Eat American: Food Aid Made in the U.S.A.
Charity begins at home.
Eight hundred fifty million people worldwide suffer from chronic malnutrition, according to the United Nations. Though some starve because of war or natural disasters, many go hungry simply because they cannot afford to buy food. The solution seems straightforward: Give cash to groups on the scene that can purchase and distribute food locally. That's how the European Union does it.
But not the United States. We give more than half of the world's nearly $4 billion of annual food aid. Yet by law, the U.S. Agency for International Development and other federal agencies can't simply write checks to feed the hungry. Instead, they must buy American-grown food from American conglomerates; 75 percent of it must be shipped on American-flagged vessels. It's a great deal for domestic businesses, but not for the needy: The Government Accountability Office recently found that 65 percent of federal food aid expenditures are not spent on food. In fact, due to rising transportation and business costs, the amount of actual food delivered by U.S. aid programs has declined by more than 50 percent over the past five years.
Now Congress is considering overhauling this system via a Bush administration proposal that would allow 25 percent of food aid to be distributed as cash grants. That move is opposed by shipping companies and agribusiness giants such as Archer Daniels Midland, as you might expect, but also by prominent congressional Democrats and nongovernmental organizations such as Feed the Children and the American Red Cross. Why would these groups be against helping the poor more efficiently? Turns out that when food shipments finally get to where they're needed, they're often given to ngos, which turn around and sell them to raise money. In the last three years alone, the groups sold off $500 million of American food aid. (Save the Children has criticized the practice; care has pledged to stop it.)
State Department and Office of Management and Budget staffers have been quietly lobbying to convert some of the aid to cash grants for years, and the White House seems to be listening. But Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee—which helps write the rules for international aid programs—says that changing the status quo is "beyond insane" and would cause support for food aid to "vanish overnight."
However, Congress is due to pass a new farm bill this fall, and Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has proposed a tiny pilot program for $100 million in cash grants over four years. "The change is more like plate tectonics than a revolution," says Gawain Kripke, policy director of Oxfam America. "But everyone sees that what exists now just doesn't make sense."
Page 1 of 1 
Heifer International is a terrific np that works to get people livestock. The old adage "give a man a fish he eats for one day, teach a man to fish he for a lifetime." is still relevant.
The solution to the problem of food insecurity is not "simple," nor does the EU have it completely right.
The American system does serve American interests before those of hungry people, and that is reason enough for reform. But, like the U.S. agro-industry or not, the United States can be an efficient provider of bulk commodities. Sometimes there just isn't enough surplus production for sale that is close enough to the food insecure region to make "cash" cost effective.
There should be a blending of current US and EU policies, which would give USAID the flexibility to meet the on-the-ground demands of each individual food crisis.
Bravo for this article! I have worked in international development for over twenty years and so much of it is a greed-driven snake pit. But we are not alone. Many of the European nations that do aid have similar tie-back and buy-back programs, or use the foreign aid system to offload out of date technology, food and medicine. Unfortunately, so much of what goes on ininternational aid is difficult to trace and swathed in the colors of the flag and of goodness that questioning it seems unkind.
Let's not also forget the origins of Food Aid - as the PL 480 it was conceived of and has subsequently always functioned as a foreign policy tool - it's not aid to the needy. it's aid to the needy in strategic areas with major strings attached (aside from the ones mentioned in this article)
Excellent article. Let's not forget that this is another impact of globalization. So many of our American food companies have operations overseas near, or even in, the countries where the food aid is needed. The changes in our American corporate operations need to be recognized by USDA and USAID, as well as Democrats and other American interests. The goal should be to maximize our foreign aid dollars. More people interacting with the U.S. seems to be a better foreign policy objective.
