The Ethical Gainer

I know ethics is not exactly a popular topic in the gainerverse, but it’s something I think about from time to time. My interest has focused on a single underlying ethical question about gaining: Is my gaining, my unabashed gluttony, my hyper-consumption, somehow wrong in light of global poverty and hunger?

I’ve spent a good deal of my adult life working in the field of economic development and poverty-reduction and even lived in East Africa—where my robust figure made me the single-most eligible bachelor in the Great Rift Valley. During that time, I’ve studied issues like food security and malnourishment extensively, and I can safely say that my over-indulgence is not hurting the well-being of other people.

But then why do I still feel a little guilty?

Perhaps that’s society’s morality hanging over my head (we sure do love to demonize fat people) or maybe it’s just my nagging Jewish half, but even knowing that the hard facts are on my side, I still feel that twinge of guilt. I eat enough food to sustain an entire family in some parts of the world. And when those families are going to bed hungry, I should, at the very least, take a good look at the ethical foundation upon which I stand.

Is it unjust to grow fatter while others starve? Is there something we can do to ease our consciences? What does it take to be an ethical gainer?


GAINING IS NOT HEALTHY FOR CHILDREN AND OTHER LIVING THINGS

To understand the ethical question, it’s critical to understand the relationship between the food we eat and the lack of food in poorer countries. The truth is that there is no direct connection between the two.

Food is not a zero sum game: Putting a cheeseburger in my stomach, doesn’t take it away from a poor child in sub-Saharan Africa. It’s entirely possible for every person on this planet to be well nourished and still have plenty of food left over for the fatties. Famines and malnourishment are not caused by Western over-consumption—but rather by political and economic conditions on the ground.

Yet even if my habits aren’t directly having a negative impact, do I not have an ethical obligation to do something for those who are not so lucky? I was raised to believe that “to whom much is given, much is expected.” I’ve been blessed to grow up in a place with an abundance of food, but how do I give back?

Even if we could give that hypothetical cheeseburger to an impoverished child abroad, it would actually do more harm than good. As we saw in Somalia in the 90s, when we dump our food aid on hapless third world nations, we undercut the local market prices and deepen the famine's we're trying to stop, forcing local producers out of business.

Think about it: If you're a local farmer selling potatoes for 50 cents a pound, and suddenly the USAID plane arrives and middlemen start selling high-quality, American-grown grains for half that price, how can you compete? You can't. So you either go out of business or switch to a cash crop, which means a return to famine next season once the food aid is gone. It's a vicious, unsustainable cycle.

So I can’t just donate that cake I was going to have for dessert, but I still want to do something positive. What if there was a way for me to have my cake, and let people in need eat it too? (OK, I need to stop mixing my metaphors).

There is. And it comes in the form of a small, unique, delightfully-named initiative:


THE FULL BELLY PROJECT

So aside from the killer name, this is a really wonderful organization that I have had first-hand experience working with. And I can assure you that they are making a real difference for food security—and doing it in a sustainable way.

The Full Belly Project’s primary mission is to help spread the use of cheap, simple and locally-produced agricultural technology that can disproportionately impact the food supply in poor rural areas. They’re not just teaching a man to fish—they’re teaching him how to maximize his yield.

Their pilot project focused on a basic nut shelling device, which may sound like no big woop, but is already helping people in extreme poverty to boost their productivity and get better profits from what they grow. That means more full bellies in places where that’s not always a choice.

So if you too feel like your over-indulgent ways put you in an ethical quandry, don’t put down that slice of pizza—keep eating. But while you’re doing it, check out The Full Belly Project online and give a little something. Because more full bellies is a cause all of us can get behind.

www.thefullbellyproject.org/