Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Quotes on Hunger

Our Advocacy intern, Natasha, found a wellspring of quotes on the issue of Hunger. I thought I'd share them with you and see if, in turn, you have some you would like to share with us. Please post your favorites to the comment section below and...

...may you be inspired!
There are genuinely sufficient resources in the world to ensure that no one, nowhere, at no time, should go hungry.
-- Ed Asner

Hungry people cannot be good at learning or producing anything, except perhaps violence.
-- Pearl Bailey
We are a country that prides itself on power and wealth, yet there are millions of children who go hungry every day. It is our responsibility, not only as a nation, but also as individuals, to get involved. So, next time you pass someone on the street who is in need, remember how lucky you are, and don't turn away.
-- Lesley Boone

The fact is that there is enough food in the world for everyone. But tragically, much of the world's food and land resources are tied up in producing beef and other livestock--food for the well off--while millions of children and adults suffer from malnutrition and starvation.
-- Dr.Walden Bello

The American fast food diet and the meat eating habits of the wealthy around the world support a world food system that diverts food resources from the hungry. A diet higher in whole grains and legumes and lower in beef and other meat is not just healthier for ourselves but also contributes to changing the world system that feeds some people and leaves others hungry.
-- Dr.Walden Bello

…the first essential component of social justice is adequate food for all mankind. Food is the moral right of all who are born into this world.
-- Norman Borlaug

If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the same time cultivate the fields to produce more bread; otherwise there will be no peace.
-- Norman Borlaug

One of the greatest feelings in the world is knowing that we as individuals can make a difference. Ending hunger in America is a goal that is literally within our grasp.
-- Jeff Bridges

35 million people in the U.S. are hungry or don't know where their next meal is coming from, and 13 million of them are children. If another country were doing this to our children, we'd be at war.
-- Jeff Bridges

Public charities, foodbanks and church pantries are doing more than ever before, but they can't keep up with the need. We can never end hunger only through the wonderful work of local charities. Like other Western democracies, we must end our national problem of hunger through national and political leadership. Charity is nice for some things, but not as a way to feed a nation. We don't protect our national security through charity, and we shouldn't protect our families and children that way either.
-- Jeff Bridges

Most of our citizenry believes that hunger only affects people who are lazy or people who are just looking for a handout, people who dont' want to work, but, sadly, that is not true. Over one-third of our hungry people are innocent children who are members of households that simply cannot provide enough food or proper nutrition. And to think of the elderly suffering from malnutrition is just too hard for most of us. Unlike Third World nations, in our country the problem is not having too little – it is about not caring enough! Write your elected representatives and promote support for the hungry.
-- Erin Brokovich

Many people think that hunger is unavoidable in any society, even a society that is blessed with great abundance. That is not true. The European community does not have widespread hunger. America, which leads the world in so many ways, can end childhood hunger within its borders.
-- Pierce Brosnan

"A hungry man can't see right or wrong. He just sees food."
-- Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973)

"Hunger makes a thief of any man."
-- Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973)

"There will never cease to be ferment in the world unless people are sure of their food."
-- Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973)

In this country that grows more food than any other nation on this earth, it is unthinkable that any child should go hungry.
-- Sela Ward, actress

The day hunger disappears, the world will see the greatest spiritual explosion humanity has ever seen.
-- Federico Garcia Lorca
Many thanks to Culture of Peace Initiative.