BACKGROUND BRIEFING

"Agriculture, which is the economic activity most clearly and directly related to national security-if one grants that we must all eat---receives such scant attention as to amount to a dismissal"
                                                               Wendell Berry
                                                               Farmer/Author

When it comes to food aid, trade and production the United States is an undisputed global giant. We are the world's leading producer of agricultural commodities and specialty crops. Our farmers are the most productive on the planet. We are the largest exporter of cereal grains. Our political power means we have the ability to greatly influence the rules of the road that govern international trade.

Our prowess in research and applied science means we are leaders in the adoption and application of agricultural biotechnologies, including the genetic modification of crops. We provide more humanitarian aid to developing countries than any other nation on earth.

Yet, behind the facts and figures lurks a great deal of controversy and complexity. Liberal and conservative critics believe that as a country we should and could have more effective policies designed to bring prosperity and food security to the poor and the hungry. While these critics may not agree on the solutions, they seem to share dissatisfaction with the status quo.

In 2003 more than 800 million (!) people around the world simply do not have enough to eat, and that begs a simple question, "How can we hope to win the hearts and minds of people around the planet if their stomachs are empty?"

Some observers see a disconnect between the United States' words and deeds when it comes to fighting global hunger. Others criticize the failure of our international aid programs and trade policies to generate tangible, sustainable results. To help you sort through the claims and counter-claims here is a brief summary of current facts and figures, policies and programs relating to U.S. involvement in the global food supply and efforts to alleviate hunger. For in-depth information please refer to the bibliography and "webliography" on this site.

FOOD AID

***In the last 50 years the United States has repeatedly joined other nations around the world in affirming that freedom from hunger is a basic human right. At a recent World Food Summit, held in Rome in 2002, one hundred and eighty two countries, including the United States, unanimously agreed to renew their commitment to halve the number of hungry people in the world by 2015.

That goal, however, was originally set during a similar U.N.-sponsored meeting in 1996, but progress to date has been relatively negligible. Since the target was first set, estimates are that the number of hungry has only dropped from 840 million to 815 million people. To meet the goal the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization is seeking an additional $24 billion a year in agricultural and rural investment.

***In 2002 the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Agriculture together allocated more than $3 billion for foreign food aid, agricultural assistance and the promotion of "food security" around the world. (Note: The USAID currently defines "food security" as follows, "When all people at all times have both the physical and economic access to sufficient food for a healthy and productive life.)

By way of comparison, the recent war in Afghanistan was estimated to have cost $4.8 billion, and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated that it could cost up to $4 billion a month to fund the current military presence in Iraq.

***When all forms of foreign aid assistance are tallied, figures released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development show that in 2001 that U.S. contributed in excess of $10 billion, more than any other country. However, as a percentage of Gross National Product we gave the least of any developed nation, a mere 0.11%.

***The American people may actually be more generous than their government. Estimates are that private donations for foreign aid and relief may total more than $16 billion a year.

***According to the Heritage Foundation, between 1980 and 2000 the United States disbursed $167 billion to 156 developing countries, but in the vast majority of those countries economic conditions actually deteriorated during this period. Many critics also claim that foreign aid breeds resentment and dependency without creating sustainable conditions for economic development. In addition, experts believe that the inexpensive---or free---food stuffs we send abroad can undermine the agricultural sectors of recipient nations since their farmers simply cannot compete with the low cost imports. Much of the food we send abroad, in the form cereal grains, is drawn from surpluses that many economists believe are the result of subsidies paid to American farmers.

AGRICULTURAL TRADE

***Last year President Bush signed the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. The bill will provide American farmers with an estimated $125 billion dollars in subsidies over a ten-year period. The bulk of the payments will be received by farmers in the "bread basket" states who grow cotton, wheat, corn, soybeans, rice, barley, oats, and sorghum.

Estimates are that nearly three-quarters of the money will go to the richest 10 percent of American farmers. Critics also claim that these subsidies are not consistent with policies that promote free global trade since they provide certain sectors of American agriculture with unfair advantages in the global market.

***At the same time the Bush administration has proposed to the World Trade Organization a new formula that would greatly reduce farm subsidies worldwide. The World Bank estimates that wealthy countries are currently spending $1 billion a day on farm subsidies.

***According to the New York Times, "Subsidized American corn now makes up almost half of the world's stock, effectively setting the world price so low that small (foreign) farmers can no longer survive."

***According to the United States Department of Agriculture, "U.S. tariffs on agricultural imports average a modest 12 percent compared to more than 50 percent for Japan, and more than 30 percent for the European Union."

***Agricultural exports are important to both the U.S. economy and farmers. Production from one third of our country's harvested acreage is exported and accounts for up to 30% of all U.S. farm income. Agricultural exports generate an estimated 800,000 full time jobs. According to the government American farmers are 2.5 times more dependent on exports than the rest of the economy.

***California leads the nation in terms of the value of our agricultural exports. In 2001 the value of the state's exports was nearly $7 billion, out of a total $53 billion for the entire country. The top three exported crops from California were almonds, cotton, and wine.

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

***In the most basic sense agricultural biotechnology has been around for centuries. Throughout the history of cultivation farmers improved their crops and livestock through careful breeding. Today the term has come to represent a collection of technologies, including genetic engineering, that are used to improve plants, animals and microorganisms

***Recently some of our exported crops have generated a great deal of debate and controversy overseas because they have, in some way, been genetically modified. In 1998 the European Union banned the import of all genetically modified seeds and of foods containing even a trace of genetically altered material. In October 2002 a new policy was adopted by the union that was meant to open the door to GM products, but representatives of American agribusinesses believe it will do little to solve the problem.

***Developing countries suffering from famine have refused to accept GM food donations, others are wary of accepting GM seeds that will prevent them from exporting their crops to Europe.

***90% of American beef now contains growth hormones. Genetically modified seeds are used to grow nearly three quarters of the U.S. soybean crop, 30% of corn, and over 70% of cotton.

***Research is still under way to fully assess the risks of genes moving from crops to wild plants; the possibility that pests will become resistant to plants engineered to be less vulnerable to insects; the chance that genetic engineering will change the nutritional value of foods.

***German foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, was quoted as saying, "Europeans do not want genetically modified food-period. It does not matter what research shows; they just do not want it and that has to be respected."

***During the presidential campaign George W. Bush said, "I will fight to ensure that U.S. products are allowed entry in to the European Union and that accepted scientific principles are applied in enacting regulations…the future prosperity of the U.S. farm sector depends in large part on the expansion of global markets for U.S. products."

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