More Hungry Mouths To Feed
Skyrocketing food prices have wreaked havoc around the world. Food shortages and starvation have led to riots in Bangladesh and Egypt, political upheaval in Haiti, military intervention in Asia, increased hunger across much of the developing world, and the worst food inflation that the United States has seen in seventeen years. At a news conference on Sunday, World Bank president Robert Zoellick explained to Bank and IMF officials, "We have to put our money where our mouth is now -- so that we can put food into hungry mouths." America is not immune from the crisis. Food banks, soup kitchens, and food pantries report an estimated 20 percent increase in visitors since April of last year. Over the past twelve months, the United States has seen the number of citizens enrolled in food stamp programs grow by 1.3 million, the highest ever. CNN reports, "At $1.32, the average price of a loaf of bread has increased 32 percent since January 2005. In the last year alone, the average price of carton of eggs has increased almost 50 percent." The federal government is expected to release new data on domestic food prices today, with notable increases expected.
THE CAUSES: No single factor has caused the dramatic increase in prices. Irregular weather, dietary changes, high energy prices, and alternative fuels have redefined the global market for food. Drought in key grain-producing countries, such as Australia and China, has dramatically decreased global supply. Increased meat consumption in Asia has also boosted the need for grain, as the current supply must now feed livestock along with humans. It takes 8.3 grams of corn feed to produce a 1 gram of beef, or 3.1 grams for pork. High oil prices pushed by global demand, a low dollar, and tight supply have elevated transportation costs, raising the price tag on everything from tractor fuel to fossil fuel based fertilizers, to long-haul trucking and freight expenses. The recent surge in alternative fuel production, aided by new government fuel targets and subsidies in the United States and Europe, has also impacted markets. In addition to generating traditional food and feed, farmers have begun diverting grain and arable land toward first generation biofuels. Despite the contributions of traditional biofuels towards the rise in food prices, biofuels are not wholly responsible for the current volatile situation. With current wheat stockpiles in the United States at 60 year lows, there is no flexibility in today's infrastructure. And in the face of these cascading disturbances, there is little on which to fall back.
THE SOLUTIONS: International action is necessary. The United Nations, in partnership with the World Bank and IMF, has requested an emergency appeal of $500 million from its donor countries. The Bush administration has taken the first step in doing its part, pledging Monday to draw an estimated $200 million from a food reserve known as the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust. But more must be done. The United States must devote more resources to help increase productivity in developing countries, with the goal of reducing these states' dependence on food imports from the developed world. An overview of the import ratio for grains shows this glaring need: Eritrea, 88 percent; Sierra Leone, 85 percent; Niger, 81 percent; Liberia, 75 percent; Botswana, 72 percent; Haiti 67 percent; Bangladesh, 65 percent. America must act with others in the international community to increase output in developing nations so that these states can become self-sufficient. Working hand-in-hand, the western nations must cut subsidies and tariffs so that, once produced, developing countries can sell their goods both domestically and on the international market. International food aid programs must also be reformed so that money is given directly into the hands of growers, producers and local authorities, rather than Western shippers, suppliers, and corporations. Finally, the world must move to the next generation of biofuels on semi-arable land that are not overly dependent on corn and do not compete with food crops.
THE ROLE OF CONGRESS: The $286 billion farm bill, which has already been passed by both the House and Senate, gives Congress a legislative opportunity to help solve the domestic and international food crisis. Providing more than just a safety net to America's agricultural system, the farm bill grants the critical funding to our nation's poverty, nutrition, land conservation, energy, and international trade programs. However, final compromise on this contentious measure has still not yet been reached, despite the current farm bill's expiration this Friday. Congress "has produced a bill that makes commendable progress in the areas of conservation, food stamps, nutrition and ag-based renewable energy -- in particular, support for the next generation of sustainably produced biofuels. Nonetheless, a glaring weakness remains in the current legislation," said Jake Caldwell, an agriculture, trade and energy expert at the Center for American Progress. That weakness is commodity subsidies. The current menu of commodity subsidies in the farm bill goes to just five crops and leaves 57 percent of American farmers out in the cold. These subsidies distort markets, impede expansion of social programs, and take funding away from the research and development of new sources of alternative energy. Their reform would mean more money for proposals that progressive members of Congress are so hotly fighting to ensure, which would feed Americans and help alleviate the hunger problem around the world. The farm bill, as it currently stands, represents a missed opportunity to remove oppressive subsidies that could have a dramatic impact on this crisis both at home and abroad.
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MASSACHUSETTS:
"Thousands of Massachusetts public high school graduates arrive at
college unprepared for even the most basic math and English classes."
OKLAHOMA:
"[S]tories of displacement and abuse while in state custody are
unusually common in Oklahoma."
ENVIRONMENT:
New water-sharing plan in Southeast is "likely to harm threatened
species."
THINK
PROGRESS: Secretary of State
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WONK
ROOM: Iraq's ticking time bomb:
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MOJO
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new Newseum?
INTEL
DUMP: President Bush admits that
he claimed things were
better in Iraq in 2006 than they were in order to "boost morale" adds
insult to injury.
"I think the economy -- the media has been beating the drum for years and years and years that the economy stinks. And after a while, that begins to color people's attitudes."
-- Karl Rove, 2/11/08
VERSUS
"He [Rove] also acknowledged the nation's economic problems.'People made bad loans and bad business decisions. Because people got greedy,' Rove said."
-- Dayton Daily News, 4/16/08
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