Lessons from an Empty Stomach

This morning I woke up with a nice a cup of tea and some avocado on kalamata olive toast. It seemed extravagant after five days of sliced banana on basic wholemeal. And while I can't say my calorie count was dangerously low over this past week of Living Below the Line, I still seemed to be perpetually hungry (and there was the whole lack of coffee...). Not only that, but thoughts of my next meal filled most waking hours. 

This isn't surprising. If your basic needs - food, water, shelter - aren't met, it's difficult to think of other more frivolous things. Abraham Maslow got at this idea in his 1943 paper, "A Theory of Human Motivation". Also referred to as "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs", his theory outlines five levels of needs: physiological, safety, love & belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Deficiency in a lower level of needs causes anxiety, and means an individual will prioritise fulfilling those needs first and foremost. "Where will I get my next meal" would supercede "how well am I doing at work" or "should I hang out with friends tonight". Chronic deficiency of these basic needs can ultimately hinder people from reaching their potential, and society as a whole from being more enlightened and just (see the "growth" tier: self-actualisation). And, as one can imagine, things like poverty and conflict can lead to perpetual loops in the bottom rungs of the hierarchy.

Cinner & Polnac (2004) on coral reef conservation

This hierarchy also offers some insight if we care about the environment and conservation. Particularly in the early years, "fortress conservation" dominated the agenda. This largely entailed putting tracks of land - say, tropical rainforest - under protection, kicking out any people that lived in the area, and barring entry and use. Besides this being morally questionable, it also often fails to protect the area of interest. This isn't to say that we should get rid of all protected areas - save Yosemite! -  but rather that the needs of people living around and reliant on protected areas must be considered. Studies have shown that socio-economic factors influence people's perceptions of conservation, and thus need to be accounted for to develop appropriate strategies. You can imagine that someone with an income too low to purchase food, but who lives near a forest with deer and other tasty critters, might prioritise his need to eat and feed a family over the value of an intact protected forest. Some of the strategies to address this tension have included buffer zones around protected areas, where local people can harvest non-timber products like honey or bamboo; and community-managed marine and forest areas, which allows people to use certain resources to meet their needs while fostering the motivation and capacity to sustainably manage them. These, too, don't always work out as planned, but they are steps toward more just and equitable conservation that address humanity's hierarchy of needs.

Thanks to all the support from friends and family during the week, and for contributing to the Oaktree Foundation's mission! It made all the difference (and contributed to the 'esteem' level of my needs).

Read More:

How just and just how? A systematic review of social equity in conservation research - Me, Liz Law, Nathan Bennett, Chris Ives, Jess Thorn, and Kerrie Wilson, 2018 (open access)

Bridging the gaps for global sustainable development: A quantitative analysis - Victor Udo and Peter Jansson, 2009 (paywall)

Nature above People: Rolston and "Fortress" Conservation in the South - Hanna Siurua, 2006 (limited access)

Poverty, perceptions and planning: why socioeconomics matter in the management of Mexican reefs - Josh Cinner and Richard Polnac, 2004 (paywall)

Who Walks the Line?

We joke sometimes about being starving graduate students, or the poverty of a 'research higher degree'. While most of us discussing this topic have never experienced true, chronic hunger, and have never reached the point where financial woes eclipse every other aspect of life, it is true that 'what is poor' is not entirely straightforward. 

At the international level, major development organisations have worked to set poverty lines that delineate the point at which people across the world can't meet their basic needs. Countries individually define their poverty lines, and then the poorest countries dictate the international poverty line. This line set by the World Bank stood at $1.90 per person per day as of 2015 (based on 2011 data). How the poverty line is calculated - based on incomes and costs of goods, not to mention incomplete data - has faced its fair share of critiques over the years and more recently. But the concept of a poverty line itself, and whether countries are considered "developing", have also been called into question.

I recently came across an interesting discussion on tiers of income, and how those may be more informative and reflective of reality than a simple cut-off for those who are considered poor. This approach characterised four different classes of income, and how many people around the world fall into these categories. At level 1, about 1 billion people live on less than $2 per day, which translates into transport by foot, cooking over a fire, and fetching water with buckets. Around 3 billion people live on between $2-8 per day, and may get around on bicycle, use gas for home-cooking, and send their children to school. At $8-32 per day, we see around 2 billion people who have running water, might own a car or motorbike, and possibly have a refrigerator and electricity. Finally, the remaining 1 billion people live on more than $32 per day, and they typically own cars, have running hot water, and have been able to complete at least a high school education. This gives a sense of what people can afford, but what the knock-on consequences might be - such as having electricity makes it more feasible to study at home and progress in school. Taking this further step is in line with thinking of poverty as multi-dimensional. Someone's income is only part of the story. Access to services - like medical and education, supportive social environment, and relative sense of wellbeing can all contribute to an individuals' perceptions of themselves and poverty.

This week, I'm not giving up my comfortable living conditions (running water AND electricity), my postgraduate education and healthcare, or my perception of overall welfare. But I am eating on AU$2 per day, while garnering support for Oaktree, a youth-led organization that aims to educate and empower youth in the Asia Pacific as a way to alleviate poverty. Check out my fundraising page and keep tabs on this year's Live Below the Line challenge.

What happened during LBL in...

2017 - Below the Line in Trumplandia?
2016 - Bad Accounting: Who Pays for Our Food?
2015 - Starting a Conversation on Hunger
2014 - Frugal Foodie on a British Pound: The Challenge Ahead
2013 - Loving the Lentils
2012 - What the World Eats

A Peasant Diet for the Planet

Ok, I admit it, I like charts...

