Plumpy'Nut

Even though Live8 is over, world hunger is not. Apparently, the increased awareness about hunger in Africa, which was the reported purpose of this multinational megarock festival extravaganza, was not enough to stop people from starving. Indeed, Beth and Edith Runsacker from Jefferson, Iowa, the two 92-year-old ladies who were the last people on the planet still unaware of Third World hunger, missed the entire event because they don't own a television set, making the millions of dollars spent on the project a complete and utter fiasco.

Better then to turn to more hopeful developments in the developing world. Such as the arrival of Plumpy'Nut. No, Plumpy'Nut is not some disgustingly weird sexual fetish, but the brand name given to small packets of vitamin-enriched peanut butter, which are distributed in massive quantities among starving people around the world, Darfour being its testing ground. Unlike condensed milk, which needs (preferably clean) water before it can be consumed, Plumpy'Nut can be eaten by hungry children anywhere and without any preparation. In war-torn Darfour, it has reportedly cut starvation numbers in half.
The only problem is the name. I don't expect the NGO-based industry to waste precious dollars on senior-level marketing teams, but anything would have sounded better than this.

Posted by cronopio at 01:31 PM, July 05, 2005