National Consultations on Food Security Release No. 0165.97 Remarks Jim Petterson (202) 720-4623 Wayne Baggett (202) 720-2032 by Secretary Dan Glickman National Consultations on Food Security USDA -- May 21, 1997 INTRODUCTION "Good morning. I'd like to welcome all of you who are joining us here at USDA's headquarters in Washington, D.C., and to the hundreds more across the country who are participating via satellite. I was honored to lead the U.S. delegation to the World Food Summit in Rome last November, and I'm -- quite frankly -- hoping today will be a little less eventful. After my speech in Rome, I held a press conference which was taken over by protesters who were opposed to genetically modified food. That in itself probably wouldn't have been news ... if it weren't for the fact that they held their press conference naked. They had things like the naked truth' and no gene bean' written on their bodies ... or at least that's what folks who looked told me. Anyway, I'm glad to be here to open up this consultation. Today, we start laying the foundation for what I hope and President Clinton hopes will be an unprecedented U.S. effort to uproot hunger wherever it occurs -- whether it's in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia or our own inner cities and rural communities. As we stand on the cusp of a new millennium, perhaps the greatest challenge we face is one that's been with us for centuries. 1 in 7 of the world's people suffer from hunger and malnutrition. No country has been able to escape its grip -- not even our own. Fortunately last November, 186 nations gathered in Rome and agreed that hunger is an unacceptable human condition -- wherever it exists. This consultation today will help decide what exactly the United States is willing to do about it. As the world's most agriculturally abundant nation ... as the world's leading democracy and foremost supplier of food aid, clearly the United States has an obligation to lead. This Administration will not shy away from it. But victory will require much more than a federal commitment alone. We need universities, non-profits, private businesses and individuals.In short, we need everybody ... and everyone else that we can pull into this effort. We need your expertise, your dollars and your time. And, your ideas and your leadership. INTERNATIONAL Next month, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Plan -- our country's effort to rebuild Europe in the wake of World War II. We did this first by feeding Europe, but ultimately by rebuilding their economy so they could feed themselves. We should seek that same food security for all the world. But that will require different and innovative strategies. It is readily apparent today that we can no longer afford to simply throw food at the problem -- nor is that any kind of long-term solution. If we are to make actual inroads against hunger, then we can't just rush from famine to famine. To meet our goal of halving the world's hungry and undernourished by 2015, we've got to get at the root causes of hunger -- poverty, income inequality, political instability and related issues. Internationally, change must start from within. Leaders of hungry nations have got to enact the democratic and free-market reforms necessary to stabilize their countries, serve the needs of their people, and strengthen their economy and infrastructure. Without these changes, we've seen time and time again that there's little the outside world can do to help. If leaders carry out these reforms, they should expect assistance from the world in building up their agricultural base. This is a critical first step toward a sustainable economy. Along with freer agricultural trade worldwide, development will empower more countries to grow or purchase enough food for their people. Technology, too, can help us answer the tough questions: How do we feed a growing world without ripping up more and more land? Getting more food out of existing farmland is the only answer that works in the long run. We're not interested in growing more food by ripping up the soil and forests of the world. Biotechnology is giving us ways to grow more crops -- using less water and less pesticides, with more nutrition and less wear on fertile soil. As long as these products prove safe -- and to date the have -- we should use them to fight hunger in a way that doesn't leave future farmers to inherit a barren earth. DOMESTIC We must also resist the temptation to talk about world hunger as if it exists only beyond our borders. Last year, 4 million children went hungry -- not in Rwanda, not in El Salvador, but right here in the United States. And that has got to stop. That's why this Administration has made a commitment not just to help cut the world's hungry by half -- but America's, as well. First and foremost, there is no substitute for strong federal programs. We have the school lunch and breakfast programs -- our national nutrition intervention in the health and quality of our children's lives. We have The Emergency Food Assistance Program -- the bread and butter of many food banks and soup kitchens. We have the Women, Infants and Children program which now reaches 7.4 million moms and newborns with the nutrition they need to get off to a healthy start. The WIC program enjoys broad public support, but it was a fight to keep it fully funded -- one that many of us here fought and won together. We also have food stamps -- our nation's way of saying that hard-working, struggling families should be able to put food on the table. Welfare reform's going to get tough on adults who refuse to work. But we need to work together to ensure that those who can not find a job, can find food. Beyond feeding people, we also have to focus more on opening the gates of opportunity -- such as a quality education -- -- to give our people a real shot at breaking the cycle of poverty and hunger ... once and for all. Beyond government, we are also blessed in this country with the world's finest and best-organized anti-hunger community. From food rescue to food banks to advocacy, they work toward the day when no American knows hunger. That's our goal, too. We can only get there together. CONCLUSION That's really the point of this gathering. I know that none of you are new to any of these issues. You are here today for your expertise and your leadership. But what is unique is this particular assembly -- from international scholars in agriculture and public policy ... to government officials on development, farm policy, trade and the environment ... to private businesses, charitable foundations and grass-roots anti-hunger activists is the scope of the involvement by people around the country. I hope we can take this opportunity to get to know one another better and see the common threads running through all our work. But above all, let us challenge each other and come up with one cohesive and real strategy that gets us to this ambitious goal we've set for ourselves. We face a complex and uniquely stubborn enemy ... one that knows no boundaries ... one that feeds on poverty, inequality, and worst of all ... indifference. None of us on our own can beat it. But all of us standing together perhaps can. We have a shot at getting it done. Like many of you, I've dedicated the better part of my life to fighting hunger. I'm under no illusions of the magnitude of the task before us. But I refuse to let that be an excuse for giving up. World food security is a goal that we won't reach tomorrow or perhaps in our lifetimes. But it is a goal that -- if ever abandoned -- takes with it our very humanity. Thank you all for being here, for your commitment, for the work you've done, and -- most importantly -- for the work that's yet ahead for all of us. Thank you. # NOTE: USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet. Access the USDA Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usda.gov