEMkRFiXyVsSpXbmFe5KHjRLd6dBj6hQQAXEmqo_z3fHygjUedp6m-kJ-dqLjMv_P4zMnZVahJJC/s640/del_mar+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At En Fuego, Del Mar, California<br />The delicious aroma of fresh warm chips and hot salsa!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />

Fajitas!

At En Fuego, Del Mar, CaliforniaThe delicious aroma of fresh warm chips and hot salsa!…

Baca selengkapnya »

Guacamole

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj549R7LCpSZxFMKqpUtmebw6T84QIvk8YiVMm90sT7KsiWqBrN5og9NmDBiC0oLEOJbgpKlncb5ZkWUGkCm3EGNJdw0HSgW3PzeEhXyX66qVQwq9mOUy1VMJ5kVJbZoF_hbW2tlO9dJ30N/s1600/guac5311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj549R7LCpSZxFMKqpUtmebw6T84QIvk8YiVMm90sT7KsiWqBrN5og9NmDBiC0oLEOJbgpKlncb5ZkWUGkCm3EGNJdw0HSgW3PzeEhXyX66qVQwq9mOUy1VMJ5kVJbZoF_hbW2tlO9dJ30N/s640/guac5311.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At <a href="http://www.rosamexicano.com/index.php">Rosa Mexicano</a> (that's a glove that the guacamole chef used to keep it pure)</td></tr></tbody></table>After a beautiful day at the Getty Center, we had a delicious dinner: crab enchiladas, duck in tortillas, fish tacos, carne asada, salmon in mole, shrimp skewers. Some of us found it a little too hot. I loved my duck!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuErfM_T2NUHo9q9xmZsmsKFG9_Suj2ifFGzzO6V6a7U-rzlPifQA4MIlWgVdjQpT1F5wBM8XjXu-qhXARo3pra4TYaOBs-oGV-8UNI_55IhuyvfilAbrUcuHLLFy_YGrBaxkexpeEpucb/s1600/guac5314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuErfM_T2NUHo9q9xmZsmsKFG9_Suj2ifFGzzO6V6a7U-rzlPifQA4MIlWgVdjQpT1F5wBM8XjXu-qhXARo3pra4TYaOBs-oGV-8UNI_55IhuyvfilAbrUcuHLLFy_YGrBaxkexpeEpucb/s400/guac5314.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />

Guacamole

At Rosa Mexicano (that's a glove that the guacamole chef used to keep it pure)After a beautiful day at the Getty Center, we had a delicious dinner: crab enchiladas, duck in tortillas, fish tacos, carne asada, salmon in mole, shrimp skewers. Some of us found it a little too hot. I loved my duck!…

Baca selengkapnya »