This week I'm eating like a peasant. Now that (or more likely, this post's title) might have rubbed you the wrong way. For some, it conjures up unpleasant images of feudalism, toiling under rich landlords; for others it may have too many associations with colonialism and hearkening to an era where rural people in developing countries were somehow seen as inferior beings. But at its root, the word means country dweller.* And most people living in poverty live in rural areas.

"I'm eating like the average resident of a developing country" would have been a more accurate statement. If you look where my calories are coming from over the course of the Live Below the Line Challenge, it's quite similar - although missing the eggs, fish, and other animal products that do feature in most diets. Cereal grains (oats and rice) comprise nearly two-thirds of my daily 2000 calorie intake, and pulses are a major source of protein. Now take Asia for instance, which houses the majority of the world's poor (and population as a whole). Rice is the staple food, making up 50-66% of caloric intake in the region (with the higher values corresponding to the less economically developed countries). Pulses (e.g lentils) are also staple foods that, although usually contribute only a small fraction of calories, can actually make up close to half of protein intake. Roots and tubers (e.g. sweet potato and cassava) have historically made up nearly half of calories in many African countries, but this begun falling during the Green Revolution.

A familiar picture, my food for five days of Living Below

Now, the ubiquity of such a diet doesn't mean it's the way forward. For one, although grain-heavy diets provide enough calories, they often lack important micronutrients. Often referred to as the "hidden hunger", insufficient intake of vitamin A, iron, zinc, and folate is particularly concerning in children, who can suffer stunting and hindered brain development. While things like home gardens have been proposed as means of curbing such deficiencies, the poorest of the poor also often face difficulties getting their hands on land. Besides being a human health issue, a healthy and diverse diet is increasingly considered a human right. It is also disempowering not to have the resources to choose what to eat, when, and how much.

But there are also lessons to be learned from how the majority of the world's poor about how to eat for the planet. On average people in East Asia and the Pacific consume around 1/3 the amount of meat as North Americans and Europeans, and in Sub-Saharan Africa it's about 1/8th. Eating a primarily plant-based diet is generally acknowledged to have a lower carbon and water footprint than one heavy in meat (especially beef and lamb). According to the World Resources Institute, if the world's top 2 billion consumers reduced their meat and dairy intake by 40%, we could free up land double the size of India and avoid greenhouse gas emissions three times the global amount in 2009. Furthermore in many developing countries, what animals are consumed are eaten in low enough quantities to be sustainably harvested, or domesticated ones serve multiple purposes on the land - livestock can produce milk as well as manure for crops, or fish ponds can provide fertilizer for crops and feed for livestock. At the end of the day, I think a glimpse of a poverty-line diet is taking a taste of moderation that the big consumers in the world greatly need.

So while I miss green veggies (and chocolate), I'm pretty thankful and content with the bounty that even AU$2 per day can bring. Consider expressing your own gratitude, and sharing your good fortune by support this year's Live Below the Line campaign!

* Old French paisent ‘country dweller’, based on Latin pagus ‘country district’ (Wikipedia)

A Dose of Subdued Earth Optimism

Somewhere in the world it is still Earth Day. Dating back to 1970, this now global celebration marked the heightened awareness of manmade threats to the natural environment. The safeguards introduced at that time - the clean air, clean water, and endangered species acts in the USA - have faced decades of opposition from major industrial interests and now (not even 50 years later) the possibility of scaling back or disintegration. In what many of us would consider a more enlightened age - we have been studying environmental phenomena for decades - it's astounding that there is still this war on nature and the crucial services that it provides and which humanity depends on.*

Fishermen in Ghana negotiate rubbish-ridden beaches

But I would argue that much of the environmental activism comes from a place of privilege (I include myself here), and I wonder how much we are successfully giving voice to those whose health, happiness, and livelihood are much more intimately tied to the condition of the natural environment. Sure, we all suffer if the air is unbreathable, and eventually most everywhere in the world will suffer the negative consequences of climate change, but oftentimes the hardest hit by polluted drinking water or habitat conversion or extensive droughts are those least capable of taking action or raising an outcry.

I bring this issue up on Earth Day, because I'm still of the opinion that the poor and marginalized make it into environmental discussion too infrequently ... and in development circles environmental health doesn't come in as a necessity that underlies food, water, income, and other usual indicators of poverty. A recent article in the Conversation called this issue into focus, introducing the concept of "environmentally-adjusted measures of multidimensional poverty". It suggests that we are actually overestimating the impact of increases in GDP and other econo-centric measures of growth and progress. This is not to say we shouldn't celebrate the strides made in reducing poverty and hunger (or as #EarthOptimism is highlighting, in conservation), but we should also be wary of getting too complacent and continue to strive toward recognizing how interconnected is the wellbeing of nature and humanity.

This blog post is just a week before participating in the Live Below the Line Challenge. If you have a moment, please consider donating to the charity sponsoring this effort to raise awareness and support education.

Live Below the Line 2017 Posts:

Going Hungry in the 21st Century 

Below the Line in Trumplandia 

Related post: Valuation for Poverty Alleviation (2015) 

* Not to mention an increasing combativeness towards the scientific evidence that supports the importance of the planet's natural systems.

Going Hungry in the 21st Century

Back in 2002, the United Nations decided that by 2015 the proportion of people who suffer from hunger should be cut in half from 1990 levels. We nearly met this target of a basic human right, alongside the other Millennium Development Goals, yet almost 800 million people (over 10% of the world's population) are still undernourished. In the next iteration, the UN set its sights higher with the Sustainable Development Goals, aiming to end world hunger by 2030. While this seems like a no-brainer in this day and age - how many people would argue that people shouldgo hungry?? - there are a number of reasons unrelated to how many calories farmers produce for why we continue to see chronic hunger and malnutrition, as well as bouts of acute famine. This post touches on two factors and specifically famine, as part of the lead-up to the Live Below the Line challenge in May (and I'm also raising funds for the awesome organization Oaktree, so check it out!).

