Food for Thought

I'm reading a fascinating book right now, called Food and Fuel: Solutions for the Future. It contains chapters from various smart sounding people writing about energy and food scarcity. I won't deny that some of it is above my head and I may have skipped a few chapters to the ones that actually interest me, but I am really enjoying what I am reading.

The chapter that spurred my thoughts the most so far is called "Diet for a Smaller Planet: Real Sources of Abundance." I know enough to feel guilty every time I have to throw mushy food away, thinking of all the starving people in the world. This chapter really hit home though, on just how big the gap is between the hungry and the over fed, all over the world. Some of my favourite quotes:

"Most glaring of all is that our food crisis is not a crisis of scarcity. We already produce enough food to feed the world. In fact, we have grain alone to provide nearly 3,000 calories per person."

"No, the root of the tragedy is not the scarcity of food; perhaps it has never been. Rather, hunger is caused by a scarcity of democracy."

"And in the Global South, India - a country with all the normal trappings of democracy - has the world's greatest number of hungry people. Half the children under the age of four suffer from malnutrition, while surplus grain pours out of over-full warehouses."

"Worldwide, we now feed almost half of all grain to livestock that return to us in meat only a tiny fraction of the nutrients we feed them."

Reading this book reminds me of how young I am. And how little I know of this world. I am longing to travel and see other cultures and see the devastation in the world. The devastation is a strange longing, I know. But I want to experience these things first hand rather than reading about them in a book. I want to spend less time worrying about how my ass looks in jeans and more time on what really matters. I also want to gain a better appreciation for what I have. I know how fortunate I am, with my iPhone, my own housing, my cat, my access to education.. but I don't really know. I've never had to live without these things. I've always had a roof over my head and a loving family to support me with what ever I need. I'm tired of the way things are right now. I want to change. I want to see the world and have it change me.

Selfishly, I've also thought a lot about how it's added another layer to why I know I won't ever go back to what I used to do. I used to gorge on whatever food I could, eating so quickly I could barely taste it and eating so much that I felt gross afterwards. But I really only need a certain amount of calories to keep my body functioning at it's optimal level. I've been doing really well this past year, and especially this past month, at having 5 small meals a day. But lately I've been feeling hungry between those meals as well, looking up at the clock and counting down to when I can eat again.

I need to stop that. I need my life to stop revolving around food. There is so much more to life than that. Reading books like this one reminds me how trivial my worries are. It doesn't mean they're not important to me, but it helps to remember that it's not the be all and end all. Who the hell cares if I eat something I'm not supposed to? Or if my clothes show off my newly found curves enough? Definitely first world problems.

I don't think I'll ever get to the point where food doesn't matter at all because, let's be honest, I love food too much. I enjoy all the new tastes as I experiment with recipes and new foods. But I would like to stop looking at the clock, waiting until I can eat again. I want food to be the tool that helps me live my life and give me the energy to accomplish the goals I've set for myself, not completely take over my day.

I can't wait to graduate and start my travels. It's going to be a tough year, but I hope I don't get too caught up in life/school/practicum. What I'm really looking forward to is taking my teaching certificate and having it open doors for me to teach in other countries. I'll probably have to teach in Korea or somewhere similar so I can pay off my student loans first. Ideally some time in my 20s, I'll be financially stable enough to travel where I want to, and volunteer in various countries. Half Sized Teacher teaching around the world and gaining a new outlook on life? Now that sounds like a damn good plan.

Also a good plan... actually getting to bed by 9pm so I don't feel like throwing my phone at the wall when it goes off at 4:30am. Ah well, I'll be better next week! Then it's back to afternoons at work :)