DEATH BY HUNGER: WHAT WOULD YOU DO

As I flip through the TV channels, it quickly becomes apparent that food is one of the most popular topics. There are dozens of programs teaching cooking, competitions between chefs, and restaurant challenges both in Italy and abroad, along with many shows offering various diets to lose the weight gained. The fact that food is a problem is shown by the more than 25 million people in Italy who are overweight. Of these, 6 million are obese, making up 12% of the entire population. Meanwhile, over 5 million people struggle to make ends meet for their daily meals. To complete the picture, there’s another alarming statistic: the food thrown away daily could feed 40 million people. However, if we widen the scope, the “food problem” takes on even larger proportions. UN Agencies (FAO, UNICEF, UNHCR) tell us that over 800 million people are undernourished, and more than double that number (1.7 billion) are overweight. Today, 100 million people are directly threatened by death from hunger, and over 20,000 children die every day, despite a food supply that could easily feed 12 billion people. Unfortunately, wars, famines, migrations – as well as outrageous waste and shameful economic speculation – are pushing the “Zero Hunger” goal that humanity has set for 2030 further out of reach. I realize that these issues have been written about and denounced countless times, and today no one can honestly claim to be unaware. But then why has almost nothing been done over the years to solve the problem? Why is nothing being done today, and the scandal of hunger continues to be ignored by (almost) everyone? I believe that for those who have never directly experienced the tragedy of hunger or seen its consequences firsthand, it’s almost impossible to believe that today, with the infinite food abundance available to us, there are people who haven’t eaten for days. How could you really believe the story of a Ugandan mother of twins who, with little milk, decides to breastfeed only one of her children so that at least he can continue to live? Yet, I have witnessed a similar scene in northern Uganda, where I saw a nun crying tears of joy when she saw the milk we had brought, since for two days malnourished children had only been given a cup of tea with sugar. Today, after reading the latest appeal in Avvenire (Italian newspaper) to fight death from hunger in Africa, I decided to launch a strong provocation, not to blame you (I know many of you are already deeply engaged in various ways to help the poorest), but to involve you even more in this vital fight against hunger that “Insieme si può…” has been carrying out for forty years. I invite you, therefore, to put yourself in the shoes of the nun responsible for a nutrition center where 30 severely malnourished children are being cared for. Due to various factors, you only have 30 doses of powdered milk, with no guarantee that more will arrive in the coming days. You must decide what to do, and you essentially have these options: 1. Feed all the children tomorrow. Pro/Con: A