Recognizing That We Are Facing A Global Food Crisis

RECOGNIZING THAT WE ARE FACING A GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS -- (House of Representatives - September 09, 2008)

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Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 344, which recognizes that we are facing a global food crisis. And I applaud Congresswoman Jackson-Lee for bringing needed focus to the vast and spreading hunger epidemic.

In the last 3 years, global prices for basic staples such as rice, wheat and corn are up more than 80 percent. Many trends converged on this moment to lift global food prices to historic heights. Bad weather in developing countries, a shift toward biofuels in the West, underinvestment in agriculture by international donors, and growing demand in countries like China and India all contributed to the present challenge.

The result has been devastating for the poor. In some places, there is no food. In other places, food has become unaffordable. In Haiti, desperate people--moms and dads and kids--are literally eating mud to survive. They are making cakes of clay, salt and shortening because they cannot afford real food.

Over 1 billion people already live on less than 1 dollar per day. Skyrocketing food prices are forcing 100 million more people into deep poverty, erasing decades of progress in fighting poverty and creating a moral call to action a just Nation cannot ignore. Food riots have erupted in critical countries including Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt and Afghanistan, destabilizing governments and threatening U.S. national security.

All of America's investments in global development are undermined by the food crisis. PEPFAR's drugs won't save starving people. Programs in education and child survival are essential, but they have little impact when most basic human need goes unmet.

The United States has responded with a generous commitment of emergency food aid. Yet, emergency aid will never get us ahead of what threatens to be an enduring challenge. Some of the trends that created the crisis may ease, but others including climate change and growing demand for food will only accelerate. Congress must recognize that the nature of international hunger has changed due to changes in the global economy and environment. We must agree a new approach is needed from our government and international partners. And we must commit to a long-term strategy that prioritizes new and substantial funding to improve agricultural productivity in developing countries.

America's investments in global agriculture declined for years while other program budgets soared. In 1985, 12 percent of all U.S. official development assistance went toward agriculture. Thirty years later in 2005, agriculture's share was only 3 percent. This shift in resources is difficult to justify since the poorest countries have rural economies. When American aid is based on the recipient country's priorities, countries ask for agricultural support. More than half of all the funds committed by the Millennium Challenge Corporation to date are targeted toward agriculture and rural infrastructure.

American foreign asistance requires a more balanced approach that recognizes food security as a necessary precondition for all successful development efforts. This is the moment when our country should reclaim its traditional leadership role in fighting global hunger. The stakes are too high for half-measures. There will be no peace, no justice, no progress in a hungry world.

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