Kenyans Were Given Animal Feeds by the US Gov't

In the nineties there was drought in Kenya and as a result there was shortage of food especially maize (corn) which is highly consumed by many communities. (In Kenya we call it maize, if you say corn people become confused because there are different types of corn (e.g wheat, oats, barley) and maize is one of them, corn is the family name, it is like calling a pistachio nut when we know there are different types of nuts). As a result of the drought, the US government was generous enough to donate corn to the Kenyan government.

Just as the corn was received, a politician who was holding a rally told Kenyans that the corn donated by the US government is specifically grown to feed cattle in the US
and is not meant for human consumption. That was so insulting; we were wondering what the developed world thought of a poor third world country. They thought we must be so desperate and dying of starvation that it is okay for them to give us animal feeds. I guess the politician felt insulted and violated and wanted to inform Kenyans and let them make their own decision. Well we did because my mom ensured that corn flour does not enter our household.

I actually continued to believed so and would still be had I not travelled. As Kenyans we knew for sure the Americans do not consume maize meal, they are the bread and meat people. After travelling I was surprised to see that corn is very widely used and is also the staple food for the native Americans. I saw the yellow corn sold in supermarkets and I realise how misinformed the politician was.

Yes the cattle in the US are fed with corn but there is no corn that is specifically grown just for the cattle. This is the same corn that is also used for human consumption. I think we believed the ‘cattle feed’ theory because in Kenya as well as Tanzania the maize meal is made from white maize unlike the yellow one we received from US.

Travelling is the best experience anyone could have. We all live in our bubbles and always use narrow lens to view Life. We cannot depend on the media because it does not give the full picture.