There isn't a much better way to make a friend than to offer food to someone who is hungry. At a time when the United States seems a bit short on friends around the world, reducing the amount of international food aid seems like the wrong strategy.
American farmers have had a bountiful harvest this year; grain bins and elevators are full, but agriculture groups are warning that the world may soon be facing a food crisis. According to Agriculture Department figures cited in an Associated Press article, the United States now provides less than half the amount of food aid it gave in 1993. But, during the 1990s, the number of malnourished people in the world grew by 18 million.
To address that problem, agriculture industry groups, such as the U.S. Wheat Associates, the American Soybean Assn., and the Kansas Wheat Commission, are urging Congress to look at ways to step up international food assistance and hopefully take action before adjourning for the holidays.
The agriculture groups, of course, aren't being entirely altruistic in their request. Kansas agriculture, for instance, is a major winner when the U.S. government buys wheat and other commodities to feed hungry people around the world.
An official with the Kansas Wheat Commission cited the milling industry as a potential beneficiary of increased food aid. Although the United States was once the world's largest flour exporter, most of those markets now have gone to Europe and other locations. Most flour milled in the United States also is consumed here. That lessens the demand and impacts the milling industry, leading to such moves as the planned closing of a milling facility in Wellington.
Increased food aid would help American farmers and the agriculture industry, but it also could be a relatively inexpensive way to buy some much-needed good will for the United States around the world. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports the United States provided $1.1 billion in food aid this year. That seems like a lot, but it pales by comparison with military or security expenditures.
Part of America's battle against terror is the need to promote friendship and cooperation with other countries. Putting more food in the mouths of starving people around the world while benefiting American farmers and food processors seems like a strategy worth pursuing.
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