Antiochus Epiphanes
August 18th, 2005, 04:38 PM
Niggers, Nigerians, whatever. They have some very stupid and harmful food habits as described in this article.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050818/hl_afp/nigerfoodcrisis
Traditional diet exacerbates Niger food crisis 1 hour, 41 minutes ago
Despite a long-awaited injection of food aid and the creation of renutrition camps for the children hardest hit by Niger's food crisis, malnutrition in the impoverished country remains a perennial problem with roots in the nations eating habits.
"Millet is a tradition here, and we dont know how to eat anything else," laughed Mohammed, a policeman in the southern Maradi region, ravaged by famine. "We never prepare fresh fruits and vegetables. We dont even know how."
Acute malnutrition in the landlocked sub-Saharan country has been blamed on the effects of drought and an invasion of locusts last year, but experts say the traditional diet and cultural beliefs are constant factors affecting Niger's food security.
Some suggest that Niger's high rates of infant malnutrition and mortality may be directly related to the diet mainly consisting of millet paste and untreated water.
A report by the World Food Program detailing the eating habits of the population is eagerly awaited by members of the international community involved in relief efforts and nutrition development.
Tradition in Niger also dictates that mothers express their colostrum, the breast milk produced in the first few days after birth that is loaded with proteins and boosts the immune system, and throw it away.
Infants are weaned very quickly, but young children are refused eggs in the belief that it will prevent them from becoming thieves. They also tend to be the last to be fed during the daily meals, long after the father and mother.
The current crisis has sparked a belated influx of international aid, and in the roller-coaster cycle of fat years and lean there is now some hope for the months ahead.
"Every single year we've had problems in the lean period. This year they are worse, and everyone is in a difficult situation. We have help right now, but by next summer well be hungry again," Mohammed predicted. "As long as Ive been alive, we've struggled to eat enough, and well."
Weakened by a diet that is low in calories and carbohydrates, farmers are spending less time tending their fields, tearing up weeds and clearing irrigation ditches, than in fatter years.
"We eat our millet, and we work till we feel weak and have no more food. There is no point in working longer on an empty stomach," said farmer Hassan Abou. "Usually, we start around 7 or 8 am and finish by noon."
In more bountiful years farmers spend up to eight hours a day taking care of their crops.
Fortunately, Niger's millet harvest, to begin in roughly a months time, looks promising.
"The rains started early and have been regular and heavy, says Abdul, a 70-year-old farmer surveying his crops. "We are hopeful that this seasons crops will be plentiful and sweet."
In some areas, the harvesting of black-eyed peas has begun, lowering prices on the markets in Zinder and Maradi and making these other staples more available to the local population than at any time in the past six months.
Plentiful rain has compensated for the reduced work, and the road between Zinder, Niger's second city, and Maradi is lined with tall billowing plants that look like distant cousins of corn stalks.
Abou reaches deep into a pot of millet paste and scoops out a handful. He fashions it into a ball by rolling it between his long fingers speckled with canned tomato sauce.
"My cousins in Niamey sent me enough money to buy millet," he said. "Otherwise I would have to survive on the anza leaves that the poorest have to eat."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050818/hl_afp/nigerfoodcrisis
Traditional diet exacerbates Niger food crisis 1 hour, 41 minutes ago
Despite a long-awaited injection of food aid and the creation of renutrition camps for the children hardest hit by Niger's food crisis, malnutrition in the impoverished country remains a perennial problem with roots in the nations eating habits.
"Millet is a tradition here, and we dont know how to eat anything else," laughed Mohammed, a policeman in the southern Maradi region, ravaged by famine. "We never prepare fresh fruits and vegetables. We dont even know how."
Acute malnutrition in the landlocked sub-Saharan country has been blamed on the effects of drought and an invasion of locusts last year, but experts say the traditional diet and cultural beliefs are constant factors affecting Niger's food security.
Some suggest that Niger's high rates of infant malnutrition and mortality may be directly related to the diet mainly consisting of millet paste and untreated water.
A report by the World Food Program detailing the eating habits of the population is eagerly awaited by members of the international community involved in relief efforts and nutrition development.
Tradition in Niger also dictates that mothers express their colostrum, the breast milk produced in the first few days after birth that is loaded with proteins and boosts the immune system, and throw it away.
Infants are weaned very quickly, but young children are refused eggs in the belief that it will prevent them from becoming thieves. They also tend to be the last to be fed during the daily meals, long after the father and mother.
The current crisis has sparked a belated influx of international aid, and in the roller-coaster cycle of fat years and lean there is now some hope for the months ahead.
"Every single year we've had problems in the lean period. This year they are worse, and everyone is in a difficult situation. We have help right now, but by next summer well be hungry again," Mohammed predicted. "As long as Ive been alive, we've struggled to eat enough, and well."
Weakened by a diet that is low in calories and carbohydrates, farmers are spending less time tending their fields, tearing up weeds and clearing irrigation ditches, than in fatter years.
"We eat our millet, and we work till we feel weak and have no more food. There is no point in working longer on an empty stomach," said farmer Hassan Abou. "Usually, we start around 7 or 8 am and finish by noon."
In more bountiful years farmers spend up to eight hours a day taking care of their crops.
Fortunately, Niger's millet harvest, to begin in roughly a months time, looks promising.
"The rains started early and have been regular and heavy, says Abdul, a 70-year-old farmer surveying his crops. "We are hopeful that this seasons crops will be plentiful and sweet."
In some areas, the harvesting of black-eyed peas has begun, lowering prices on the markets in Zinder and Maradi and making these other staples more available to the local population than at any time in the past six months.
Plentiful rain has compensated for the reduced work, and the road between Zinder, Niger's second city, and Maradi is lined with tall billowing plants that look like distant cousins of corn stalks.
Abou reaches deep into a pot of millet paste and scoops out a handful. He fashions it into a ball by rolling it between his long fingers speckled with canned tomato sauce.
"My cousins in Niamey sent me enough money to buy millet," he said. "Otherwise I would have to survive on the anza leaves that the poorest have to eat."