Fat People Cause Famine
It was only a matter of time before fat people were being blamed for people who are starving, as if we could send all our Big Macs and Oreo cookies directly to them.
UN food agency chief Jacques Diouf said today that billions of dollars are being wasted on feeding obese people in the West while millions starve around the world. “No one understands … how over-consumption by obese people in the world costs 20 billion dollars each year.”
I don’t even understand this. People who eat pay for the food they eat, right? So… how does the food that obese people eat cost more money than the food thin people eat? What he hell? And ironically, this also sounds like an echo of the “you had better clean your plate, because people are starving in Africa!” approach to eating that has screwed up some people’s relationships with food in the first place.
Anyway, I am happy to put my fat person dollars to work to help ameliorate famine throughout the world. All I need is you to tell me what worthy cause our fund-raising drive should benefit, and what I should offer as incentive for people to donate. My friends, let’s show Jacques Diouf that he’s full of it, shall we?
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Advocacy, Fatism, Food, International
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Money’s being wasted on feeding me? So I don’t deserve to eat now, just cause I’m fat? Give me a break.
In addition to this being offensive, this doesn’t make any sense at all. But, really what can you expect from a guy who invited Robert Mugabe to speak at the latest U.N. conference on hunger.
They seem to also be forgetting that fat people often eat less than thin people. I sure as hell don’t eat nearly as much as some of my thin friends. Maybe they should be saying that thin people cause famine because they eat so much…either way, it’s more biggotry.
It’s definitely out-and-out bigotry. Some people are totally illogical when they get on this topic. And unfortunately, they don’t get called out for it nearly as much as they should.
Great idea for a fund drive! I don’t know what the best anti-hunger organization would be, but I’d be happy to send along a donation once that is decided.
Ok, I’m going to get DESTROYED over this, but I think that the point is being misconstrued here. Diouf isn’t making a statement about fat people and the food they eat specifically – he’s making a statement about western culture and food waste. Or at least that’s how I interpreted it.
The bounty of Western commercialized food production has also created an enormous glut of food waste. This food system means that there is more food available than we (North Americans, Western Europeans etc) could possibly eat, we eat more than we need, and we throw out a lot. This means we overproduce and we overdispose of unused food.
If food were distributed throughout the world, there would be less waste and less hunger. I think his point is a general comment on the commercial aspects of food: food is produced where it will be purchased for a profit. So overfed North Americans et al, in their purchasing and consumptions habits, contribute to the global food problem.
I just worry that quotation was taken out of context and am curious about what’s missing in those ellipses. Agriculture as a personal venture is the thrust of his arguement.
Still, there’s a difference between saying that overconsumption in the West is to blame for famine in general and in saying that overconsumption by obese people in the West is to blame.
Erin, you’re absolutely right, but what does that have to do with obese people? Westerner’s in general overconsume and waste food and resources. It’s not specific to obese people, so why did he single them out?
My point exactly Becky. Waste is not limited to fat folks, nearly everyone in the West is raised to overconsume and waste resources. This isn’t limited to just food, but also includes water and energy resources.
Regardless, this is a scapegoat. This is a very irresponsible claim made by a UN chief. Blame should be placed on big oil, corporations and bio-fuel…but then they’d actually have to upset the people who put money in their pockets.
Diouf isn’t making a statement about fat people and the food they eat specifically – he’s making a statement about western culture and food waste.
Oh that’s so weird, because when I read it, it said “No one understands … how over-consumption by obese people in the world costs 20 billion dollars each year.”
Erin – as with others, I can appreciate the point, but I am so sick of the “obese-as-an-analogy-for-the-excesses-of-the-USA” thing, too.
Huh, really? And all the bodybuilding/fitness pro wanna bes shoveling animal protein and food in their faces whether they’re hungry or not to build muscle is okay?
So overeating to build muscle to “stoke your metabolism and be able to eat more” is fine?
“No one understands … how over-consumption by obese people in the world costs 20 billion dollars each year.”
And no one seems to understand the role of meat consumption in world hunger, either. If Americans alone were to cut their meat consumption by a mere 10 percent, it would free enough grain to feed more than 100 million people. A reduction of just 16 percent would feed 870 million. Not only is meat production a prime waste of grain, it also requires the use of a lot of fuel, which as we all are aware, a gallon of which now costs the equivalent of a first-born child. The redirection of grain to biofuel necessitates a need to import grain, which is often grown in poorer nations struggling with hunger issues. And with global meat production expected to double now through 2050, these poor nations will be unable to compete and will become less and less likely to be able to feed themselves. I wrote more on this here.
