American famine

Many times when I try to throw away some of my food, I’m reminded, of course, that there are starving children in third-world countries.  

Those words convince me to clean my plate even when I’m full, and it makes me feel guilty for throwing something away because I don’t like the taste.  

We can say we’re “dying” of hunger or “starving” with the privilege of not actually knowing how that feels. For most of us, not having anything to eat just means there is nothing we want to eat.

But we can never forget that not only are there starving children in developing countries, there are starving children all over the world — including the United States.

About 50 million people in the U.S. don’t always have access to the food they need to lead healthy lives. Seventeen million of them are children.

The top two cities with the largest number of children living in “food insecure households” are New York City and Los Angeles, two cities that are typically portrayed in the media as glamorous and opulent, crowded with celebrities and influential people.

But hunger doesn’t get any better when you are surrounded by significant amounts of wealth. The U.S. has traditionally been the poster child for prosperity, making it even more remarkable that some can have so much while others have so little only a few miles or even feet away.   

Believing that hunger, poverty and suffering exist solely in third-world countries is inaccurate.

Views on poverty in the U.S., however, are also often inaccurate. Clouded by welfare politics and general bias, most Americans do not think of hunger as a prevalent issue in the U.S.

Perhaps that’s why it is easier to categorize hunger as an third-world problem. Additionally, developing countries seem far enough away, both geographically and culturally, that we can pretend eating the rest of our sandwich actually helps a starving child.

Though I believe no one should have to go without basic needs such as food, water and shelter, the idea of children going hungry is even more heart-wrenching.

I’m not sure who can argue against providing proper nourishment for our children who haven’t had a chance to be blamed for their situation.  

What is more, studies show that even if true hunger is only experienced for a short period during childhood, the negative outcomes extend far into adulthood, including early-onset diabetes, high blood pressure, stunted intellectual growth and obesity.  

In a nation that is supposed to give equal opportunity, the fact that so many children have to grow up with food insecurity is inherently unfair. Those children are at a distinct disadvantage compared to their peers, who are privileged enough to worry about their grades, friends and school — not where their next meal is coming from.

Although we should always think about how people around the world are suffering, we should not let that cloud our views of those suffering right beside us.


­— cjellert@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Caroline Ellert on Twitter @cjellert.