A Moment of Urgency

A Moment of Urgency

Policymaking is always a question of balance: balancing interests near and far, in the present and future, in the world as it is and the world as it should be. Soon Congress will begin writing the next farm bill, which must rebalance U.S. food and farm policies in ways that link agriculture with nutrition and health and promote viable, sustainable livelihoods for farmers—both in the United States and in developing countries.

The 2012 Hunger Report aims to show how U.S. food and farm policies can achieve these objectives.

2011 brought Americans little peace of mind about the nation’s economy. On the eve of 2012, Congress is negotiating dramatic cuts in the federal budget. Bread for the World and other anti-hunger groups are working hard to fight cuts that would harm people living in poverty. This report lends support to that effort by explaining how food and farm policies are inseparable from the problems facing people in poverty.

The recommendations in the report are all the more relevant because the budget decisions are so urgent. Cuts to programs designed to overcome poverty are in neither the short- nor the long-term interests of the nation. The report makes clear the costs of jeopardizing long-term benefits to the nation to lower the current budget deficit: it would be a Pyrrhic victory. For a less costly and more sustainable way to reduce federal budget deficits, the government should follow policies that promote economic growth, such as those included throughout this report.

As surprising as it may sound in view of recent political rhetoric, the budget challenges today pale in comparison with far more serious long-term challenges. Around the world, land and water resources are becoming scarcer because of climate change and unsustainable farming practices. Agricultural productivity may not be able to keep up with global population growth, in part because agricultural research has been starved for public support. Shrinking food supplies, and the use of food crops to make biofuels, such as corn to make ethanol, are driving up the cost of food well beyond what people in poverty can afford, including people in some of the world’s most volatile regions. The 2011 Horn of Africa famine is just one result.

The United States, too, uses unsustainable agriculture practices. In addition, the United States faces an epidemic of obesity and the health problems associated with it. These are significant contributors to the spiraling healthcare costs that are the country’s single biggest fiscal challenge. In fact, unless we get healthcare costs under better control—which will require lowering obesity rates—the U.S. government will have fewer and fewer resources available for other, non-healthcare-related needs.

The 2012 Hunger Report takes up these challenges and shows how to address them.