Remarks by Secretary Dan Glickman U.S. Action Plan on Food Security Washington, D.C. -- March 26, 1999 As Prepared for Delivery Release No. 0133.99 Remarks As Prepared for Delivery by Secretary Dan Glickman U.S. Action Plan on Food Security Washington, D.C. -- March 26, 1999 "Thank you, Lee (Hamilton). I want to thank you and Geoff Dabelko for hosting today's event. I especially want to welcome Director-General Diouf of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization for joining us today for an announcement that I believe will have far-reaching implications well into the next century. Last time we were together, naked people with "gene bean" written on their bodies threw genetically modified soybeans at me. Today's audience, while no less passionate, I hope will be a little more modest. "I want to thank Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service, Gus Schumacher, Mary Ann Keeffe, Deputy Administrator of FAS and National Food Security Coordinator and their staff for their leadership and diligence over the past two years putting this plan together. I also want to thank Under Secretary for Food and Nutrition Shirley Watkins and Under Secretary for Research Education and Economics, Miley Gonzalez, for their work on the Interagency Working Group on Food Security. I also want to thank Joel Berg, Kate Mehr and Rebekah Davis from USDA, and the folks at the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development for their efforts. And I want to thank the other 15 federal agencies and departments on the Interagency Working Group for their participation in what is truly a team effort. "There are some great warriors in the battle for world food security with us today. Nobel Laureate, Dr. Norman Borlaug and Dr. Timothy Reeves of the world renowned International Maize and Wheat Research Center -- CIMMYT in Texcoco, Mexico. A few years ago I visited these laboratories, known as the birthplace of the Green Revolution which brought about the massive technological advances of the '60s that enabled us to feed a rapidly growing world without destroying our environment. When I toured his facility, I was stunned into silence by a sign on one of the walls. It had to do with Norin 10 --the dwarfing gene for wheat. The sign read: 'A single gene has saved 100 million lives.' I am very pleased that you could be here today, but I am most impressed by your continuing work using technology to help fight hunger. "Also with us today is former Senator and current U.S. Ambassador to the United Nation's Food Agencies in Rome, and one of the more distinguished statesmen of the last half century, George McGovern. Among Senator McGovern's many accomplishments are his battles to eradicate hunger -- whether he was working to expand the Food Stamp program, helping Hubert Humphrey create the Women, Infants and Children's program, or as one of the pioneers of this nation's Food for Peace program. Senator, you'll be proud to know that since its inception in 1954, Food For Peace has donated $47 billion of food to hungry people around the world. Just last year we added to the Food for Peace effort with a special food aid package to Russia. This year the United States will ship over 10 million tons -- nearly $3 billion worth -- of food to people in need around the world that's over 7 million more tons than last year. "We need to build on our strong food aid efforts through a program that goes beyond feeding people to helping them feed themselves. Today's announcement takes us down that path. "It is fitting that we release the U.S. Action Plan on Food Security at the memorial to President Woodrow Wilson. It was Wilson's vision of an enlightened international order, where nations worked together to overcome common obstacles and create a better world, that ultimately led to the creation of organizations like the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization. Today, the Wilson Center is a symbol of the importance of public-private partnerships and the great things that can be achieved when governments, individuals, industry and volunteer organizations work together toward a common purpose. Our common purpose is ending hunger and that is no easy task. U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY "With all that this world has achieved -- from space travel to organ transplants -- perhaps the greatest challenge we face, is one that has eluded us for centuries. One in 7 of the world's people suffer from hunger and undernutrition. "Two years ago, I led the U.S. delegation to the World Food Summit in Rome in 1996. 186 countries came together to try to find a way to eradicate the scourge of global hunger. We set a goal of reducing by half the number of undernourished people in the world by the year 2015. That meant helping 400 million people move from hunger to food security in less than 20 years. Each country agreed to create a national plan of action to help reach that goal. "Today I am announcing the U.S. Action Plan on Food Security, a giant step toward meeting the commitment we made in Rome. As of today, only the U.S. and Canada have announced comprehensive food security action plans and together our two countries are taking the lead in this worldwide effort. "History has taught us that it is neither affordable nor productive to simply throw food at the problem. If we are to make actual inroads against hunger, then we can't just rush from famine to famine. To beat hunger, we have to get at its root causes -- poverty, income inequality, political instability, inadequate natural resources, lack of infrastructure and more. " The action plan is a road map for ending hunger by using innovating partnerships to unite the public and private sectors. That's why there are no less than 18 federal agencies and departments involved. That's why there are countless individuals, organizations, universities, religious organizations, private companies -- you name it -- involved. "At the federal level we recognize that international food security depends largely on policy reform around the world. The plan calls for the United States to encourage an enabling environment in foreign countries and to enhance coordination