Giada De Laurentiis in Peru

To a billion people around the world surviving on just a dollar a day, the question of what to eat tonight is more about life and death than about recipes. The struggle of poor people around the globe weighs heavily on me, especially now that I am a mother, which is why I work with Oxfam.

Photo © Percy Ramirez for Oxfam.

Oxfam suggested I travel to visit farmers in the Cusco region of Peru. I was very nervous; I had never done a nitty-gritty sort of docu-style trip like this before. But the experience really opened my eyes to the impact of global climate change on people's lives.

Photo © Percy Ramirez for Oxfam

Instead of working on flat land, farmers in Peru have been pushed into the mountains, because that is where the fertile areas are. Oxfam aims to teach these farmers different ways to work the land, to be sure they don't deplete all its nutrients.

Photo © Percy Ramirez for Oxfam.

When we had lunch with the farmers, they brought all different kinds of potatoes—some starchy, others sweet.

Giada De Laurentiis with Peruvian chef Gonzalo Angosto. Photo © Percy Ramirez for Oxfam.

Hearing that they barely make enough money to put food on the table for their own children was heartbreaking. Still, watching the kids help their parents farm was incredible.

Photo © Percy Ramirez for Oxfam.

It was amazing to see their passion and how much fun they have.

—Giada De Laurentiis

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Photo © Percy Ramirez for Oxfam