What a bizarre world we live in.
Last week, I was watching Al Jazeera, where Riz Khan was interviewing Dr Rebecca Puhl, of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy. Now in my part of the world, when I see something like “Centre for Food Policy”, what crosses my mind are words like ‘hunger’, ‘agriculture’, ‘land access’ and ‘poverty’. But no, this institution’s full title is “Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity”, and Dr Puhl was talking about research on discrimination against, and stigmatisation of, obese people. (You can watch the interview on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eq6kK5NBCM&feature=user)
According to the centre’s research, many overweight people suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts because of how others treat them. It’s particularly bad for obese girls: the study showed that parents spend less on their education, and they are often denied entry into college.
The problem’s not only in America. In many other parts of the world, obesity is becoming an increasing problem.
And yet, at the same time, there’s increasing concern about people who are too thin. Also in the last week came the news that France is to pass a law making the act of promoting excessive thinness, a criminal offence. The French law is aimed at media and fashion circles, where excessive thinness is promoted as something to aspire to (http://timescorrespondents.typepad.com/charles_bremner/2008/04/frances-fondnes.html).
Meanwhile, in developing countries, food riots have been making headlines. Around the world, food prices have just about doubled in recent months, making it increasingly difficult for poor people to survive. One of the main contributors to food inflation is the increasing use of biofuels — many farmers have been switching from food crops to fuel-producing plants, thus causing food supplies to drop and prices to rise.
The problem is not that there’s not enough food to go around — it’s in the economics of food production and distribution. And poor people are far more vulnerable to food price hikes. In poor nations, people spend up to 80% of their disposable income on food, while in countries such as the US and Britain, the figure is somewhere between 10% and 20%. So for rich folk, food inflation is simply an inconvenience, while for others, it’s a matter of life and death.
Political analysts have long warned that high levels of economic inequality spell danger for democracy. Comparative historical research has shown that democracy lasts longer in countries where there are lower levels of inequality. And in South Africa, people like Professor Sampie Terreblanche (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampie_Terreblanche) have been warning for years that we are sitting on a time bomb — it’s just not sustainable to have enclaves of first world wealth, surrounded by extensive poverty.
The unions have already warned that we can expect food riots in South Africa in the near future. More and more poor people are struggling to put food on the table — but for the middle class nothing more than a little belt tightening is required. A street survey by The Times newspaper found that while middle class folk are cutting back on some luxuries, most don’t intend to sacrifice ‘necessities’ such as digital satellite TV subscriptions.
Of course, our politicians have seen the problem and are taking bold action to resolve it. Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel, has offered the helpful suggestion that we should all start growing our own fruit and vegetables.
It does seem criminal that some should be fighting off a glut, while others are starving. But nobody’s proposing a law that would compel the world’s politicians to put policies in place to wipe out hunger. No, it’s only a crime when the media and fashionistas persuade those who CAN afford plenty of food, not to eat it.
(This piece was first published on the Citizen Journalism in Africa portal: www.citizenjournalismafrica.org/blog/%5Buser%5D/17-apr-2008/801)