It is amazing and disappointing to me how long it takes the US to notice, and l o n g e r to PERHAPS deal with glaring issues, some of which I remember being discussed in my "Weekly Reader" as a child in the forties; issues like health care, portable insurance and retirement plans, global warming and the environment, poverty, to name but a few. Though they may have been called by other names at the time, they helped shape my views of life/the world/leadership/security. both parties have been hugely self-congratulatory upon addressing a few of these issues in a less-than substantive way from time to great time, as though they had just rescued us from a newly-discovered present danger, while ignoring ancillary issues. That behavior causes me to question the intellectual and moral capacity and sincerity of anyone who has held office in my lifetime, including religious leaders, especially those in high inner political circles who use the twisted word of God to bludgeon the frightened sheepish flock (who are unable or disallowed to form or think their own thoughts and questions) into submission, while their trusted charlatans live in splendor, create their own empires, teach hatred, intolerance, selfrighteousness, fear, judjment, and adherence to their own beliefs in the name of Jesus. When these leaders have minimally addressed pressing issues of long standing, complete with the fanfare and rejoicing befitting a poobah, I have consistently felt grudgingly condescended to. The image that comes to mind is that of a haughty aristocrat desultorily tossing crumbs of small change that burdened his pockets to starving, sick, and dying masses of serfs, arrogantly believing that he has been generous to a fault and deserves praise and thanks, with which the media complicitly obliges, and that it is his right to literally squeeze the life from the peasants so that he may live in magnificent debauchery.
"Instead, they must buy American-grown food from American conglomerates; 75 percent of it must be shipped on American-flagged vessels."
It is a rather quaint notion that the United States still has its own merchant marine. A little research will reveal that, by and large, American-flagged vessels transporting vast quantities of goods across the oceans are really very few. It is yet another example of corporate greed -- most ships in the world are registered under cheaper operating "flags of convenience". And a very close look at maritime law in the U.S. will reveal a rat's nest of favors and insider legislation that serve only to enrich a very few and to throttle a critical national industry into extinction...
Why doesn't international courts go after and prosecute NGOs. It's simply criminal that non-profits sell food purchased with US taxpayer money to starving people around the world. Aren't non-profits supposed to be helping instead of ripping off the American people and then charging the poor who don't have money to buy the once US donated food? Why is this allowed to continue. If anything is insane, this takes the cake.
I contribute to ten charities on a monthly basis. How can I be sure that those to whom my money is sent are really practicing what they are preaching? Is my money being wasted, or scammed? I want to keep helping, but I want help knowing if the help I am offering is really helping those in need of help. HELP! George Hughes
Good work, Jon!The American food business is about as honest and straightforward as the American arms business.
George Hughes, this site on MSNBC-http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15716521/ gave various watchdogs on charities. Have not checked them all out, but what I looked at was pretty good. Cheers!
"Follow the money," or the lack thereof, is an important tool and food for thought in all cases where one seeks knowlege. Shunning perpetrators of any kind is the best use of such information, leaving one free to use ones energy, pwer, and wealth to correct injustice.
In an attempt to make the planet safe for our children and grandchildren stop voting Dem or Rep. They both spew the same garbage. For them it's still about power. Please check out the Green Party. You might not be able to say you voted for the one who won, but that didn't matter the last election anyway. Vote to save us all, not just USA.
why is it that so very much of the wicked stuff happening in the world has an american component????
It's a way for the government to buy questionable GMO food at inflated prices from heavily subsidized farmers and then make the poor and hungry eat it.
Excellent article! Just an additional point about NGO's selling the bulk commodities, though. They use the money to fund beneficial programs like schools and hospitals. The real tragedy is that bulk American food aid depresses local farm prices, so farmers cannot break even on the market, much less realize a profit. There is no food security for developing countries unless farmers have incentives (profit) and inputs to grow food.
OMG! Is everything we do as a government now pork barrel for someone? No wonder the Libertarians are for shrinking government. It seems that nothing good comes from legislation.
We need to improve our world image and contribute food aid to the world's poor in ways that will maximize the benefits.
Just goes to show that even trying to feed the starving can be turned into a business!
We talk about give aid to the hungry world what about the hungry and homeless here in the US? I have been hungry and homeless and no one fed me nor gave me a place to sleep. I got really savvy raiding the garbarge cans behind the supermarkets. I am thankful for their generosity. But a place to sleep? Nah. The only way you qualify for a safe place to sleep is to be an alcoholic, a drug addict, an HIV victim, or an abused mother with children. But if you have a job that pays a nonliving wage-that is you can't afford to pay rent but you can afford to eat, yer outa luck! Yep, who in the hell coined the American dream? American nightmare is more like it. We need to take care of our hungry and homeless here in the United States first. Then if there is any money left over help those elswhere in the world. I'd like to add a comment about our healthcare for those who barely make a living wage but that is beyond the scope of this article comment.
