Let's feed the world...playing?

I happened to find this game on internet called FreeRice. This game enables you to test your level in English and for each correct word, 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations to help end world hunger. It is sponsored by various companies and trades like American Express, Liz Clairborne, ITunes, Fujitsu and many others.
I was quite happy to play and found the idea attractive. There are 50 levels of English and according to the founders of the game it’s very rare to reach level 48, so I felt very proud to get to level 40. (Ok, I’m a translator so I suppose it helps). I then looked up the daily results. Yesterday Sunday, 42 153 555 grains of rice have been donated which according to a friend (who confirmed that 1 kg of rice is approx. 50 000 grains) should be 843 kg of rice.

I then read the FAQ section of the site (frequently asked questions) to find an answer to my own questions and got it: (I quote)

“Question: If you have the rice to give, why not give it all away right now?

Answer: We are not sitting on a pile of rice. You are earning it 10 grains at a time. Here how it works. When you play the game, advertisements appear on the bottom of your screen: The money generated by these advertisements is then used to buy the rice. So by playing, you generate the money that pays for the rice donated to hungry people.”

It is certainly a fine idea. Most people sitting at their desk will find it enjoyable to play and donate rice during coffee break. At the end of the day, they would feel happy and satisfied for having contributed a little bit towards hunger in the world.

Still, I wish the founders of the game would also tell us that the direct cause of hunger is poverty, lack of sanitation, lack of access to water and that every aspect has to be considered.
The Food and Agricultural Organization reports that 70% of people suffering from hunger live in a rural environment. Why it is such a challenge for countries like Brazil for instance to feed its own people in spite of President Lula’s efforts to implement his “zero hunger” program? Again (see my earlier post on the World Bank), I would like to say that as long as indebted countries will be under the obligation to produce to pay back their debts instead of feeding their own people, then hunger is likely to last.


“You must be the change you want to see in this world” Gandhi said. I have this sentence written down in my notebook on my desk. Please share it with me….and do have a try at the game!


(photo: Ablutions by Bill Viola whose video work was exhibited in Granada last june)