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Tuesday 30 September 2008

World Food Day Event


To commemorate World Food Day, my dear friend Valli of More than Burnt Toast is holding a cyber event. This is what she says in her own words:


To highlight World Food Day in my own small way I am holding a World Food Day event with the help of my good blogging friend and adopted sister Ivy of Kopiaste. We are bringing the world a little closer together with us blogging on opposite sides of the world...Ivy in Athens, Greece and me from British Columbia, Canada. Ivy was kind enough to accept my invitation to raise awareness through this event. The blogging community spans the globe so I would like you to submit a recipe which represents your country that would feed at least 6 people. You can send something that is a family favourite or a regional favourite that uses local and perhaps seasonal ingredients.


We could then lay each dish back to back and have enough food to feed everyone on our street. If more people joined we could feed everyone in our city...our country...the world...you get the picture!!! A conga line of international dishes to feed the world!!!!


Now what I was supposed to do is to prepare a dish that represents my country. There are far, far too many dishes that represent Malaysia so I thought I would cheat a little and feature two dishes that I Didnt make but have posted about before that are truly Malaysian. Then I would ALSO feature a very Malaysian dish that I DID make (and also posted about before).

So here are my THREE featured Malaysian Dishes:

1. What I think is the National Food of Malaysia. Something that almost everyone eats at all times throughout the day. Its cheap and simple and would definitely be a dish that is cheap enough to feed hungry mouths. Perhaps the UN should consider this as a tasty dish to feed the less priviliged? I am talking about none other than Nasi Lemak




2. Next up is Malaysia's favourite and famous Barbecued Meat on skewers. This is another dish that is considered our National Dish so what better choice for World Food Day than

Satay



3. Finally, my homemade dish which is as Malaysian as you can get. Featured in Malay cuisine, Chinese cuisine and even sometimes in Indian cuisine - so how much more Malaysian can you get? The delicious and easy to make Kangkung Belacan. The recipe can be found at the link.



There are far too many poor people with little or no food in the world while those of us that have access to proper food sometimes over indulge and waste food. It is shocking to know that some people live on less than US1 a day! Sad but true.

For more shocking news, look at some of these stats listed at globalissues.org

  • Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than US$2.50 a day

  • At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day

  • Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen

  • There are about 2.2 billion children in the world of which 1 billion live in poverty - thats every second child


Pretty damned shocking if you ask me. So while we enjoy our food and indulge ourselves ever so often, think of the less fortunate and do what you can, no matter how small to help.

As the song by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure goes...


There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears




As a final note, to all my Muslim friends and readers, Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri (Eid Mubarak)


Note: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has celebrated World Food Day each year on October 16 since 1945. The theme for this years conference is "World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy."


12 comments:

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

We thank you with all our heart in raising awareness so eloquently and with 3 dishes no less. You would make a great ambassador for all the hungry in this world Dharm:D

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

I think you've got real world food there Dharm - just really good eats!

maybelles mom said...

thanks for the reminder of what is really important.

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Great entry Dharm. Hunger is a terrible, terrible thing and unfortunately is also totally senseless and can be eradicated. Hopefully events like this can and will help!

Thistlemoon said...

Wow Dharm, those statistics sure are telling....I feel a little chocked up over here!

Beautiful dishes too!

Nikki @ NikSnacks said...

I don't know how to give a virtual round of applause, but that's what I'm doing right now. Thanks for posting the stats (and the food).

Dee said...

We throw around phrases like "I'm famished" and "Starving" without thinking about the true meaning of these words. Thank you for the reminder of a very real problem. I'll try and participate if time permits.

CECIL said...

Dharm, thank you for posting this. Not to make my comment too long, but we have been involved in fighting hunger for quite a while now. It happens everywhere and sometimes it seems too big of a problem to tackle. However, I learn that there are many people who want to help and just not sure how/where from. So, thank you for posting thing, I hope more people find their own ways to fight hunger.

As for your dishes, those are the best dishes representing Malaysia! I want some kangkung!! :)

NĂºria said...

Traditional dishes are usually the cheapest and born out of the lack of money and resources... it's the same here in Spain... but this doesn't mean they are not GREAT DISHES! Love to know about the Real Food :D

Those statistics are horrible :(. Nobody should suffer from hunger!

giz said...

So glad Dharm took the time to share the stats with us. That, in and of itself begins our journey to creating a greater awareness to others and a greater appreciation to our own situations.

Ivy said...

Sorry for being so late to thank you for your participation with all these lovely recipes for our event and taking some of your time to give more information, which were due to personal reasons. We must be grateful for what we still have and not forget those who are not privileged as we are and never forget that we might become in their position.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Today is World Food Day Dharm. Thank you once again for all your help in spreading the word about this world issue. We so appreciate all your dishes for our conga line. Let's DANCE!!!!!!The party has started!!!!!