Approach Two
Our Total Commitment Will End Hunger

Americans can decide to end hunger in this country and around the world. We are generous in our contributions to world hunger programs like Bread for the World, CARE, and Heifer Project, and to local food banks across our country. While many European countries send all of their food aid through their national donations, Americans support private and religious food charities in addition to our national food aid programs.

This approach extends our generosity and our sense of justice into a total commitment to end hunger. Supporters of this approach want all Americans to decide that food is a 'human right'.

This approach believes it's our responsibility to end hunger. When food becomes a human right, it is separated from other products in trade agreements, and it puts extra pressure on politicians to make food their main concern. A 'right' is different from a 'need'-rights deserve and require active and equal protection. Rights by their nature demand fair and neutral enforcement. This approach would create an international food monitoring system with coordination in research, investment, transportation and enforcement efforts.

A total commitment to ending hunger means that Americans and the world have decided to do whatever it takes to allow and encourage local and regional production of food whenever possible and then to provide food aid when needed. Everyone has the basic human right to have adequate, safe and nutritious food.

Actions in Approach #2 Could Be:

• Make food a human right in the United States and lead the world by example through domestic food programs to abolish hunger in America.
• Make military ships, planes and personnel available at public expense to transport private and religious food charity donations to hunger 'hot spots.'
• Manage the food supply by mandating local, regional and global food production targets and quotas, and by subsidizing farm production when prices decline below sustainable levels.
  o Enforce international food rights through UN actions where governments disregard the right to food of their own citizens or of neighboring countries.
• Make food a human right in US foreign policy and lead the world by example, sending food to 'unfriendly' nations like North Korea to make it clear that food will never be used as a weapon.

Benefits of Approach #2:

• Hunger and its associated problems could be ended permanently, and the US could lead in this humanitarian effort.
• Food production and distribution will become more efficient as more countries become 'food independent.'
• Farmers around the world would gain a new respect for their contributions to their people's health and welfare.

A Tradeoff of Approach #2:

• The US would have to bear a large share of the cost for an expensive global system, but the humanitarian goals are important enough to make the cost worthwhile.

Drawbacks of Approach #2:

• A complex food management system would be required that would just become another huge, dysfunctional bureaucracy.
• National authority could be challenged when the UN is called to enforce food rights with economic penalties or military action.
• We would give up our ability to use food as a way to influence the behavior of other countries.

Further Readings for Approach #2: Our Total Commitment Will End Hunger