Yes, I am eating again—but I’m, not eating the same way as before. I started slowly and am using this experience to change my eating habits. So, so far, I’m eating less and lighter, and with more consciousness of my food choices, and of when and where I eat. Hopefully that will continue, and I will continue to fast during the day on Mondays—I fast every day in solidarity with the people of Darfur—for the consciousness that this has brought me these last few years. Read More
The fast ends with me feeling good, having had a powerful personal experience. Had my first wine, solid food and diet coke in a week last night, ate moderately, and am still thinking about what I have learned about hunger, about focused thinking, about empathy toward others, about what creatures of habit we all are. Read More
I’m in the middle of the sixth day of my fast and I’m quite amazed at how possible it is to do this. After finishing my speaking engagements for the weekend, I went into relaxed mode (saw a movie—without popcorn—for a real escape). Relaxation aside, I have experienced some very physical, philosophical and spiritual reactions to this fast. Read More
Many people have asked me what it feels like to fast for a week, so I thought I’d take a few minutes to share some musings on the sensory nature of this experience. Read More
Someone once wrote that seven meals is all that stands between civilization and anarchy. What a powerful thought. If you think about a society or a community without enough food, where everyone is feeling hungry and edgy, you can easily imagine chaos breaking out, food battles ensuing. I can understand this especially now that I’ve been there—14 “meals” with only liquids (though of course, my voluntary fast is so different than those who do it without a choice). Read More
I fast on Yom Kippur and have done so every year of my life. As I grew older, I learned from the passage of Isaiah that we read on that day, that the act of fasting and spiritual repentance is meaningless unless it’s accompanied by moral actions in the world. We are not being asked to fast to focus on ourselves, on our dedication to God or religion or on how refined our souls are becoming. We are being asked to fast to remind ourselves to work harder for justice, to recognize the reality of those on whose behalf we speak out and to take actions to change that reality. Since I learned that, I have made an effort every year at Yom Kippur to ask myself what more I might do to help pursue justice in the world. Read More
Many of you still wonder what I, and the other 36 human rights and food justice organizations whose leaders are participating in this fast so far, hope to accomplish.
I’m fasting this week—two days on just water, and another five on liquids—to stand up for the hundreds of thousands of people in developing countries that are at risk of losing U.S. food aid. If the proposed budget passes in Congress this week, support for domestic and international development—including food aid—will be cut by 41 percent.
