A press officer for the World Food Program contacted Slate this fall, told us that WFP was trying to bring attention to the food crisis in Africa, and offered to send over a writer on WFP's dime. Since we thought the story was worth covering and don't have a budget for overseas correspondents, we accepted. Unlike the Washington Post or the New York Times, Slate doesn't have a blanket rule against accepting free trips—so long as any sponsorship is fully disclosed.

WFP bought my plane tickets, paid for my hotel room, and arranged meetings and site visits for me. It also managed to obtain a visa (knock wood) for me to enter Zimbabwe, a country that bans foreign journalists. Can I possibly write fairly about the people who are putting me up in Africa's two nicest hotels? Can I write accurately and completely about WFP when it is providing my translator and setting up some (though by no means all) of my interviews? I'll do my best. Readers can judge for themselves.