So let's start with what should be a relatively straight-forward and objective topic - weather and a changing climate. Food shortages have been attributed to periods of drought, severe rainfall, and pests for millennia. Rainfall changes might spread diseases that wipe out crops, as prompted the Irish potato famine in 1845. The failure of the monsoon in India has taken blame for famines at the end of the 19th century. And while anticipated overdrawn aquifers and more intense storms may undermine crop and livestock production, our fisheries that feed the world's poorest are at risk from rising sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification. Even countries like Australia, with a particularly vulnerable agriculture sector, are not exempt from the impacts. Yet politically stable, wealthy nations have the capacity - that many other countries do not - to minimize acute events that often cause famines by importing food and sending aid to their affected populations.

This leads us to the topic of conflict, which can be both cause and result of food scarcity. This isn't news; back in the early 1990's, researchers argued that conflict and civil strife were the prime suspects instigating famines. A recent article in The Conversation captures the sentiment that famines don't "just happen", but are driven by particular social and political circumstances.

So enter 2017, where there is "high risk of famine in some areas of north-eastern Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen because of armed conflict, drought and macro-economic collapse," according to the Food Security Information Network (FSIN). In the coming year, widespread food insecurity is expected to also pose problems in Syria*, Iraq, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. The region experienced considerable political discontent in the early 2010's, some say spurred on by rising food prices. But here again we encounter the the question of whether food shortages (driven by adverse weather, etc.) provoke conflict or the other way around. An article in The Economist argues that war and violence simmering in these countries made it next to impossible for farmers to cultivate crops to feed themselves and their neighbors, as well as for food aid and supplies to cross border lines. Many of the possible 2017 famines fall into the "avoidable" bucket.

Hunger may seem worlds away for many of us, but it is truly naive to believe that the instability and unrest that is both a contributor and a result of food insecurity is isolated, without far-reaching implications in terms of political security, counter-terrorism, and global food production. In some ways, countries "worlds away" are culpable; for example, the US provided weapons to the Saudis then used to stoke the war in Yemen. It is withdrawing aid to vulnerable regions in Africa. And finally, several countries facing famine are also on the proposed travel ban in the US, a cruel and unfeeling move, but also one way of seeding desperation and resentment. 

It's clear that governments are not working in favour of the health and prosperity of their populations, so its more important than ever that we try to support efforts that are attempting to improve the human condition (and ultimately the environment on which we rely). 

*I should note that most of this post was written before the most recent attacks in Syria, and the situation there has most certainly escalated to nothing short of a travesty, tragedy, and serious human rights violation!

Below the Line in Trumplandia?

I'm not sure where to begin; it's been a while (and feels like longer...). This blog post is actually my first for 2017 - a testament to the craziness of the last three months. It's also creeping dangerously into annual Live Below the Line territory. For those of you just joining us, each year since 2012 I've participated in this challenge, where for one week you eat on a budget at the poverty line and raise money for a charity working on issues related topics. Strikingly, the topics on tap each year - poverty, income inequality, food security - have stayed relatively stable. While this suggests that we're just not getting it right when addressing these insidious problems, the injustice of it all makes me increasingly frustrated.

What do I mean? Well for one, the most poor and vulnerable have the least say over decisions that could make their lives better. What is happening in the US right now is an excellent example of how politics can rapidly turn the tide. As president, Obama passed healthcare reform, tax benefits for the lower income brackets, and ramped up anti-poverty spending (e.g. food stamps), arguably doing more to reduce inequality among Americans than any previous administrations. It's hard to imagine any of this being particularly unpalatable, and yet barely a breath after power shifts we see tax breaks for the wealthy and budget cuts to social support programmes. According to an Atlantic article, "it will be much hard being poor in America"...while the government doesn't directly control economic growth, its policies determine "how growth is shared."

That's just the short of it. There are quite a few worries about what the Trump presidency will mean for the poor further afield. At present, the US contributes 22% to the UN budget and 29% of global peacekeeping efforts. An 'America First' mentality and a budget proposal that slashes foreign aid expenditures may have serious consequences for some of the most impoverished in the world. It's still not really America first, though, is it? Is rolling back environmental regulations that hold companies accountable for water and air pollution, easing protections on endangered species, and flat-out denying combating climate change is worth a nickle really making America a better place for the majority of citizens. Because environmental degradation often disproportionately affects the marginalized and minorities, this weakening of the environmental protection is expected to have implications for social justice. 

While I suppose society simply weathers the ebb and flow of political inclinations, we must acknowledge the collateral damage. Live Below the Line runs from 1-5 May this year in Oz, supporting Oaktree, a youth-led organization that aims to alleviate poverty. Check out my fundraising page and keep tabs on this year's Live Below the Line challenge.

What happened during LBL in...

2016 - Bad Accounting: Who Pays for Our Food?

2015 - Starting a Conversation on Hunger

2014 - Frugal Foodie on a British Pound: The Challenge Ahead

2013 - Loving the Lentils

2012 - What the World Eats

Let Them Eat Cake

Qu’ils mangent de la brioche. Those famous lines are often attributed (abeit incorrectly) to Marie Antoinette, Queen of France in the late 18th century, responding to food shortages and widespread  hunger. While the origins of the utterance are still hotly debated, the sentiment behind them and what they represent is quite powerful. An impoverished segment of the population complains of a lack of food - of no bread - and the wealthy, bourgeousie's response is to "let them eat cake". It demonstrates the complete lack of understanding of why people are going hungry, and the lack of empathy for the plight of those in poverty.

