Menu ENN Search

Call for strategic US approach to the global food crisis

Summary of report1

US Government vessel offloading in the port of Djibouti 42,000 MT of donated food aid in Ethiopia in 2002. The food will reach Ethiopia after a three day journey.

In May 2008, in response to the growing global food crisis, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) launched a task force to assess the rising humanitarian, security, developmental, and market impacts of rising food costs and shortages. The task force convened two high level meetings with members of the United States (US) government and experts in the fields of food supply, energy, bio-fuels, trade, relief efforts and agriculture. The resulting report reflected a strong majority consensus on ways forward.

The authors of the report assert that the crisis poses three fundamental threats: a moral and humanitarian threat, a developmental threat that is endangering the economic gains of the past decades, and a strategic threat resulting in food-related riots and unrest with heavily urbanised nations most at risk.

The report cites a number of root causes of the crisis:

The CSIS Task Force argued that urgent action is needed on two fronts - emergency relief and related safety net programmes, and longer-term efforts to reduce poverty and hunger. The following recommendations were made:

Bagging donated US aid on dock in Ethiopia.

The report concludes that the current crisis is unlike any food emergency the world has faced in the past. It is caused by a web of interconnected forces involving agriculture, energy, climate change, trade, and new market demands from emerging markets. The authors caution that time is of the essence in formulating a response and that the Bush administration, the presidential campaigns, the congressional leadership and the next administration all have a responsibility to move US leadership forward.

Following the CSIS Task Force report, US Senators introduced a bill (S3529) to the US Senate for a Global Food Security Act of 2008. The five year appropriation is asking for over US$ 7.5 billion for actions to address food insecurity, $2 billion for the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) system for research and $1.5 billion for a permanent Board for agricultural education. There is also a $500 million fund for an Emergency Food Assistance Account which can make local and regional purchases of food where appropriate. The legislation would provide USAID with the flexibility to respond to emergencies more quickly, without supplanting other food programmes.

The legislation still requires approval and financing. It will complement the existing US support for food and nutrition programmes from the Farm Bill (Title 11 food aid), PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and the Foreign Assistance Bill.

Show footnotes

1CSIS (2008). A call for a strategic US approach to the global food crisis. Centre for Strategic International Studies, July 2008

More like this

FEX: Unified United Nations response to the global food price challenge

On 29 April 2008, a press release1 detailed a unified United Nations (UN) response to the recent dramatic escalation in food prices that is unfolding as a worldwide crisis....

FEX: Issue 35 Editorial

In this issue of Field Exchange, there are two themes which previous editorials have not addressed - sustainability of interventions and how markets can create, as well as be...

FEX: Is food aid effective?

Summary of published research1 A recent article by food aid guru Ed Clay sets out current thinking about the effectiveness of food aid. While some agencies and experts advocate...

FEX: Iraq - Sanctions Take Their Toll

By Killian Forde Under article 41 of the United Nations Charter, the UN Security Council (UNSC) may call upon member states to apply measures not involving the use of armed...

FEX: Global factors shaping food aid

Summary of published paper1 USAID funded vegetable oil being distributed at Kassab IDP camp, North Dafur A paper in a recent special issue of Disasters on food aid, reviews...

FEX: Conflict: a cause and effect of hunger

Summary of draft review1 The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is currently working on a review of what is known about the linkages between hunger. Some of...

FEX: Famine Cry: Iraq

May 5, 2003 Dear Field Exchange As we prepare to mount a colossal humanitarian intervention in Iraq, we should be circumspect and humble about our past foodaid operations in...

FEX: Making a Difference for Afghan Women

Afghanistan - Afgani CARE staff starting a generator. "We must be courageous and speak out on issues that concern us. We must not bend under the weight of spurious arguments...

FEX: Leveraging the ‘Banking on Nutrition’ partnership initiative in Africa

View this article as a pdf This article describes how an ongoing nutrition-smart programming approach was employed by the African Development Bank and harnessed as part of its...

FEX: Protecting production in Africa’s forgotten war

By Anthony Robbins, CARE International UK Toby Peters Angola 95 Still bearing the brunt of a 30-year civil war, millions of Angolans are facing severe food and fuel...

FEX: Experiences of the e-Food card programme in the Turkish refugee camps

By Kathleen Inglis and Jennifer Vargas Kathleen Inglis currently works with the WFP as the Programme Communications Officer. She has worked in humanitarian aid in various...

en-net: What can we do to ensure food security in the context of COVID-19?

Question submitted to the prevention workstream of the Wasting and Risk TWG. What can we do to ensure food security in the context of COVID-19? Is there research from other...

FEX: WTO Negotiations on Improving Food Aid

By Susanne Jaspars and Chris Leather, Oxfam GB Susanne Jaspars was the team leader for Oxfam's emergency food security and livelihoods team from October 2002 to June 2005. She...

FEX: Market analysis and humanitarian action in Niger

Summary of published research1 Women and children, in the village of Barmou, gather and wait to receive WFP distributed food In April 2005, a typical household in Niger...

FEX: Influence of USAID policies on food aid: time for reform?

Summary of published paper1 A paper has recently been published which describes the food commodities that are used in U.S emergency food aid programmes, and outlines issues in...

FEX: A Time to Rethink the Global Food Regime

Summary of published paper1 By Tom Marchione, George Mason University Until his recent death, Tom Marchione was an adjunct professor in the George Mason University Department...

FEX: Protecting policy space for public health nutrition

Summary of research1 Location: Global What we know: There is growing consensus that strong government regulation of food, beverage and tobacco sectors is needed to protect...

FEX: Importance of government policies and other influences in transforming global diets

Summary of published article1 Location: Global What we know: There have been significant global dietary and nutritional changes over the past 20 years or so due to a...

FEX: Water for food security and nutrition

Summary of research1 Location: Global What we know: Safe and sufficient quantities of water are central to Food Security and Nutrition (FSN). What this article adds: A...

FEX: European Emergency Food Security Group (EEFSG)

This overview of the EEFSG and report on the recent Dublin meeting was prepared by Niall Cassidy, Concern Worldwide, in consultation with the meeting participants. Concord is...

Close

Reference this page

Call for strategic US approach to the global food crisis. Field Exchange 35, March 2009. p7. www.ennonline.net/fex/35/call

(ENN_3868)

Close

Download to a citation manager

The below files can be imported into your preferred reference management tool, most tools will allow you to manually import the RIS file. Endnote may required a specific filter file to be used.