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Author: Vegetarian Times

Last winter I was invited to participate in a Native American ceremony that involved giving up all food and drink for the better part of two days, staying awake (in the freezing outdoors) the whole time and sitting through two sweat lodges. No big deal, I thought. I grew up in New York's snow belt, pulled all-nighters on a regular basis at college and figured a short fast might actually do me some good.Ha! My food and water consumption was to end at 3 p.m. on a Wednesday. At precisely 2:58, I was glued to the water cooler, literally chugging as much as I could swallow. As I drove home, my arm reached reflexively for the water bottle it was so used to grabbing but which was, of course, nowhere to be found. And despite a hearty lunch and a strong intention to not think about food, by 6 p.m. I realized I was obsessing on potato salad.I threw myself into some last-minute work for the ceremony, assuming it would distract my mind from food. Didn't. As I finished up, I was practically hallucinating braised tempeh over polenta and greens. When I woke up the next morning and mindlessly ambled into the kitchen, I was horrified to remember there would be no food that entire day! I actually considered calling in sick to the sweat lodge.

Long story short: I survived the 42 hours without passing out (or sneaking sips of water, as I was sorely tempted to do). In fact, it turned out to be a profound learning experience and one that I'm grateful for. But the thing is, I undertook this voluntarily, and it was all the easier knowing that the minute we chose to break our fast, we could (and did) feast on a tableful of amazing dishes. As we were putting this issue together, however, I came to understand that there are approximately 30 million people in this country who don't have the luxury of eating whenever they choose. They aren't walking around with the bloated-bellies we've seen on TV, but they are walking around hungry, insecure, embarrassed and often less capable of living up to their potential as a result of malnutrition. Our former news editor Abigail Chipley has done a terrific job investigating this underreported phenomenon in a story called "The Hidden Face of Hunger" (p. 64). After reading that, you may find yourself more appreciative of food than ever.