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Raising Concerns Over Hunger 10/31 06:53
Ignored in US Elections: Hunger Experts Warn Global Food Insecurity is
Fueling Instability
A group of World Food Prize laureates has publicly criticized U.S. political
candidates for ignoring the issue of global hunger amid a rising global food
crisis. The laureates also stressed that addressing hunger is crucial for
global peace, economic stability and climate resilience.
Chris Clayton
DTN Ag Policy Editor
DES MOINES, Iowa (DTN) -- As global hunger continues to escalate, 13 World
Food Prize laureates are voicing frustration that this crisis has been
overlooked in U.S. elections.
The laureates issued a letter and held a press conference Wednesday at the
World Food Prize's flagship event, the Borlaug Dialogue. The World Food Prize,
established to honor Nobel Peace Prize recipient and Iowa wheat breeder Norman
Borlaug, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to
reducing hunger. Each of the 13 laureates who signed the letter is either an
expert or an advocate committed to fighting hunger.
"We felt it was important to note that there has been virtually no mention
of hunger -- let alone world hunger -- in this campaign on both sides at
different levels of the federal government," said David Beckmann, a 2010
laureate who received the World Food Prize for his work as a nutrition advocate
at Bread for the World.
The number and percentage of people facing chronic hunger globally has risen
from 581 million (7.5%) in 2019 to 733 million (9.1%) in 2023.
With a full plate of political issues in the U.S., Vice President Kamala
Harris and former President Donald Trump have not spoken about the needs of
people facing hunger outside the U.S. Still, food insecurity is among the
reasons people are willing to migrate to the U.S. and enter the country
illegally.
The U.S. remains a leader in funding and programs to help alleviate world
hunger. But the laureates said little to nothing has been discussed in the
presidential election over how increased global hunger leads to more
instability, violence and eventually both refugees and migration.
"Hunger is the crises beyond the crises on our (TV) screens," said Lawrence
Haddad, a 2019 laureate. "Hungry people are restless people. Hungry people have
less to lose and more to gain from conflict. Hungry people don't pay as much
attention, perhaps, to taking care of the environment as they do to taking care
of their families."
Talking about U.S. leadership, Haddad said, "The decisions that we make here
will impact hungry people around the world."
Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, the 2021 WFP laureate from Trinidad and
Tobago, said the world still views the U.S. as a "beacon of hope" when it comes
to tackling global hunger.
"It would be wonderful to see that beacon of hope really emphasized," she
said.
Per Pinstrup-Andersen, the 2001 laureate from Denmark, said U.S. leaders
need to consider the impact global hunger has on world peace.
"We're not going to have peace in the world when a large portion of the
people can't get access to the food they need," Pinstrup-Andersen said.
Beyond the election, Beckmann said the next month will be critical for
global food advocates. The G20 economies will launch the Global Alliance
Against Hunger at a summit in November led by Brazilian President Lula da
Silva, who became a World Food Prize laureate in 2011 for his work in reducing
hunger in Brazil. Along with that, funding will be set for the World Bank for
the next three years that will dictate the level of support that can be
provided to developing countries such as debt relief, Beckmann said.
"Two thirds of the low-income countries are now spending more to service
their debts than they spend on the health and education of their people,"
Beckmann said.
The laureates, in their letter, emphasized how the pandemic depressed the
world economy and disrupted trade. While the U.S. economy has rebounded from
inflation spikes, many parts of the world continue to face high inflation and
interest rates. All of that is compounding other problems facing these
countries.
"Climate change has hit tropical countries hardest, undercutting the
livelihoods of many subsistence farm families. Famine and near-famine
conditions have reemerged around the world. There has also been a huge surge in
violent conflicts, draining money and political attention away from investment
in a better life for all people," the laureates stated in their letter.
The presidents of three African nations, the World Bank and the African
Development Bank attended the Borlaug Dialogue this year to share strategies to
lift the crippling debt burden on low-income countries, expand agricultural
production in spite of climate change and foster peace.
Heidi Kuhn received the World Food Prize last year because of her group's
efforts to help remove land mines from areas of global conflict. She noted
Ukraine, which was "considered the breadbasket of Europe," is now riddled with
mines over roughly 30% of the country.
"So, consider the mothers today who are on the front line in Ukraine, their
husbands, their fathers, their brothers are at war. They have to feed their
children, and what the Ukrainian mothers told me, they are now tiptoeing
through fertile agricultural land, seeing the fruit that is ripe on the vine
and making that choice of whether to pick that fruit, blowing up in a minefield
or not, or allowing their children to starve," Kuhn said. "This is a moment in
history that we as laureates are gathered here on the advent of the most
historical election in our country; with 80 countries represented here and
laureates from around the world at this table as mothers and fathers and global
citizens, we call the United States [and on] those who are running to please,
this week, include world hunger, because this is important, not only to our
country, but to our world."
World Food Prize laureates also issued a similar letter last year calling on
world leaders to do more to address world hunger.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will be among the speakers at the Borlaug
Dialogue on Thursday.
Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com
Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN
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