Meat consumption contributes more to world hunger than fat people, but I bet the good doctor and all his thin meat-eating friends aren’t willing to give up their morning bacon to help address the issue, either.
Blaming fat people for world famine makes me want to VOMIT. Seriously. We could very easily discuss the problems of food wasting and (as Rachel said above) the problems meat-based diets cause in terms of food distribution without saying one blasted word about people’s weight. Because it’s irrelevant. People can be fat and still be fundamentally starving. Many poor people in this country are fat — not because they are wallowing in abundance (if only!) but because food insecurity and involuntarily going hungry for extended periods of time (not to mention the huge amounts of cortisol pumped out in response to these stressors) do aaaallll kinds of messed-up things to people’s metabolism, insulin, and hunger responses.
If Ann Coulter (for example) pays $350 for her dinner, eats two bites of it, and throws the rest in the garbage, and repeats this practice multiple times per week, how is she less responsible for people starving than I am, when I could take that same $350 she spends on ONE meal and feed myself and my boyfriend for an entire MONTH?
actually, meat raised on pasture (not grain fed) doesn’t waste any food source, and actually turns an inedible product (grasses) into food, which is pretty cool, imo. sun+h2o+herbivore=food
as a bonus, pasture raised animals tend not to need as many antibiotics when compared to “conventionally” raised animals.
by the by, many vegetables use lots of oil products as well–synthetic fertilizers, for instance, not to mention the incredible amounts of irrigation needed to sustain their production.
(sorry, i hope this isn’t too off topic)
The disgusting part is *who* is being scapegoated here. The poor. In most countries – including developing countries – fat clusters among the poor. Which is probably due to a combination of factors related to discrimination and deprivation. But ironically one of one those factors – according to the UN’s own publications – is likely to be malnutrition during fetal growth.
Which leads us to the sick situation where some of the same populations most vulnerable to food insecurity and least in a position to do anything about it are the ones being blamed for it.
You have to admire the genius of it. It’s a brilliant scapegoat for those who actually are wealthy, powerful and in a position to do something about famine and food insecurity.
I’d like to call a moratorium on the taunting preambles to people’s comments. “I am going to get DESTROYED…” is, to my mind, inflamatory and accusing of people who haven’t even repsonded yet.
Most of the posters here are very reasonable. Debate and discussion really shoudn’t be framed as “destroying,” “flaming,” or anything else… when it is discussion.
I say this because I find that Mo Pie moderates the comments very well, and checks people when they name-call and get personal or abusive. (Fatfighter’s thesis on our “widdle feelings” comes to mind.)
Let’s assume the best of each other, shall we?
Oh, and overconsumption is not a Western game alone. The eastern part of the worl is doing a fair amount of resource-consuming, too.
This just made me ill.
I definately agree with Rachel’s comments regarding meat consumption.
And I also agree with the comments stating that had he talked about excess and waste in West I woudl not have had an issue.
Also, assuming the 20 billion figure is correct (and I’m skeptical about how it woudl be possible to come up with a number for this) does anyone honestly think that the 20 billion would go to fight world hunger if it were suddenly free floating? If you do, you have a higher opinion of people than I do.
I wish they’d make up their minds. Growing up, I was told I had to clean my plate because there were starving children in China. Now, I’m being blamed for cleaning my plate because there are starving people in China.
All kidding aside, I understand Erin’s point but the fact that he directly mentioned obese people makes me think it’s not just about Western culture. I’m not sure how I understand how my eating more (ASSuming I do), has anything to do with famine in other parts of the world.
“If food were distributed throughout the world, there would be less waste and less hunger.”
For a while. Then the production would plummet and there would be a lot more hunger. Generally that’s what happens when you take things that are now being sold and give them away perforce.
But this article was written specifically about obese people, not markets and Western society (not that it would be good to blame Western society either.) It makes no sense on that level. The food one person has doesn’t come out of someone else’s mouth, whether that mouth is fat or thin or Western.
Donation drives are excellent though. Very good idea. And whatever amount is raised needs to be brought to the attention of the author so that he can be challenged to match it publically.
What do you guys think of this organization?
Well, fat people cause so many other problems, why not this too?
Aren’t we the reason health care is expensive (as opposed to greedy insurance companies and a corrupt system)?
I think we may have caused that earthquake in China*, too. Did we all jump at once?
(*note/disclaimer: I’m not making light of that horrible tragedy, of course. My heart goes out to all affected. I traveled to that Chinese province just 2 years ago so it had some sentimental impact for me, also. I’m merely attempting to make the point that these allegations are completely ludicrous)
I agree with Erin and if you just go to the right places in America, you’ll see ppl starving a lot closer to home than you think..
