How long would it take you to count to 925 million aloud?  More than your lifetime.  Count to 60 for me.  In the time it took you to count to 60, ten children died due to undernourishment.  I’ve written that Hunger Should be Illegal and ask the question, how is it possible in 2010 that we continue to have food insecurity ( Food Insecurity in 2010? What’s Up With That?)?  I know we are all focused on our immediate families, and we should be, but let me ask that you take just two minutes and think about those who could really use a bit of help to remove the angst of food insecurity from their lives.

Earlier this week the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations released a preview of the “State of Food Insecurity in the World,” which will be published in October 2010 (jointly by the FAO and the World Food Programme).   The numbers in this report sent chills down my spine, take a moment and review:

• 925 million suffer chronic hunger
• Every six seconds (10/minute) die because of undernourishment related problems
• 2/3 of the world’s undernourished live in Bangladesh, China, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia and Pakistan.

Yukiko Omura (credit FIDA)

Yukiko Omura, Vice President of International Fund for Agriculture Development said it best,

“…the world’s hungry are not just numbers. They are people — poor women and men struggling to bring up their children and give them a better life; and they are youth trying to build a future for themselves. It is ironic that the majority of them actually live in rural areas of developing countries. Indeed, over 70 percent of the world’s extremely poor — those people who live on less than US$ one a day — live in rural areas. That’s a billion people, and four out of five of them are farmers to some extent or the other.”

In the United States, arguably one of the most developed nations in the world, we too have those who are food insecure.  One out of every six to be exact.  This number saddens me, but it also energizes me to do something about it, and I hope it does the same for you.  So I ask that today, you forego the coffee shop latte ($4) or the maple log at the donut shop ($2.5) and donate that money to my virtual food drive #VFD2010, where your $1 is matched by Libby’s and thus puts 14 meals on the table via Feeding America.  We are at 10 percent of goal, please donate today. 

 I thank you for your time.

All the best,
Christopher

Links:

Christopher Burgess – Virtual Food Drive – Race to 35,000 Meals
Let’s Put a Meal on the Table
Breakfast, Did You Have Yours?
Food Insecurity in 2010? What’s Up With That?
Hunger Should be Illegal
Media Centre:  925 Million in Chronic Hunger Worldwide
FAO:  Key Figures on World Hunger (pdf)