of its foreign assistance with other donor nations; promote freer trade to enhance global access to food; improve research capacity and enhance people's ability to help themselves, particularly through education of girls and women; target more food aid to the most needy and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of food aid programs such as Food for Peace; and support the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in setting international food safety standards. Our Africa: Seeds of Hope effort is one example of how we are working toward these goals. COMMUNITY FOOD SECURITY INITIATIVE "Of course, hunger and malnutrition are not problems that plague only developing countries. We haven't beaten it here in the United States. No country has which tells us that defeating our enemy is far more complex than simply producing enough food. "In combating undernutrition in the United States where 34 million people are food insecure we're establishing a model for other nations. Our foundation is our all-important nutritional safety net. USDA is the federal anti-hunger department in charge of ensuring the resilience of that safety net. We oversee school meals, the Women, Infants and Children program and Food Stamps among others. "Food Stamps is the main staple in the nutrition safety net ensuring that 18 million people don't go hungry. Recently our food stamp program ran into a curious problem, which was first thought to be a major success story. We've seen statistics that show food stamp rolls have declined by over 9 million people. While some of that shows genuine progress due to a robust economy and moving people from welfare to work, it all happened too fast, indicating there were other factors at work. The first hint was the dramatic rise in people seeking help from food pantries and other voluntary feeding efforts around the country. Then we began to see numbers that show that food stamp rolls were declining at 5 times the rate of poverty which meant that there were many eligible people out there, including children, needlessly going without food. "One problem was perception. Many of the working poor just don't know they are eligible, confusing welfare ineligibility with the government's premier food assistance program. Another problem we saw in some situations found zealous state and local officials who administer the program discouraging eligible people from applying. Without laying the blame at any particular doorstep, I am moving to remedy this situation. First, I will vigorously enforce the law that requires prompt handling of food stamp applications. Second, we will begin a national outreach campaign to inform those who are unaware of their eligibility that there is help for struggling families to get proper nourishment while they regain their economic footing. I do not want to see anyone, who can have help, not get it. "To further enhance the federal food safety net, our Initiative includes $13 million for a pilot school breakfast program in six school districts around the country. A balanced, nutritious meal to start the day is an essential ingredient to better learning and better discipline in a child's day. "We're also asking for $15 million in funds to stimulate gleaning and food recovery efforts. Nearly 100 billion pounds of perfectly good, nutritious food goes into the dumpster each year -- food that if properly recovered could go a long way to helping people in need. "The President's budget calls for an increase of $200 million to enhance the Women, Infants and Children's program including funds to give WIC participants greater access to fresh fruits and vegetables at the nation's growing number of farmers markets. "But while federal programs, together with scientific research, are the front lines in our battle, everyone can and should play a role. That's why I've made developing programs at the local level a priority. Through our Community Food Security Initiative, which I unveiled earlier this year, we've designed a plan to enhance and augment everything we're doing in government. By creating partnerships that help communities help themselves, instead of only feeding people, we help communities work at the grass roots level to weed out hunger. "All over the country we are helping communities develop creative responses to hunger and malnutrition -- training people for food production jobs, teaching folks how to grow urban gardens on abandoned lots and bringing more farmers markets and their fresh affordable produce to the inner city. And not only are we finding new and innovative ways to fight hunger, we're spreading the word. Just last month, during one of our listening sessions on hunger, we heard from non-profit groups at the local level on some of the programs that are working for them and we're sharing that information around the country and around the world. "Over the past century we've made enormous progress in our battle against hunger and malnutrition. There's a lot to be proud of. But the bottom line is, the new century will see world population reach nearly 8 billion people in just 25 years. There will be more mouths to feed, on top of the hungry that exist today. If we've learned anything in this crusade, it's that to succeed everyone must participate. Whether it means donating food during a local food drive, or volunteering at a food bank, or working full- time in an anti-hunger organization, or farmers gleaning from their harvest, we all can play a part we all can make a difference. "I close with the words of Woodrow Wilson, "America is not anything if it consists of each of us. It is something only if it consists of all of us." It will take all of us to really defeat hunger and malnutrition. As the world's food superpower, if we succeed, we will set a standard for the entire community of nations, where all people have ready access to good health, nutritious food and a decent standard of living. "Thank you. "Now it is my pleasure to present to you the man who brought about the World Food Summit on Hunger in Rome in 1996 and who works tirelessly on behalf of the world's undernourished people, the Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Jacque Diouf." #