[Sosfbay-discuss] A couple of food stories...

[Tian Harter]

I forgot to mention that the sponsoring organization is The Human
Agenda and that they do that once a year. You can find out more at:

http://www.humanagenda.net/

Tian

Gerry Gras wrote:
> 
> That's quite a story!  (The Hunger Project Banquet).
> I guess that's an evening that will be remembered
> for a long time!  I sort of wish I had been there,
> (as long as I would not be one of the global rich.)
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Gerry
> 
> 
> Tian Harter wrote:
> 
>> Last Wednesday Laura Stec and Eugene Cordero Ph.D. gave a talk about
>> their new book about the global warming issue here in Mountain View.
>> The book is beautiful, with lots of pictures, recipes, and fun little
>> tidbits of info in boxes that put the major themes in perspective.
>> You can check out my notes from the event by visiting this page:
>>
>> http://tian.greens.org/MountainView/CastroSt/BooksInc/CoolCuisine.html
>>
>> On Sunday evening I went to a "Hunger Project Banquet" in San Jose.
>> When I got there they took my $20, gave me the name "Teresa" and 
>> explained that I was a landholding farmer in Mozambique. The woman
>> showed me where to sit, in the last empty seat at the middle class 
>> table. They did something similar with all the other guests, breaking us
>> into three groups.
>>
>> The table of "global rich" was four people who had a many course meal
>> (salad, steak, cheesecake plus condiments, side dishes and who knows
>> what else) accompanied by wine and candles. Each of the people at that
>> table had two servers waiting on their every desire. They started on
>> their first course long before the rest of us.
>>
>> While the rest of us were waiting for our food the woman running the 
>> show led us in a discussion of the global causes for hunger. What I 
>> found out was that the rich got as much air time as they wanted to 
>> express their feelings, and the poor got most of the rest just because
>> there were always lots of them with their hands up. I never did manage
>> to put my two cents worth in.
>>
>> The table of "global middle class" was about a dozen of us including me.
>> We had enchiladas (our choice of vegetarian or chicken) with optional 
>> sides of lettuce, salsa, and sour cream, and a brownie for desert. It 
>> was served with chilled tea. We had to go through a food line, just one
>> step above serving ourselves. The meal was delicious if somewhat plain.
>> It was hard not to be irritated at the rich, over there eating food we 
>> could smell long before we got a chance to eat a bite.
>>
>> While I was going back for seconds they had some special presentations
>> by a couple of kids playing roles. One was a poor farmer whose choice
>> was to either farm soil known to be salted with bombies (little bombs
>> what could easily blow off your foot and leave you handicapped for life)
>> left over from the last war or starve to death. The other was a native
>> South-American who had been pushed out of the forest by industrial 
>> agriculture, couldn't find a job, and was forced to scavenge for food
>> from the dumpsters of Rio De Janeiro.
>>
>> The rest of the group, something like fifty people, had to sit on the
>> floor. After listening to all the above they were served rice and beans,
>> after even the middle class had their fill of seconds. I tasted their
>> food, and the only spice was a bit of salt on the beans. They didn't
>> even get a glass of water to go with the food. I can't imagine how they
>> felt.
>>
> 
> 
> 

-- 
Tian
http://tian.greens.org
Latest change: Added pictures and commentary from Cool Cuisine talk.
I gave a HI quarter to Terry Rayl Friday evening. She is my President.