Letters from our readers
Wednesday, May 20, 2008
THANKS TO THE Tribune for the recent coverage of the world food crisis.
Food riots have erupted in Egypt, Haiti, Bangladesh and other countries. Record fuel prices and poor harvests (including flooding in the U.S. and in Europe) have contributed to people in the middle class giving up medical care to purchase food.
Experts estimate that 100 million people are at risk of being driven deeper into poverty. The problem is not a lack of food, but a lack of political will to ensure that people do not go hungry.
Although immediate food relief is necessary, this will not address the underlying policies that contribute to food instability.
For example, we deliver hundreds of millions of dollars of food aid every year, but mandate that the food must be purchased from subsidized U.S. agribusiness and shipped on U.S. vessels. For every dollar we spend on food aid, 65 cents is spent on shipping and other processing costs.
A major cause of food price increases is diversion of staple crops like wheat, rice and corn to biodiesel. Some the scarcity is due to U.S. food aid policy, which promotes wasteful shipping of U.S. grain to the countries in crisis rather than supporting local food production. Another problem is production of cash crops like coffee and flowers rather than growing food locally.
Foreign aid must be clearly focused on improving the lives of poor people. Programs should be held accountable for demonstrating clear, measurable results in health, education and economic opportunities in the lives of the poorest — those living on less than a dollar a day.
Some thoughtful citizens and members of the U.S. House and Senate have called for a Cabinet-level position to address measurable goals to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty. Please call for the next administration to create such a Cabinet position to support policies that reduce hunger and poverty.
Susan Oehser
Oakland
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