Hungry Planet Supper Night

April 15, 2008

Recently a friend loaned us a copy of Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. An essay and photo journal featuring a breakdown of what 30 families around the world eat in a week.

The kids and I used the book as a world study curriculum for a couple weeks. Then recently Damien proposed we take the "study" a step farther and suggested our family eat simply for one day each week, following a diet similar to impoverished people around the world.

We decided we weren't ready for a whole day of beans, rice, gruel and weak vegetable broths but we were ready for supper once a week.

Tonight was the first night of the experiment. From a cook's perspective I like this experiment. With modern conveniences of electric stoves and pressure cookers I can cook beans very quickly so unlike many women around the world I don't spend all day gathering and cooking food. But a very simple meal of beans, rice and onions, for seasoning, is a life lesson for all of us in simplicity and empathy.

We're hoping our kids will grow in compassion and a desire for justice and not grow up to think their parents were wacko deprivation freaks.