I say that all the time (what your mom said) If you gathered up all of the food that kids throw away, you could feed ridiculous amounts of people in 3rd world countries.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Thank you kind man, for your generous gift of tons and tons of rotten, half eaten food from rich people!

by Anonymous 14 years ago

are you dumb? I meant, the same amount of food (by weight) could feed people in 3rd world countries.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

"If you gathered up all of the food that kids throw away", that would be tons. By the time it is transported to Africa it would be rotten, as it has already been cooked. If you want to help the starving people in Africa, lobby your government to buy African goods. That is the ONLY way that their poverty will ever end. Throwing them scraps might feed them for a day or two, but it won't ever solve the problem.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

a) if you read my response, you'd see that I meant, gather up the same amount of food. b) you're either misinformed, or ignorant. The african government has more money than it knows what to do with. The LAST thing you want to do is to lobby North America to buy African goods. You want to send food and other goods to the poorer parts of the country. and feeding them for a day or 2 is ALOT better than not feeding them at all. p.s. buying African goods is NOT the only way to end poverty in Africa. Get back to me once you've gathered more REAL knowledge about the situation.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I am in fact ignorant, I have failed to recognise Africa as a single nation rather than an expansive continent filled with a range of different ethnic groups, economies and government regimes. There are three types of nation within Africa: Semi-Westernised, such as South Africa, Developing, as is much of the continent, and Desperate, such as a few of the countries like Ethiopia. Many of the nations, such as Mozambique have a highly corrupt government that keeps an wealth secured in the hands of a few violent men. This is a terrible tragedy, yet, something that is seen in almost EVERY countries development, including England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, etc. Even the USA to an extent. The classic "Live Aid" style imagery that we have exposure to in the west is usually from the desperate nations, were both a corrupt government and an absence of natural resources have left the majority in crippling poverty.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Notice how the whole time we were talking about AFRICA not it's individual countries? That's what I thought now shut the fuck up and stop wasting my time, trying to sound smart.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Wealth originates from several places, Natural Resources is an important (but not essential, e.g. Japan), factor in a countries wealth, a stable climate is also important, something that these countries will never have, no matter how much half chewed meatloaf you send them. Next is a strong workforce, as cheap labour counts as a resource itself, now, these countries have plenty of cheap labour, this is their resource. If the government were to encourage companies to change their suppliers to African produce, for items such as batteries and car tyres, there would be a real wealth gain, and over time it may allow the pyramid of wealth concept to establish itself. I appreciate your sentiment, but would mobilise the massive effort and the funds needed to transport your food to the continent? The money and time spent on this could be spent on fresh water schemes, or microinvestment, which present a long term aid, rather than a short term one.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Some rough figures: 75 million children in the USA. Assuming wastage per meal is 10%, then there would be enough food to feed 7.5million for one meal. There are 1billion people in Africa It would take 399 days of food collection to feed everyone on the continent for one day, to feed them for a year: 145,635 days, or 400 years. Maybe you should have done your facts before calling me ignorant. I'll end with a (somewhat overused) quote, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime"

by Anonymous 14 years ago

yea but uhm excuse me, eating the food is kinda selfish. like heres what i say . Me: mom im throwing this away ok ? Mom: Dont waste that ! A child in Africa is starving ! Me: Oh okay, so if i eat this then a child in africa wont be starving anymore ?

by Anonymous 14 years ago

It's not so much that a child in Africa can eat your leftovers. But the work and money that went into producing your meal is a waste, and could be used to feed a starving child instead. Also you show a lack of gratitude for a simple meal when a child would be ecstatic at the sight of an almost bare chicken bone.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

You could at least have a compost so it goes back into the earth, not a landfill.

by Anonymous 14 years ago