Human rights and food
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, CEDAW, says every woman, man,
youth and child has the human right to a standard of living adequate for health
and well-being, to food, clothing, housing, medical care and social services.
These are fundamental human rights.
Our meals are something we take for granted, rarely thinking that while we
sit down to a full table of food much of the world is going without. It's
good to be thankful for our food as a simple Welsh grace says:
"Some hae meat and cannae eat. Some cannae eat that want it:
But we hae meat and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit."
Here are some facts about world hunger from the World Heath Organization,
UNICEF and Hunger in Global Economy:
- In the Asian, African and Latin American countries, well over 500
million people are living in what the World Bank has called "absolute
poverty"- Every year 15 million children die of hunger
- Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger
- The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is
well-fed, one-third is under-fed one-third is starving.
- Half of all children under five years of age in South Asia and one third
of those in sub-Saharan Africa are malnourished.
- For the price of one missile, a school full of hungry children could eat
lunch every day for 5 years
- In 1997 alone, the lives of at least 300,000 young children were saved
by vitamin A supplementation programmes in developing countries.
- To satisfy the world's sanitation and food requirements would cost only
US$13 billion- what the people of the United States and the European Union
spend on perfume each year.
Here's a few photographs and text highlighting places where food is prepared
differently or simply different to what we might eat.
All photographs can be purchased on the
database. Simply click on the image for details. |
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| Much of India has no electricity
so spicy foods are prepared that help preserve food. These chillis were
being dried and to be used in cooking. |
These women are receiving free
rice bundles from an Asian funded orphanage in Cambodia. The families had
been nominated as the poorest in the district. This was determined based
on the number of pigs they had, if they had television and the quality of
the house. |
Meal times are often communal
events in Asian societies. These women are preparing food together in a
village near Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China |
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Italian pastry is renowned
worldwide as is the Italian way of having a good time. Here the chefs
spend a lot of time joking around as this man Gianpiero demonstrates
juggling dough.
LOCATION: TUSCANY, ITALY |
Food is often eaten sitting on
the floor and without cutlery off banana leaves. In India people eat with
their right hand only as the left hand is used for toilet ablutions.
LOCATION: INDIA |
Kangaroo tail is a speciality for
Aboriginal people in Australia. Pastor Ron Williams featured above is
removing the tail from alfoil at a campfire in Longreach.
LOCATION: QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA |
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This man was almost blind and was
asking for medicine for his eyes. That didn't stop him hospitably
preparing tea for all passersby from the small shop he had with his
family. In Mauritania you have three brews of tea before it's considered
finished.
LOCATION: ATAR, MAURITANIA |
These two boys were begging
outside a cinema district in a wealthy Delhi suburb when a member of our
party took pity on them. They took great delight in eating the icecream,
sharing it with each other.
LOCATION: DELHI, INDIA |
Frogs are a common delicacy in
Battambong, a small regional town in northern Cambodia near the Thai
border. Snails and grasshoppers and other animals could also be found in
the markets.
LOCATION: BATTAMBONG, CAMBODIA |
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Calcutta is one of the poorest of
India's big cities and is famed for Mother Teresa's work amongst the slums
and poor districts. This woman had nowhere else to prepare her food but by
the roadside.
LOCATION: CALCUTTA, INDIA |
These sparrows are part of market
food available in Laos. As are grasshoppers, snails, spiders, rats and
almost anything else that moves. It's hard to know if these delicacies
have grown out of a necessity to eat anything that moves or are actually
prized above other foods.
LOCATION: PHONSAVAN, LAOS |
Floating markets are common in
Thailand when people take to the canals to sell their wares on boats. They
barter with other sellers or to tourists and shoppers.
LOCATION: NEAR BANGKOK, THAILAND |
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People in Asian countries use
their resources, here on the southern coasts of Sri Lanka fishing is a
common trade. This man proudly displays his catch for potential shoppers
passing by. This area was probably devastated by the Tsunami and it's hard
to know if the men have been able to return to their trade.
LOCATION: SRI LANKA |
Meat is not commonly available in
this part of Africa and a relative luxury. This man was cycling from
village to village on dusty, sandy roads through blistering heat trying to
make a living.
LOCATION: DOGON COUNTRY, MALI |
Simit, the local bread, is a
favourite in Turkey especially Istanbul. These sellers can be found all
throughout the city with their little carts.
LOCATION: ISTANBUL, TURKEY |
Over the next few months Visited Planet will explore all the basic human
rights through photographic essays featuring countries from around the world.
The highlighted text will link you to the finished essays. Please keep checking
back for the other ones.
- health and well-being
- water
- food
- clothing
- housing
- medical care
- social services
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