Mo, Heifer International is a great organization, and works specifically to end the cycle of food aid decreasing local food production. I’ve given “gifts” of bees, bunnies, and waterbuffalo to friends and family over the years, to their great delight.
There isn’t another organization I’d recommend more highly for this purpose.
As an alternative to Christmas and birthday gifts several of my friends make donations in the name of the giftee to Heifer International. It’s a great organization.
Mo–I was going to suggest something similar:
http://www.ihfonline.org/index.php
In particular, their famine feed and survival programs.
One of the reasons the nations in global south can not feed their population is because they capacity to produce food has been destroyed by the developed nations via the World Bank. Developing nations were drowning in debt. Up until a few years ago, for every dollar sent south in aid, $1.3 dollars was coming back to the richest nations in the form of interest payments on the loan. The countries stopped trying to feed their people as they needed to grow food for export for the international market to pay their debts.
FatFu is right. Blaming fat people is a type of class warfare that deflects attention away from who the real exploiters are. I am going to write about this myself this weekend. Over my dead body are those rich *astards going to get away with it!!!
“you had better clean your plate, because people are starving in Africa!”
Yep this old chestnut was often quoted at me as a child at the dinner table!
i’m a longtime supporter of Heifer International. they work worldwide, including the united states to empower people with self reliance, not just a handout but a handup. part of their philosophy is paying it forward so those that are directly helped must then help another family most commonly through the gifting of the first offspring of their farm animal.
I’m waiting for the article….if it hasn’t yet been published….about how fat people are responsible for global warming…..
I have yet to hear a story complaining about fat people, that doesn’t sound like a temper tantrum being thrown by a terrible two year old.
I wonder why he left out bulimic binge-eaters — aren’t they even more culpable?
It’s not about food, producing enough food, being willing to share food, etc. It’s about the POLITICS of food. The West has given zillions of dollars in aid and boatloads of food to help the starving over the years. The question is, who is in charge on the other end?
Believe it or not, there are “governments” in this world who orchestrate and use hunger as a means to control people. We need to stop pretending that every form of government is as good as ours (with all its flaws.) Open your eyes. Who’s holding the rifles, guarding the food aid as it rots in the docks?
As a small example, I worked with a private group which sent small, solar-powered radios into several countries in Africa. These shipments were directed to churches there for distribution to the poor that came to them for help. More often than not, we hit a snag in customs–even though we sent the shipments from a third country deemed less “despised” than the evil U.S.A. (whose “evil” people had generously given money to help the poor, who had taken the trouble to research and purchase and package and ship aid…) Anyway, the receiving governments’ customs practices involved trying to exact a duty on the recipients! They let our shipments sit for months while they made life difficult for their citizens. I guess their reasoning is, “If you’ve got rich friends in the West, they will get you the money to redeem this aid shipment we accepted as ‘duty-free’ until we saw a way to make a buck.”
It’s the same with food. The West can sacrifice all it wants, send all it wants, help all it wants, but Communist and Islamo-fascist governments and power-mad tribal warlords CAN’T allow the West to look good in the eyes of their people, now can they? They can’t allow the West to feed their people when hunger is such a great manipulative tool. Their goal is NOT political and economic stability for the good of their people, so let’s stop pretending that it is.
Stop feeling guilty about being an American. When my son gets home from Iraq (3rd time!), we’re going to throw a party–with lots of food!–wave the flag and be happy!
Here is a link to how Haiti is sending about 1 million dollars a week to the World Bank to service its debt while its people are forced to resort to eating mud and vegetable oil
http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0520-19.htm
(You may have to cut and paste!) MSM (mainstream media) will never connect those dots for us. Far better to scapegoat the obese hotel maid who has a bag of chips on her way to her second job!
There was a story on NPR this morning about the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe using food aid as a stick with which to bludgeon the political opposition. To wit, “In a videoconference from Harare, [U.S. Ambassador] James McGee told Washington-based journalists he fears the country could face starvation after authorities there suspended the work of foreign aid groups. He said he has received reports that government food rations are being handed out only to supporters of Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980.”
I’d like to hear what Diouf, a citizen of Senegal, has to say about this sort of behavior — especially in Africa, where it’s fairly widespread.
Lexie, not to hijack here, but tell your son thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am praying for him and all his compatriots, and will be there at your celebration in spirit. God keep him safe!
The rest of what you say is tragically all too true. I’m not ashamed to be American or Western though.
