Autumn is fast approaching, though many of us are too eaten up with anxiety thanks to the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic to savour this traditional harvest time of plenty, or the sight of golden fields of haystacks, a far cry from those grim bygone days of the hungry grass. Indeed, this well-fed generation might find it hard to fathom that people once feared standing on this unlucky ground where some poor wretch had died of starvation during the Famine, believing that doing so could strike you down with hunger pangs so violent you might die on the spot. Experienced folk carried a bread crust in their pocket as a precaution, as the smallest morsel of food banished the hunger pain. It makes it all the more ironic that another deadly epidemic already exists in Ireland, with over a quarter of children and half of adults overweight or obese.

Source: Irish Independent September 06, 2020 01:40 UTC