lets play a number game...

I love numbers, so lets play a little game that I call: One of the many reasons I didn't have a single desire to watch the Superbowl tonight.

Globally:
16,000 children die from hunger-related causes every day-- One child every five seconds. (Black, Robert, Morris, Saul, and Bryce. The Lancet. 361. 2226-2234. c2003)

Using that rate, two thousand one hundred and sixty children died during the three hour filming of the Superbowl tonight.

In 2005, almost 1.4 billion people lived below the international poverty line, earning less than $1.25 a day. (World Bank 05 & International Comparison Program 08)

In 2006, about 9.7 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday. Almost all of these deaths occurred in developing countries, 4/5 of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the two regions tat also suffer from the highest rates of hunger and malnutrition. (UNICEF 01/08)

Domestically:
35.5 million people -- including 12.6 million Children -- live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger. This represents more than one in ten households in the United States (%10.9) (USDA Economic Research Service Nov 06)

In 2007, an average of 26.5 million people used food stamps each month. (USDA Food and Nutrition Service 2008)


Selfishly:
--A 30 second Superbowl advertisement goes for $2.4 million dollars. These were 2005 figures. In 2009 it's now up to $3 million for 30 seconds.

Million's are spent on merchandise for a Superbowl. Even more is spent for renovations, and local / urban planning issues / developments.



I hate that American's can sit by idly, and allow athletes to be payed millions of dollars to throw a ball, while there are thousands upon thousands starving in our country, and around the world. People care so much about our football, baseball, and other sports when they really should redirect that attention to things that warrant extensive funds being dumped into...it sickens me to see it.


"Poverty is the main reason why babies are not vaccinated, why clean water and sanitation are not provided, why curative drugs and other treatments are unavailable and why mothers die in childbirth. It is the underlying cause of reduced life expectancy, handicaps, disability and starvation. Poverty is a major contributor to mental illness, stress, suicide, family disintegration and substance abuse. Every year in the developing world 12.2 million children under 5 years die, most of them from causes which could be prevented for just a few US cents per child. They die largely because of world indifference, but most of all they die because they are poor."
WORLD HEALTH REPORT (1995)