{"id":2198,"date":"2012-03-29T23:17:15","date_gmt":"2012-03-30T03:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/?p=2198"},"modified":"2014-07-17T16:53:33","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T20:53:33","slug":"36524k-what-not-to-eat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/36524k-what-not-to-eat\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Stamps: What Not to Eat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Days-365+24j-Afghan-meat.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-2160\" title=\"Days 365+24j Afghan meat\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Days-365+24j-Afghan-meat-150x150.gif\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Travel is always a thought provoking experience. As I write this at 4:30am Afghan time, I hear the Muslim pre-dawn call to prayer outside. It makes me think about various world religions. My thoughts also turn to food since eating in a foreign country can be both delightful and disconcerting as I try unfamiliar foods. Since I\u2019m awake, I\u2019m stirred to ponder some of the inconsistencies of mixing food and faith.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It\u2019s Lent and today is also Friday. As a Catholic I won\u2019t eat meat today because Lent is a penitential season \u2013 but technically the luxury food of lobster would be OK.<\/li>\n<li>Strict Baptists don\u2019t drink alcohol \u2013 but they follow Christ who turned water into wine at the Wedding Feast of Cana and who used bread and wine in the ritual meal of the Last Supper.<\/li>\n<li>Muslims don\u2019t eat pork or drink alcohol \u2013 but in Afghanistan (an officially Muslim country) poppies are grown as a cash crop. Which is more intoxicating?<\/li>\n<li>Hindus regard the cow as sacred and thus don\u2019t eat beef \u2013 but pork is OK. What makes a particular animal sacred and another not? Are pigs, sheep, chickens, etc. deserving of less protection and honor? What about bunny rabbits?<\/li>\n<li>Orthodox Jews keep kosher \u2013 but Reformed Jews may not. Still, Jewish identity and bonds are strong even if eating practices differ.<\/li>\n<li>Environmentalists don\u2019t drink bottled water \u2013 but for a westerner like me, traveling in a third world country, bottled water is the responsible thing to do.<\/li>\n<li>In some countries eating dog is considered a delicacy \u2013 but in other places pet owners would be horrified.<\/li>\n<li>Vegetarians don\u2019t eat meat but vegetables that can\u2019t be cooked or peeled are unsafe for travelers in many third world countries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Another food thought: <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Food Insecurity<\/span><\/p>\n<p>So far during this Food Stamp Challenge I have not experienced actual hunger. I\u2019ve always had enough to eat \u2013 even if it wasn\u2019t what I wanted to eat. Yes, I gave up desserts, chose to drink only water (except for my morning OJ), and couldn\u2019t afford snacks or much meat BUT, eating in a country like Afghanistan is different. Although we\u2019ve had plenty to eat (thanks to the gracious hospitality of our daughter) one colleague we talked with suggested that one of the biggest causes of instability here is food insecurity. I came here concerned mostly about physical safety since it\u2019s a war torn country. Afghanistan is also among the 10 least developed countries in the world.\u00a0Many people physically go hungry or turn to crime, corruption, or violence to meet the basic need of food. A government or religion that can provide food, can buy the hearts of the people. Getting food, of course is also connected to having arable land, knowledge about how to farm in a mountainous and harsh climate, and tools to work with. It\u2019s not just a matter of dropping food packages from helicopters.<\/p>\n<p>Yet in this country where too many do not have enough to eat, today we will watch a new sport \u2013 buzkashi. It\u2019s played like polo where players ride horses and try to grab a decapitated goat and throw it across a goal. Apparently some people can afford to use a goat for recreation. Hmmm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Travel is always a thought provoking experience. As I write this at 4:30am Afghan time, I hear the Muslim pre-dawn call to prayer outside. It makes me think about various world religions. My thoughts also turn to food since eating in a foreign country can be both delightful and disconcerting as I try unfamiliar foods. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-2198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food-stamp-challenge","tag-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2198"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3359,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198\/revisions\/3359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}