It's interesting that as a society we seem convinced that both the nature of and responses to contemporary poverty have changed drastically. We may no longer confront the feudal societies of lords and serfs, but there are vast inequalities present today, not only between countries but also within nations. Income inequality, one of the best studied of these topics, is still striking and a testament to the fact that capitalism and democratic societies breed elites just as do monarchies. But income is not the only measure of poverty, nor is it considered a complete one. 

Another school of thought, adopted by media sources like Fox News, reduces poverty down to material possessions, arguing that ownership of modern appliances like refrigerators and TVs negates any claims of need. Yet, it is increasingly accepted that material goods don't tell the whole story, either (see study on car ownership). Particularly where showy items are a sign of social standing - or are at least used to give this impression - people may opt for the seemingly less rational choice of buying a flatscreen rather than necessities. This complexity is part of the challenge, and why the questions of not only of how do we measure poverty, but also how we define it, continue to plague the 'development' sphere. These are no trivial matters, as what we measure and why to a large extent informs what we do.

There seems to be two tracks of interest for those of us who happen to study topics related to poverty. On the one hand, we spend a lot of time identifying where poor people exist. A recent study used an interesting combination of survey data from national statistics bureaus in Africa, 'night lights' or luminosity data, and daytime satellite images to build a model that predicts areas of poverty. This could allow poverty tracking to enter the 'data age', filling gaps and potentially replacing costly and often inaccurate household surveys.

On the other hand, what we really need to address are the root causes of poverty-driven inequities and suffering. For instance, groups that have historically been oppressed, because of ethnicity or social caste, may be more susceptible to the poverty trap. Some argue that freedom and empowerment enhance individuals' capacity to get out of poverty. Oftentimes, underlying factors are perpetuated and exacerbated by poverty itself, resulting in a viscious cycle. Poor neighborhoods many times have underperforming schools, fewer skilled job opportunities, and perhaps greater violence and drug use, making it difficult to break the cycle. These murky waters of poverty (and social injustice) were evident in a recent article in the New York Times, which explored divides resulting not just from wealth and education but by race. Of course, if this were all simple and straightforward, we would have met the Milennium (and now Sustainable) Development Goal of ridding the world of poverty ages ago. But acknowledging it's not clear-cut is a first step.

Now for those of you who only clicked the link because you thought I was offering cake, well you're partly in luck. However, rather than simply handing out sugar-laden baked goods or approving the act without providing means of obtaining or consuming, I'm giving you the first tool to enable you to bake your own cake. Sure, this assumes you live in a house with an oven and at least a bowl, spoon, and baking pan. It also assumes you have the resources to purchase the necessary ingredients. But seeing a roadmap (ie recipe) and knowing that eating your cake is possible, can be very empowering.

Citrus Polenta Cake

⅓ cup vegetable oil (canola, sunflower, etc.)

½ cup sugar (I used raw/unrefined)

1 tbs honey (or agave)

½ cup almond milk (or other non-dairy)

Zest of 2 oranges or lemons

1 ⅓ cup fine cornmeal/polenta (can also substitute up to ⅓ cup almond meal)

1 cup plain flour (unbleached)

¼ cup cornflour/cornstarch

½ tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda/bicarbonate

1 tbs cider vinegar or lemon juice

¼ cup chopped almonds

Juice of 2 oranges or lemons

¼ -⅓ cup sugar (respectively; or to taste)

1. Combine first five ingredients (‘wet’ ingredients) in a large bowl.

2. Mix five ‘dry’ ingredients (flours, salt, and bicarb) in a separate bowl* so that everything is well-incorporated.

3. Combine wet and dry ingredients until everything has come together. Add acid (vinegar or lemon) and almonds, mixing just to incorporate.

4. Pour batter into a loaf pan or small cake round (grease and flour, if not a silicone pan). Bake at 180°C for 25-30 minutes, until a knife comes out clean.

5. Meanwhile, heat citrus juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until it comes to a soft boil. Lower heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. It should be a bit syrupy and lightly coat the back of a spoon.

6. When cake is done, remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Pierce the top of the cake with a fork, so that the citrus syrup will the able to filter into the cake, then pour the syrup over the cake. Allow to cool completely. It will be dense!

*Can also do this in the first bowl, but make sure cornflour is added after the cornmeal and flour, otherwise it will clump.

Challenges of the Food Kind

So you may not know, but I recently moved (again). Not down the street to a new house; not even back to the US because my student visa expired. No, I decided it made sense to pick up and fly south, to the country where everything can supposedly kill you and I knew next to no one: Australia. You might imagine that a couple of things may have slipped my mind in the process. Well, both have made their way back onto my radar, and will now be on yours. 

The first, Friday at sunset the Jewish holiday of Passover began, marking the eight ensuing days of no grains and leavened products. It is an interesting holiday in that it actually touches on many salient issues in our contemporary world (e.g. slavery and freedom, injustice and inequality, agriculture and nature), and yet grasps firmly a set of archaic and at times illogical rules and restrictions. That said, an article I read this morning got me thinking about why we continue to follow these seemingly pointless traditions. The author noted, "I worry about making Passover too easy". And that's it; when something is easy, you don't need to think about it, take time to contemplate 'why am I doing this?', dwell on its relevance.

