African Food for Africa's Starving Is Roadblocked in Congress

It seemed like a no-brainer: changing the law to allow the federal government to buy food in Africa for Africans facing starvation instead of paying enormous sums to ship it from the American heartland, halfway around the world. It would save time, money and help African farmers at the same time. But it challenges the political bargain that has formed the basis for food aid over the past half century: that American generosity must be good not just for the world’s hungry but also for American agriculture, which turns out to mean Big Ag. “It’s the middlemen who enjoy most of the gains, not the farmers.” In 2004, four companies and their subsidiaries, led by Archer Daniels Midland sold more than half of the $700 million in food provided through United States International Development’s food aid program and just five shipping companies received over half the more than $300 million spent to ship that food.
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It seemed like a no-brainer: changing the law to allow the federal government to buy food in Africa for Africans facing starvation instead of paying enormous sums to ship it from the American heartland, halfway around the world. Not only would the food get to the hungry in weeks instead of months, the government would save money and help African farmers at the same time.

The new approach had an impeccable sponsor in Republican-dominated Washington. The Bush administration, famous for its go-it-alone style, was trying to move the United States – by far the world’s biggest food donor – into the international mainstream with a proposal to take a step in just this direction. A lot of rich countries had already done so, most recently Canada.

So why is this seemingly sensible, cost-effective proposal near death in Congress?

Fundamentally, because the proposal challenges the political bargain that has formed the basis for food aid over the past half century: that American generosity must be good not just for the world’s hungry but also for American agriculture. That is why current law stipulates that all food aid provided by the United States Agency for International Development be grown by American farmers and mostly shipped…

Posted by mwm
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