In this overflowing world, 811 million people are sleeping
hungry at night and 44 million people in 38 countries are facing
extreme hunger. America must step in to help.
WFP estimates an increase of 18% to 30% in the international market
price of wheat and corn depending on the length of the conflict. Countries like Syria – where
food prices has doubled in the last year – heavily dependent on food imports and hardest hit. Almost half of African countries import more than a third
wheat from Russia and Ukraine. And so rising food prices and volatility hit vulnerable countries like a sledgehammer.
But hunger is a solvable problem. It depends on lifting people out of poverty – especially those who produce, choose and process our food – as farmers and food workers have the highest rates of food insecurity in the world. world. In times of crisis, our focus is on getting food and cash to the most vulnerable, as soon as possible – but we can’t stop there. In our three decades of humanitarian and development work, we have failed to sustainably tackle systemic hunger and right now we are on a different trajectory of death.
Once again, proponents of large-scale intensive industrial agriculture say that the solution to the current hunger crises is to increase global production. But in reality, the world’s farmers produce more than enough
dish to feed the global population, and in recent years the world has seen record grain harvests. There is no shortage of food – just a lack of equality. Even if exports are lost from Ukraine, there is enough food for everyone.
The solution lies in supporting both today’s urgent, life-saving measures, and by overhauling our food production and distribution systems, so we can emerge from the cycle of crisis. this horror. And the United States must lead the charge.
The United States has provided much-needed humanitarian assistance to the most affected countries and regions in the world, including Ukraine and East and West Africa. In addition to this and other welcome actions, Congress must approve $5 billion in
emergency spending inside
Ukraine Supplementary Appropriation Act to get support for those in need right now. We just saw this number meet in
Housing Law – and the Senate should follow suit.
This emergency aid will avert widespread hunger, malnourished children, families forced to flee their homes for food, and other dire consequences, preventable and predictable. be of mass famine. These funds can also be used to provide much-needed supplies such as seeds, tools and fertilizers to farmers so they can recover and plant again.
A longer-term fix will depend on our investment in a more equitable global system for agriculture and the food supply.
Small family farm feed a third of the world’s population, and in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, they provide more than 70%
food supplybut too often these important activities are overlooked.
To address this issue, Congress should also extend and reauthorize the Global Food Security Act, which addresses many of the fundamental inequities in the food system: First signed into law by President Obama Initiated in 2016 and re-authorised by President Trump in 2018, the act is by
re-authorize in 2023. This
re-authorize is key, as it gives the government a strong bipartisan legal mandate to prioritize this work.
This law has the effect of empowering farmers in low-income countries to build a stronger foundation to prepare them for the next distant drought, flood or conflict. It also highlights the needs of women, who are often seen as the main guardians of food security in their households and communities. And it provides resources to those suffering the worst consequences of the climate crisis, while contributing the least to it.
Hunger is unacceptable and preventable in the 21st century. Everyone should have access to affordable and healthy food. To see millions of people living just a foot away from hunger, while so much in abundance, is abominable. Only the right political choices can end hunger. Congress and the Biden administration have an opportunity to demonstrate leadership, save lives, and take steps to fix our broken food system. They can do so by taking bold action to end this tragedy by investing quickly, generously and strategically in global food security – for all.
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