But this is not just a case for Passover (or the fasting holiday of Yom Kippur, either), but rather relates to many of the challenges that present themselves in our lives. So to me it is interesting that the annual Live Below the Line challenge* seems to coincide approximately with the completion of the holiday (and on occasion even overlaps). I almost missed the boat on having two food-related challenges over the course of two weeks, but luckily caught the oversight in time to begin living on AU$2 per day from May 2-6. Having taken part the last four years ($1.50 in the US and £1 in the UK), I can genuinely say it is a challenge, particularly considering I've always been in places with high costs of living (Washington, DC and Oxford are not known for their bargains...). But the challenge of it had made me think a bit more, empathize a bit more, pester all of you a bit more (donate!!). Tackling year five of the challenge in another new place has now made me research a bit more.

This brings me to the final topic of today's blog post: 'purchasing power parity'. Now, I am definitely no economist, so bear with me, but the concept of significance to understanding cost of living and affordability. It basically adjusts the price of good or bundle of goods to a common currency to compare against a baseline - for example, how many Big Macs could you buy in country X for US$1? The result is an idea of how expensive a place is to live (according to the Big Mac Index, we should consider moving to Venezuela for the greatest bang for our buck). And while it might explain why I now find the price of food in Australia to be a bit daunting (the dollar goes lessfar than in both the UK and the US), it also provides a rationale for those struggling in their home countries to migrate for work. My friend in Hong Kong pointed out the large number of Filipino and Indonesian women who come to the country for domestic work - not forever, just to send money home for a while. Price of goods is far greater in Hong Kong than either of the other two countries, but so are wages, much of which are sent back home where they can be stretched further.

Phew. Weighty stuff for a Monday morning (or Sunday evening). All of this is to emphasize the power of a little challenge to make us dwell a bit more on issues like hunger, poverty, and inequality. Stay tuned for more from my week Living Below, and don't forget to support the effort!

Further Reading:

Passover a Primer: Seeking Meaning in Tradition (2011)

Four Corners of the Field (2012)

What the World Eats (2012)

The Meaning of Fast (2013)

Frugal Foodie on a British Pound (2014)

What's My Age Again (2015)

*for some reason, it is not happening this year in the US or UK, so I have registered in Australia. This means that neither the Hunger Project nor the Rainforest Foundation, to which I have given in the past, will be on the receiving. But please do consider supporting the Oaktree Foundation working towards improving education!

Pulse of the Planet: Vital Signs for Food & Agriculture

It's a good thing I didn't make any New Years resolution about blogging more frequently; I'm afraid I would have already broken it! So let's start the new year with setting the food stage a bit, shall we?

Time to get excited, kids, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has announced what 2016 is the international year of pulses! Yes, I know it will be massively difficult to beat 2015's International Year of Soils, so foundational, with such a deep profile. (If you're laughing a bit, please continue) But, pulses are an extremely important and yet under appreciated group of crops.

Now when we say pulse, we're not talking about that manifestation of your heartbeat when a doctor checks vital signs. Though, i would probably argue that their health, vigour, and abundance are vital signs of the well being of food and agricultural systems. Agronomically, pulses are annual legumes... That's beans and lentils if we get right down to it. As you might imagine these lil' guys are important, both for feeding the masses and for maintaining healthy agroecosystems. 

Let's start with people. Beans, peas, and other lentils are staple sources of calories and protein in many developing countries. While pulses comprise only about 3% of total calories consumed in developing nations, there is a wide range and they can actually make up close to 50% of protein intake (e.g. Burindi). Because they are cheap and high in protein, percentage of total calories will be much higher among the poor in these countries. And if you take largely vegetarian societies, like those in India, pulses feature prominently in nearly every dish - from lentil daal and lentil-battered pakora to chickpea curries. Plus, let's be honest, pulses are pretty culturally iconic - baked beans? rice and beans? hummus and falafel?

But it's not just about people; pulses are crucial for the health of the planet. For one, as legumes, they have symbiotic bacteria in their roots that fix nitrogen from the air (rather than relying on humans to do that synthetically...). They are often used to improve soil fertility, planted as cover crops and green manures, and help the bioavailability of other soil nutrients while improving water infiltration. What's more, some pulses (e.g. pigeon peas) grow well where few other crops tolerate - in depleted soils and semi-arid climates. Leguminous crop residues help complete a closed looped farming system, providing idea fodder for animals.

If you look at traditional and indigenous American gardens, you can also get a sense of how well certain pulses integrate into an agroecological system. The three sisters form a multi-story farming system, with squashes at the ground level as a totally killer weed suppressor, maize growing high above, and beans fertilizing the soil and climbing up the golden stalks.

If you happened to have developed a hankering for some pulsey dishes over the course of this blog post, you're in luck. They're a vegan's best friend, so I've got a few for you to give a try.
- Curry Me Pumpkin
- A Practical Pulse
- Rocket Hummus
- Roasted Corn Farrotto
- Frijoles Refritos
- Beanie Butter Blondie

Top photo credit: Meena Kadri

The Power of the Kitchen

This is the third Thanksgiving in a row (and the fifth in total) I've spent outside the US (and won't be the last). It's by far and away my favourite American holiday, but not because of what it historically represents (as John Oliver reminded us) or the endless Black Friday sales fueling our consumer habits. But rather because it is a perfect opportunity for reflection and taking stock of the good fortunes in one's life. But it's also a really conducive time for social critiques - like on income disparities in That Slice of Pie last year or the refugee and terrorism hysteria plaguing the media now. This year, I've been spending some time in communities experiencing food poverty, and have only fully begun to realize the power of having a kitchen.

