Since during Lent, many of us fast to show our solidarity with those who have little to eat, I thought I would present you with these conflicting images. Not to make you feel guilty, although a little guilt is sometimes a good thing, but to show the extreme inequities in our world. Perhaps, seeing this will help us , not only give more  food to those who have little, but more importantly, to be the pioneers who will change systems and economies so that these gross injustices will cease.

The first look is the piece written by Michael Bauer, food critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. He reviews the Meadowood Inn near St. Helena. Read and enjoy  a description of some of the courses of this $155 meal (not including the wine, of course):

After the complimentary courses, the meal kicks off with a long, tissue-thin strip of vivid red Wagyu beef, cured in pine from the property. It has a slight resinlike flavor and looks like a psychedelic forest topped with circles of pickled kohlrabi, lengths of sea beans, dollops of caviar and little puddles of creme fraiche with the airy texture of whipped cream.

That's followed by an equally artful arrangement of cannelloni, stuffed with sweetbreads on a creamed spinach puree, bejeweled with dots of butter-braised turnips, delicate leaves of miner's lettuce, hedgehog mushrooms, slices of truffles and a truffle broth poured on tableside.

Every luxury ingredient is given star treatment, including lobster roasted in lime salt. It's served with dollops of sweet squash puree, cubes of caramelized sauteed apples and a restrained scattering of vadouvan, an Indian-inspired spice blend. Again the blend of exotic flavors and unlikely combinations came off seamlessly.

But the standout was the meat course of nickel-size medallions of tender goat meat poached in whey. They're garnished with a scattering of barley, dots of goat cheese, delicate yellow flowers, a splash of olive oil and just-sprouted blades of grass plucked from the winter vineyards. The meat is as tender and mild as chicken, yet with a sweet earthiness that sets it apart.

On another course the presentation was just as alluring. Kostow slices squab breast thin and arranges it so precisely that it looks like miniature packaged bacon, set on a bed of toasted pistachio butter, and covered with dollops of carrot puree, glazed cocoa nibs and tiny carrots, all dusted with grated frozen foie gras.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/18/DDN81BQNJH.DTL#ixzz0gUpHcqtB

Now watch the video “Dirt Poor Haitians Eat Mud.”  Yes, you read that correctly. Some Haitians are reduced to eating dirt. These people live in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and live on less than $1 a day.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/19/dirt-poor-haitians-eat-mu_n_168339.html