"give a man a fish he eats for a day; teach him how to fish and you have a customer for lines, hooks and sinkers for the rest of his life"
As usual, the money hounds have perpetrated a snafubar on the poor. I pray that there is a special place in Hell for these monsters, anbd I would be more than happy to punch their ticket.
George Hughes, there are a number of watchdog groups that tell you various things about how well a charity is run. My favorite is American Institute of Philanthropy, at http://www.charitywatch.org/ , although they do charge for their charity rating guide (you can get a free first sample, though); if you give regularly to charity, the $35 a year is well worth it.
More generally, you can call or write any reputable charity, and they'll mail you their annual report for free; this should include descriptions of their mission and projects, as well as financial summaries of how their money is spent. And any major charity that I've phoned for clarifications of their policies and rationales has had someone to explain things to me; so far, at least, I've never caught them in a lie about a factual matter.
Yet another racket like the Iraq War.
Its an unregulated money pit away from congressional oversite that winds up stealing from the both the generous American citizen and the starving people who need the food.I'm not sure it makes sense to trust any charity anymore. When a charity gets oversized it becomes wastegul, corrupt and inefficient.
A better way to solve world hunger is to give women free and univeral access to birth control to bring down the overpopulation overload.
Additionally, supplying the Africans with GMO-free wheat along with basic gardening tools, desalinization plants and basic agricultural knowledge would do far more than the food charity rackets that are rapidly destroying the whole idea of a charity as an organization with a charter to help the poor and the needy.
In countries there's no food in some parts while others have food, when you buy food aid locally, you not only provide food at cheaper costs and less hassle, you also support local business. Flying food in puts other local suppliers out of a livelihood as they cant compete with American prices. The system not only doesnt work - which should have been realised by now - but it is making people poor! The question for those against change is - whose interess are you considering and why?
Sometimes, the clearness of logic leads one to assume, incorrectly, that the simplest form of aid would promote the most positive impact. However, as recently witnessed by the aids relief efforts of "bono", cash distributions of aid would only promote criminal activities among people in power within the intended population. These activities are already apparent even with less marketable commodities other than cash. We have a good program other than its', not suprisingly, mismanagement. The real effort should be on the efficient distribution of aid assets when in-country.
You have missed a major point. US farm subsidies push food prices down globally, and to make things even worse for Third World farmers, food is shipped from the US as aid instead of being purchased locally. This aid program is designed to help US farmers. not the farmer in the third world. US food subsidies are a cost which can be spread over higher prices on US exports which can not be made in third world nations.
This is not an unintended consequence - it is the policy to promote US interests above any others.
It's too bad the author doesn't mention the many groups trying to change this system. These include ActionAid USA, Grassroots International, Church World Service, the Oakland Institute, Oxfam and Just Foreign Policy, among others.
Mel - The amount of aid that is given to those in foreign countries is a truly tiny, tiny part of the federal budget, and, as this article points out, a great deal of it actually goes back into the pockets of American corporations. The idea that foreign aid is somehow responsible for our lack of assistance to those in need in this country is just plain wrong. In reality, the two factors which most prevent the wealth of the U.S. being used in a more equitable fashion that would truly benefit the poor both at home and abroad is the rapacious greed of those at the top and the HUGE flow of American taxpayer dollars into military/defense spending. These two things are what suck up the money--not foreign aid--that could instead improve pay for the working poor as well as provide needed funding for the expenses common to all of us for education, health care, and basic infrastructure.
thank you for this article, I am trying to become as in touch as possible with the needs of otheres, but because of the way we recieve out information media wise, you cannot find the truth. thanks again kevin
Dumping large quantities of low-priced American grain as food aid in developing countries makes it economically impossible for the small domestic producers to compete. To address true causes of hunger, we need policies that reduce the need for food aid in the long run by advancing programs that help affected countries develop their own agricultural sectors by supporting their small farmers.
To learn more, download a report by the Okaland Institute, Food Aid or Food Sovereignty: Ending World Hunger in Our Time
( www.oaklnsinstitute.org)
apologies. web address for the Oakland Institute report is www.oaklandinstitute.org
This is typical of America. I was recently in the city of St. Louis Missouri getting gasoline for my car at a chain gasoline station. There was a younger man wearing many gold chains and driving a new red convertible BMW. He had 3 beautiful young women with him.
