I am someone who loves food. I spend mindless hours scrolling through my Instagram feed and take great joy in experimenting with recipes and trying new foods. In doing the contemplative practice on hunger, I began to consider my own consumption habits. I found myself realizing that I am not very familiar with the feeling of hunger. I eat my meals throughout the day out of habit, regardless of whether I am hungry. I often snack out of boredom, especially now that I am cooped up while under quarantine. 

After doing this contemplative practice, I became more mindful of when I am actually hungry. I then applied this to my younger brothers. Instead of making them lunch at the same time every day, I began to wait until they told me that they were hungry. My parents often struggle with getting the youngest one to eat and much to their surprise he cleaned his plate and asked for seconds. 

My brothers with some paella that they absolutely demolished.

I am also taking a class on early childhood development and this week we are learning about how environmental factors shape children’s development. This also applies to food. As a culture, we are taught that we must eat three meals a day at set times. This teaches kids to ignore their hunger cues and simply eat when they are told to. Surely, this must play a role in our food system. How many people consume much more than they are actually hungry for because they have been taught these cultural norms? Over the past few days, I have found myself toying with the question of what would happen if everyone simply ate what they were hungry for. I don’t have an answer yet, but would it help balance the gap between the people with plentiful food and the people going hungry?