Heh…they should be more annoyed at the restaurants. They cause so much waste because they serve gargantuan portions. I rarely eat more than half my restaurant meals — and it doesn’t always make good leftovers.
People are starving because their governments find it advantageous to let them starve. It is a simple way of getting rid of unwanted populations. It has been used this way for thousands of years. Blame is then shifted to other uninvolved parties to cover this fact. Instead of rising up against their government they attack their neighbors. It works every time. So sad.
“DiosaNegra1967: I’m waiting for the article….if it hasn’t yet been published….about how fat people are responsible for global warming…..”
OF course we caused global warming! We are all lazy, and smelly and eat nothing but fatty foods that make us flatulant. and all that methane has caused huge holes in the ozone!
(sorry for the bitterness, sarcasm meter is really high today)
Bigots. Sigh.
It’s intersting he pics on obese people. Coming from the eating disorder community as I do, I am very aware that many obese people have DIETED themselves right into obesity. Sure. Diets do work… if you want to completely wreck your body and gain weight.
My second thought is… why not pick on bulimics and chewers/spitters?
Don’t get me wrong. I used to BE bulimic and I have so much compassion for people suffering through this or any horrible eating disorder.
But, it seems like this guy is picking on people who look a certain way… because I know plenty of “thin” or normal-weighted people who ate way more than the “fat”, overweight or obese, because they simply purged the food back out via exercise, vommitting… etc.
I honestly believe that NONE of these groups (fat, bulimic, obese, ED’d, etc…) should be blamed for the world’s ills.
I’m just saying… it looks like he’s focusing on the way people look. Not what they actually are doing with food.
But that’s none of his business anyway.
Agh. Ignorant jerks suck.
”The redirection of grain to biofuel necessitates a need to import grain, which is often grown in poorer nations struggling with hunger issues. And with global meat production expected to double now through 2050, these poor nations will be unable to compete and will become less and less likely to be able to feed themselves. I wrote more on this here.”
Hi – just wanted to comment on Rachels’ statement here. If this grain was instead given to the developing natons to feed the poor, they would have an awful lot of grain in their diet. A large grain intake in the diet actually leads to health problems for the individual, including rickets and osteomalacia, not to mention the absence of any amount of vitamin c in grains (see this link for more information – http://www.beyondveg.com/cordain-l/grains-leg/grains-legumes-1a.shtml ), thus we would be contributing to their problems. Secondly, not all meat animals are raised on grain – there are many alternative feeding methods for livestock, especially in organic farming methods.
While I agree that Americans eat an unneccesary amount of meat, giving the massive amounts of surplus grain to developing countries would just cause long-term health problems for the population there. Rather, the farmland used to make biofuel and other things should be used for other purposes for the country.
Oh, and DiosaNegra1967…Reuters UK already has a charming news story confirming your fears: http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKL1572011320080515 (includes obligatory ‘headless’ fattie’ photo)
Protests, strikes and riots have erupted in developing countries around the world in the wake of dramatic rises in the prices of wheat, rice, corn and oils. i think that fat people is like to eat very much, so that it leads to famine.
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jelena
Size 28 Clothing
Jelena –
Whoa! Slow down there, mate! ‘Fat people eat alot so it leads to famine’? Man, if only everyone was as to the point about the situation as you!
For your information, not all fat people overeat. There are plenty of thin people who overeat – however this report blames ‘obese people’ for famine. Just the obese. Let’s not take into account anyone, or ANYTHING else that could contribute to the problem – fat people are the easy scapegoat!
Jelena, it’s just not that simple. Fat people are NOT the problem.
*sarcasm*
I like how people like the moron in the article seem to think that if fat people don’t eat, the food will magically appear in front starving people in other places in the world.
I also like how it’s assumed that gluttons are only fat and starving people are only skinny.
Yeah. Nice.
*end sarcasm*
Might have been plausible and held water, except that rather than blame excessive consumption and wastage (which is not just a Western thing anymore btw) he blames OBESE people, who are clearly the only ones who do that.
Makes sense to me. ’cause, you know, I don’t know a sinlge skinny person who wastes food, wastes water, doesn’t recycle, or prefers to make do. No sir, just OBESE people. OBESE = blame everything wrong with the world today on them, no need to hold anything or anyone else accountable.
This is a bit of an old post, but I find this hilarious, what kind of idiot would say that?
I would however agree that Westerners in general waste a lot of food.
Here I thought I was crazy: all I keep thinking about today is this individual from class (College Senior) who tried to point to the solution of world hunger as the cessation of over-consumption. As though the existence of fat people is the reason behind starvation and malnutrition.