#62: Imagine living for six weeks on a hunger strike, with no sustenance but broth. To get a meeting with the prime minister. Hello, Chief Theresa Spence.

With all the politically driven dialogue this weekend, I want to talk about hunger strikes and bring to attention the extreme effects that result from such a politically motivated choice. To be clear: I strongly discourage this form of protest.

​One of the first recorded hunger strike is detailed in ancient Indian scriptures, which talk of the brother of the exiled King Rama using the threat of a fast to coax him into returning. He placed himself on a bundle of sacred grass at his feet and refused to budge. I'm not sure of his fate, but can't imagine that it ended well (If you know the account and more importantly the ending - please comment!). More contemporary and well known hunger strikes include:

• Marion Wallace-Dunlop - the first suffragette to go on hunger strike in 1909. She was released from Holloway prison after 91 hours of fasting,
• Mahatma Gandhi - the modern-day pioneer of civil disobedience went on several hunger strikes and fasts to protest against British rule in India,
• Cesar Chavez - Mexican American union leader who helped improve wages for farm workers. He staged several fasts, the first of which was for 25 days in 1968,
• Bobby Sands - the first of 10 republicans to die in the Maze prison in Northern Ireland in 1981. They were seeking the reinstatement of political prisoner status, and
• Mia Farrow - the actress and activist began a hunger strike to protest against the conflict in Darfur in 2009.
• Chief Theresa Spence - the chief from Attawapiskat, in northern Ontario, launched in a bid to get a meeting of First Nations leaders, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Gov. Gen. David Johnston to address the housing and infrastructure crisis in her community.

Most adults need at least 1200 calories per day to keep your organs working at a functional level. At first when I looked at this particular act I asked myself if I were to diet for 6 weeks, would I have an idea of what Chief Spence went through? The answer is no. Chief Spence was ingesting around 200-300 calories per day by way of lemon water and fish broth. Even at 1200 calories per day, I wouldn't be facing the same symptomatic effects that she did. After two weeks on a hunger strike, I would have difficulty standing, suffer from severe dizziness, sluggishness, weakness, loss of coordination, low heart rate and have a constant chilled feeling. For longer strikes the risks become extreme, and would likely result in:

• Damage to muscle tissue (after approximately 4 weeks)
• Weakening of bones (after approximately 4 weeks)
• Hallucinations / Dementia (after approximately 3 weeks)
• Potentially permanent brain damage (after approximately 4 to 5 weeks)
• Potentially permanent damage to internal organs (after approximately 4 to 5 weeks)
• Potential failure of internal organs (after approximately 4 to 5 weeks)
• Death (could happen at any time depending on the state of your health)

Dieting and especially extreme fasting needs to be seen for what it is, a form of self-harm. Unlike other protests, a hunger strike has no direct effect on the intended target. The protester suffers, not the person or institution protested against. The protester relies on the moral force of their actions, or the media coverage, to achieve their particular goal. However, if what they are protesting doesn't come to fruition, what then? 

I'm no dietician, and in probably the worst physical condition of my life to be honest, but even I know that risking organ failure and ultimately death is not worth media coverage or political gains. I realize that there are circumstances where hunger strikes may be the only available method of protest, especially within correctional institutions, however still hold the stance that a hunger strike should be the last resort for extremely dire situations, if not avoided completed.