Starvation in the birthplace of agriculture

Food and climate resilience in Palestine.

The use of starvation as a weapon is ghoulish. It's difficult to process. Blocking food aid is awful, but so are the political choices that are leading to "imminent" famine in Gaza. It's especially upsetting because Palestine has a long agricultural tradition, perhaps longer than most others.

Many "founder" crops -- some of the first plants domesticated by humans, such as wheat, lentils and oats, -- originate in the Middle East. Palestinians have created lots of delicious foods from these crops and others, such as figs, dates and of course olives.

Here's a dish of Ful Medames, made with fava beans, which I make from time to time when I want something flavorful and comforting. Fava beans, as with other beans, are wonderful, climate-smart sources of protein and flavor.

It's a good time to go to a Palestinian restaurant, and also to think about why there are so many places in the world with long, rich histories of growing food that have been forced to depend on Western food aid to survive.