Oxford is a strange place, though not unique in this respect. Amidst the elevated intellect and apparent wealth, there is considerable poverty and even homelessness. Where Oxford University colleges host lavish formal dinners, there are people on the fringes of the city who struggle to access food at all. In fact, it's estimated that nearly one quarter of children in Oxford live below the poverty line! But, what surprised me in chatting with people at food surplus distribution points (e.g. food banks) is that obtaining basic ingredients is not always the problem, rather a place to store and cook it is. Fuel costs - electric, gas, or even coal/wood on boats - or lack of facilities are major issues.

So now we come to appreciation of kitchens. Thanksgiving was just two days ago, and on that holiday food happens to be a cental fixture, a force that draws families together. And while a solid 10% of Americans will go for something other than a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner, gathering in the kitchen is still an important piece of the pie for many of us. In my observations, the kitchen is where the best socializing happens, where people flock to during parties and get-togethers despite more open space elsewhere. It just goes to show the power of a kitchen, and how it can also be an agent not just for eating fresh and healthy foods but also building community and social cohesion.

One of the men I spoke with during this project couldn't afford fuel to cook or a friedge to store perishables, or even food at times. And yet, his eyes lit up at the prospect of using a communal kitchen to prepare meals for anyone who needed. Generosity in the kitchen, from someone who has so little, is very telling. Sharing food fulfills a hunger that eating along won't ever satiate. I probably take a home-cooked meal for granted, and perhaps don't fully grasp the great fortune of having shared meals among friends on a regular basis. It is especially important to remember on days like Thanksgiving that this is not the case for everyone, and the absence of a kitchen has more resounding consequences than merely the loss of hot food.

There's some food for thought. Now go appreciate your kitchen and make some pumpkin pie!

**BONUS** Ode to Winter Squash

Starting a Conversation on Hunger

The 'food stamp challenge' has been getting a lot of press recently. That's what happens when a celebrity signs up for such a trial, and even moreso when there is something for people to critique. While the word on the street is that Gwyneth Paltrow tried and failed, the commentaries surfacing are likely to make more impact than finishing off the week of frugal living ever could. Attempting to mimic the constraints placed on the 46 million Americans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP), the Food Stamp Challenge allows for approximately $4 per day per person to purchase food from grocery stores and farmers markets. The actual amount any household would receive in actuality varies by income, location, and household size, and may or may not constitute the sum total of cash available for subsistence.

Gwyneth Paltrow's week on $29

But let's get back to Gwyneth. The first major critique was that no person on food stamps, in his or her right mind, would make such purchases in order to maximize the dollars in hand (my favourite quote: "Really, when you're eating on a budget, who prioritizes limes?"). Greens may be full of vitamins and minerals, but calories they are not. But let's say these verdant victuals are on the grocery list, the question of where to obtain them still remains. The low income that qualifies someone for SNAP often coincides with residence in less attractive lieus, perhaps 'food deserts' where processed and package foods at convenience shops dominate. Farmers markets and gardens are two ways communities and organizations are trying to combat this issue of access in food deserts, such as in East Palo Alto.

People on food support programmes also may struggle with how to allocate their other funds - to food, shelter, clothing, etc. - as SNAP is meant to support families with their food needs, not feed them in entirety. This is a tradeoff that someone following the challenge wouldn't confront, but leads people to be ill-equipped to provide healthful and adequate nourishment on a budget.

Another article raised similar issues about the suite of other difficulties faced by those living at a level in which food stamps are necessary. This is a risk any of these simplified fundraising efforts run, and people will assume that the problem is thus as simple, that the hardship of poor access to adequate or healthy food is the long and the short rather than one among many symptoms of a larger issue. In developing countries, poor infrastructure, insufficient sanitation and healthcare, and limited educational opportunities are more likely causes of the leading causes of death (e.g. HIV/AID, diarrheal ailments, etc.). Particularly since today is Earth Day, it's important to recognize that more deaths and much reduction in quality of life are in fact caused by pollution and environmental degradation. At the heart of all of these issues seems to be poverty and marginalization - an inaccessibility of resources, neglect by government programmes, and an absence of voice and power to actually catalyze change. Climate change, which is this year's Earth Day theme, is an added layer that merely exacerbates these social and environmental inequities.

However, the component parts of hunger are often glossed over for catchy phrases and simple campaigns. If Gwyneth Paltrow blogging about the Food Stamp Challenge or Hugh Jackman discussing Living Below the Line on video gets the discussion moving, then so be it! I did write about the limitations of the Live Below the Line Challenge the first year I decided to try it, so check that out. And if you want to compare what Gwyneth did on $4 per day to my $1.50/£1, here are my past three years of Living Below the Line:

Live Below the Line - 2012

Live Below the Line - 2013

Live Below the Line - 2014

One Hodge-Podge of a Year

Well boys and girls, it's that time again. The count-down has begun; the hours are ticking away. 2015 is only just around the corner. Looking back at last year's recap of 2013 just reinforced how every minute, every hour we spend living our lives, is integral to the people we are and will become. Not to sound too trite on the eve of a new year, but if not now, when? This time last year I was just beginning to question whether it was the right decision to come out here and rejoin the ranks of indebted young people in higher education. While I can't say those doubts have disappeared, I've come to terms with the uncertainty embedded in any decision. And it's not the choices themselves that dictate our futures; but rather we dictate our choices that illuminate paths we might be able to travel down. Could this current path be easier? Sure. I don't believe I have ever worked so hard, and in so many ways, before in my life. Yet that is part of the journey. To be fair, I would not not trade any of my hodgepodge of experiences this past year. So enough introspection, let's reminisce!

