Poem by Alexa Gonzalez

My Hunger

My hunger isn’t for me,
But everything I see

Starving kids,
Obesity,
Where is the equity?

Arriving in America you’ve reached the promised land,
But who bears the consequences of our growing food demand

While families choose where to go to eat
I hear stomachs growling,
Is this defeat?

I look at America, disgust on my face
Generating 16 billion pounds of food waste

Through degradation after degradation
A little colony turned global nation

When children screamed their hunger
we fought over aid
Through famines and food insecurity
politicians and diplomats turned a blind eye to get paid

Is my hunger unrecognized?
Like the babies who cry for milk,
Their malnutritioned mothers can’t provide

Kids scrape their plates, asking for more
They can’t just go to the nearest store

I look around, does anyone care?
Didn’t we cause these problems???I despair
No response
It’s hardly fair

Through the Green Revolution and pesticides

Mother Earth silently screamed her protest
Hoping some scientist would come along and notice

Can we feed 8 billion people or will our land simply give out
Next time you’re at the store it’s something to think about

Endless supermarkets, buy one get one free
People are hungry
See the discrepancy?

​I hunger for change.

Alexa Gonzalez is a UC Davis undergraduate studying International Agriculture Development and Gender Studies with a minor in Community Development. She has a passion for sustainable agriculture, environmental justice and gender equity. She hopes to do the Peace Corps after college and spend her life traveling and working with communities to combat climate change through sustainable agriculture practices.

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