He was then in front of me at the counter to pay. He ask a cashier something in another language. The cashier answered him back. He then purchased 2-12 packs of Budweiser beer with a food stamp card. I do not know if he was also paying for gasoline with the card as well.
America seems very willing to allow anyone to steal from them. They allow people to sneak in illegally, use the countries resources do not pay taxes , and treat them like special class. citizens. That would not happen in many other countries around the world. And that is why many run to America, the home of the Free Everything as long as you never try to learn English.
Its not fair to ones who have slaved, worked hard, and played by the rules to become Americans either.
As the article state the US gives over half of the world's nearly $4 billion of annual food aid and as usual liberals find ways to bash the US b/c we aren't giving it the "right way". As an American taxpayer I would rather see my money go to an American firm than someone else.
The government is in the business to win political points domestic and foreign. But of course when the government gets involved, red tape causes the elephant to get caught in the muck and the hyenas circle round for the easy pickings. We should be helping the innocent (Save The Children) and our own (Salvation Army).
I totally agree with this point. What is wrong with the current food aid system is not just the fact that goods, when shipped from the US and not purchased within the region, turn out to be more costly. What is more problematic is the timing. Food aid tends to lower down prices of agricultural produce--to the detriment of local farmers, most of whom are poor.
Now with the cash grants, how can we avoid it getting it into the corrupt hands of leaders that our petroleum based companies endorse to intimidate the local citizens.
I am a freshman in a International University.I want to search some information about American food.
Hello, I am collecting articles for my college thesis on changing the food aid system to one that is cash based. If you find any interesting articles please send them to me at changeourfoodaidnow@gmail.com. Please dont spam this email.
Hello,
Please this is my private email address you can contact me through this email: celline_willia200@yahoo.co.jp
My dear good friend,
My name is Celline William I am single girl and my junior brother, we lost our parents in respect of the civil war that broke out in Sept 2002 in our country.
We are lucky that we were taken to a place by some good Samaritans who have families herein Abidjan.
We are staying in a missionary refugee camp for people displaced by the crisis in my country.
I would like to appeal to you confidential to assist us concerning our late father's deposit here in Abidjan of $10,000,000 (Ten million USD).
We want to move out of here because the crisis that started here over 4 year now is still on and there is no sign that it will be well with the country for now.
Also the condition in this camp is not conducive for us, life is very hard here.
Can we trust you to provide your account and a place for us to stay?
Can we also trust you to safe keeping this fund when it is transferred to your account?
If you are willing to help us please indicate in your next mail and let us know your telephone number to enable us gives you more details of this transaction. We are waiting for your urgent respond.
Thanks and God bless you.
Yours truly,
Miss Celline William.
celline_willia200@yahoo.co.jp
hi all how are you i hope are peoples is fine ok dear listen dear i am from pakistan ok dear my age is 18 ok dear i am very honest dear ok i search honest girl anywhere ok but dear honest and nice ok because i am honest ok dear listen dear some peoples see girls ages ok but i am not ok i see girl honest ok only reallove ok listen dear my english is week plz dont mine ok i have no friends ok i need honest girl in america ok but dear honest ok i hope you are understand my all talking ok my person address is hassan_bhai110@hotmail.com ok dear plz conect me ok dear i am waiting ok my mobile number is 03027304696 and other number is 03346614686 ok dear plz calling me soon ok i am very funny ok i have no friends ok because i like real friendship ok listen this is not joke ok dear if you believe me then conect me other wise no ok plz dont mine ok take care byeee
hello mother jones am very sad over here,please i need you to send me some money,i am very hungry over at my camp,the Government are not giving us money to feed.
Please Mother Jones i am really in need of your help.Get back to me on my e-mail address katebarry200@yahoo.com.
Thank you.
Kate Barry.`
hello mother jones am very sad over here,please i need you to send me some money,i am very hungry over at my camp,the Government are not giving us money to feed.
Please Mother Jones i am really in need of your help.Get back to me on my e-mail address exalted007@yahoo.com.com.
Thank you.
remilekun`
yeah i fink people are fat cause they eat two much food...becca love italian food hahhahahahahahahah;czs\ fgfthn srtujs
lhxgnfxfvggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggd
To prevent gelatine or aspic sticking to the pan or mould, first spray with PAM then pour the mixture in as usual, then place in the fridge. Once set let is sit at room temperature, turn over and it will slide