This year started out pretty wet, with record floods in the UK. Unfortunately, drought was concurrently wreaking havoc in California, a dry spell that continues to this day, leading to concerns that this may be a new normal rather than a severe extreme weather event. I seemed to have a thing for equality in 2014, and not just for inequitable water distribution. The 5th assessment report of the IPCC came out and we started talking about the differential impacts of climate change across the globe. 2014 marked the third year of living below the line for a week in May, this time on the UK equivalent of the poverty line at £1 a day (which, believe me, in Oxford is no small feat). Blog Action Day in October followed a theme of 'Inequality' and spurred a post on how women in Ghana are combating inequality in farming. And apparently Thanksgiving is now a time to think about wealth distribution and income gaps.

While no farm will ever replace Country Pleasures in my heart, I did settle into a routine working most Saturdays at a local farmers market. That meant blog posts waxing on about the 'dirt under my finger nails' and finally a day out on the farm playing with lambs and remembering why I love hanging out with farmers. My infatuation with winter squash came across strongly this year, and hasn't waned in the slightest (should I start a support group?). There was talk of seed saving and pumpkin pie. We were selling this funny-looking Black Futsu at market one week. And this Halloween surfaced some discussion about pumpkins and food waste (during the most exciting of Pumpkin Festival weeks!). I may also be harbouring a couple of buttercup squashes in my room.

On the (more) personal side of things, I did a bit of extracurricular wanderings to Malta (where I saw really old buildings), a Canary Island (where we saw old landscapes), the Pyrennees (where we saw our own dwindling food supplies), and Croatia (where I saw my baby sister after 2.5 years apart). Spring came, along with examinations (I passed!). I got older (28, yikes...) and My Munchable Musings did too (celebrated its 5th)! Not to mention, this was my 15th meat-free year (well worth a read).

But as I wrote last year, for all my good intentions I just can't seem to keep a consistent routine on the blog since coming back to school. This current academic stint comes to a close in September 2015, so look out for next year's recap to hear about adventures to come!

Past Recaps:

New Year's Resolution - 2013

A Year in Food - 2012

New Year, Empty Fridge - 2011

A New Year's Resolution - 2010

It's a New Year! - 2009

Frugal Foodie on a Ghana Cedi: Candle-Lit Dinner

Let’s talk about electricity. You probably don’t think about it a whole lot (at least, I didn’t); something that’s easy to take for granted. A quick flip of a switch and voila, a luminescence appears without the slightest effort. But let’s suppose that is not the case. Perhaps 10:00am rolls around and BAM, the socket is dead, your computer has maybe an hour or two of life left, there is that important Skype call at noon, and the power could be out for an hour or ten. At least it’s a nice day, so take a break and go for a walk.

But let’s say it’s 6:30pm, you’ve just begun to put dinner on the stove, and suddenly you are left with little more than the glow of the gas burner. Now that’s a different story, but one that has become all too common here in Ghana. In the States, electric companies are responsible for ensuring adequate power to cover both base loads and peak usage. I can just imagine the outrage, the demands for compensation, the hours upon hours of customer service calls, if regular power outages occurred.

Here, the absence of electricity during certain days or times of day seems almostmandatory, and is very much expected. As many people cook with charcoal, or gas if they have the money, they don’t run into the same problems of non-functional microwaves, electric ovens, or burner coils (though refrigeration can be a problem in some circumstances).

Life without light – without the blaring TV, the ever-present computer – just goes on. It’s kind of nice though; you can sit, writing, listening to the sounds of all life around – the strange chirps and buzzes that only come with the night. Reading, talking, playing games, or actually getting that much-needed sleep rather than spending an extra hour or two on Facebook. There are also downsides to the unpredictability: work can come to a grinding halt (like my literature review progress, yesterday); food that was refrigerated or frozen could spoil; and the streets of the city become a little more hazardous for pedestrians.

Yet, power out or not, we still have access to it regularly; many communities are left without it entirely. In fact, in Ghana 28% of the population (about 7 million people) still has no electricity, and in the whole of Africa 550 million people (that's just under 50%) are without reliable electricity. While I fully believe that in the US model, we rely too heavily on a constant supply of electricity for devices and other stimuli, there are also serious barriers to development that coincide with its complete absence. Think about hospitals. Think about schools. Think about air control towers.

All that said, I quite enjoyed my torch-lit (yes, electric powered by rechargeable batteries…) dinner. It is by far my favourite combination of Ghanaian foods, and really the only dishes I can competently make myself.

Red-Red and Stew of Contumere ne Naadewa (serves 2-3)

6 small spicy peppers

5 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

3 onions, sliced thin

1 cm³ ginger, minced very finely

2.5 cups black-eyed peas, cooked

6-8 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 tbs tomato paste

2 small eggplants, seeded and finely diced

3 cups/6-8 leaves cocoyam leaves or collard greens, shredded

2 tbs vegetable oil + 3-4 tbs red palm oil

Salt to taste

Water as needed

1. Place peppers, onions, and garlic in a bowl of water. Prepare the eggplant, and do the same but salted. Ever 10 minutes, drain the eggplant and refill with water

2. With a mortar and pestle, begin to grind the peppers until the seeds are no longer identifiable. Add half the onions and all the garlic, and continue to grind to a uniform pulp.

3. We’re making two dishes simultaneously, so in two saucepans, heat 1 tbs of vegetable oil and 1 tbs red palm oil over a medium flame. Add half of the pulp to each pan, stir, and then cover. Allow to cook only for 2-3 minutes, and then add half each of the rest of the onions (and maybe a splash of water, if it’s sticking). Now cook for about 5 minutes. 

