By Michelle Hu

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Last weekend, my church and I went without food for 30 hours for two reasons: to fast and to experience the hunger 963 million people around the world feel every day. The event was aptly called 30 Hour Famine and is a nationwide effort by teenagers to raise funds for World Vision, a Christian organization which teaches villages to become self-sufficient.

I urge everyone to participate in an activity similar to 30 Hour Famine, even if you are not religious, simply because it is selfish and ignorant to not experience hunger for more than a day. As Americans, we are part of a small percentage of people that has the luxury of enjoying three meals per day, if not more. It is embarrassing that we as a nation consume and consume but fail to give attention to others’ plights around the world.

What surprises me the most is that there is not a food shortage in the world, according to the U.N.’s World Food Programme. In fact, the United States alone produces enough to feed every person in the world with an adequate diet. Just like energy, however, we use up a higher proportion than the rest of the world simply because we are Americans.

It seems as we become more and more wealthy, the poor become more and more hungry. Since 1990, the number of malnourished people around the world has risen by four million annually, which means today, one of every seven people do not have enough to eat. Imagine, in your class (yes, the one you’re sitting in right now) around five people are starving and barely even have the strength to walk. Of course, this rarely happens in the United States. It is unfortunate that our isolation from hunger has veiled the issue.

Even worse is the statistic of a child dying every six seconds from hunger. Imagine, once again, that your class is in a situation 963 million others are in. Assuming you live in an area that severely lacks food, everyone in your class would perish within three-and-a-half minutes. Sound improbable? It’s not.

Think about this next time you make a midnight trip with friends to the local fast food joint. You might say, “Even if I don’t eat something, it doesn’t mean a child in Africa can eat it.” Well, yes, he can. The money you save from buying those fries can feed a child for a few days. Feeding a malnourished child costs a mere $1 each day.

I no longer have an excuse to ignore the crippling effects of hunger worldwide. It’s something 963 million people must face. That means, for every American, there are three people around the world who are malnourished. I certainly will consider this every day from now on. The question is, will you? And will you do something about it?