4. To one pot, add the tomatoes and ginger. Cover and let stew for about 10 minutes to break down the tomatoes. Drain the eggplant one final time, and pour it into the other pot. Stir, add water if needed, and cover, allowing to stew for 10-15 minutes.

5. Thin tomato paste in ¼ cup of water. Add, along with beans, to the tomato pot. Reduce to a simmer and let the flavours meld for a nice 20 minutes. In the other pot, add the greens. You may have to do this in stages, as it will cook down considerably. Also reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the eggplant is basically falling apart and the greens are very soft. Salt both stews to taste.

6. Fry up some plantain (1 per person is probably fine) and enjoy! Remember, in true form, only eat with your right hand. :)

Don't worry Mom and Day, I'm alive and well!

My Munchable Soapbox: Unfair Trade

It’s interesting how one can write on a topic for a good number of years – relying on reports and media – and have based so many actions and critiques on second or third hand information. And yet, when actually confronted with the reality of something, it is evident how simplified and dumbed-down it may become. Fair trade seems to fit this bill – attempting to distill very complex socio-economic (and to some extent ecological) commodity systems down to a mere label

As many of you know, I am in Ghana this summer chatting with cocoa farmers. As the third (almost second) largest producer of cocoa, Ghana provides an interesting study in where this ideal system of “fairness” breaks down. There are a number of companies, as you would imagine, operating in the country, including Akuapa Cooperative – the exclusive supplier of cocoa to the Fair Trade chocolate manufacturer, Divine. While it does provide community development project support for things like schools, it is hard to track down direct benefits to the thousands of cooperative “members”. In fact, few of the farmers with whom we spoke even seemed to realize that it is a cooperative, nor had any clue about types of certifications. I am sure if I had a conversation with someone at Kuapa Co., a more satisfactory answered could be supplied, but from this point, it smells a bit fishy that there is such little awareness of what the cooperative claims to do.

The other issue that makes something like Fair Trade in the country perhaps a bit misleading is the fact that Ghana’s Cocoa Board places a fixed price on cocoa. This can be very useful in relieving uncertainty and avoiding massive fluctuations in price that cocoa farmers in other parts of the world experience. On the other hand, it is hard to financially reward farmers for good management or producing high quality beans. One of the purchasing clerks (the individual who weigh the beans and send to the company’s depot) was showing us the difference in beans that are properly dried and those that not. Despite the higher price it likely fetches at some point along the value chain, the farmer sees none of that, no positive reinforcement for proper management and processing. What frustrates me is that someone gets rich; and that is someone other than the farmer.

It is sad, because so little thought goes into this dilemma on the consumer end. You can easily hand over a dollar for a large Hershey’s bar, or a Cadbury bar in the UK, without a care about those that ultimately lose out, those who actually produce the raw material and yet never see the finished product. I’m not quite sure what the answer is, though I think after this summer, it will be hard to stomach any more big brand cheap chocolate. Trusting a single label is an error, but it is possible to track down companies who practice more direct trade and try conducting some or all processing at the origin. The costs are higher, but when you think about what goes into a single bar of chocolate, anything else seems like highway robbery!

Read more about Fair Trade and Kuapo Kokoo.

Frugal Foodie on a British Pound: The Challenge Ahead

Wait, what?  I thought this was the last day of the challenge! And it is. However, the point of living below the line for a week is not to "get through it" and be done, forget about poverty, hunger, and the like. When it comes down to it, this is just the starting point. There are still over one billion people living in extreme poverty on less than $1.25 per day and nearly 850 million people who go to bed "hungry". While these numbers have slowly, steadily decreased in the past couple of decades, challenges ahead will try the global community's ingenuity and commitment to social justice.

One in particular, and a topic you might notices crops up a lot around here, is how climate change is going to affect the malnourished and impoverished. In Oxfam UK's Hot and Hungry, it is apparent that climatic shifts can disrupt even the best laid plans. Extreme weather events (e.g. cyclones, droughts), as well as incremental increases in temperature and altered rainfall patterns, threaten current practices of agricultural production, not to mention causing indirect impacts on food prices, delivery systems, etc. It will be necessary for people to adapt accordingly, but we are not at all prepared for what is ahead. And the authors chalk up these shortcomings to - what else? - poverty, inequality, and political failing.

That is what is so amazing about this week; a heightened awareness and desire to act around these issues. The US contingent has raised nearly $300,000, and in the UK it has just topped £450,000 (multiply by 1.7 for USD). Now if the dedication and enthusiasm of 20,000 peope participating in LBL this year were sustained, if acting in the face of poverty and hunger were a normal and concerted everyday affair, how would this world be a different place?

A piece of the answer (and a vital one, at that) came in the form of another New York Times article. It looked at the plight of poor families in the US - how many creature comforts and technological amenities are at their fingertips (smart phones being one of those mentioned). But the cost of basic services, such as education, healthcare, and food, have soared out of the readily accessible range. This tells me that what we need is not cheaper goods; we need a shift in attitudes around the rights of all people. And, as this article very much illustrates, we need improved policy - taken together, a change in attitudes of our policy makers. I hope that living below is helping to send the message of this importance.

Finally, on to food and reflection from LBL 2014. Unlike years past, I found much more creativity in the food at my disposal this year (though definitely don't want to see barley for a while). A can of tomatoes and bag of peanuts go a long way to making a pretty exciting and filling curry. That baby purple cabbage made a lovely, if slightly less complex version of my super-quick soup. And I even concocted some semblance of a dessert by topping mashed sweet potato with an oaty-apple mixture! So, while I am still sluggish and desperately in want of green vegetables, the week has been another meaningful (and hopefully effectual) experience. Until next year!