Solutions to Hunger Solutions to Hunger

U.S. Action Plan 

on Food Security

U.S. Action Plan 
U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

Preface i

Executive Summary 1

Introduction 5

Chapter1:

Economic Security and Policy Environment 11

Chapter2:

Trade and Investment 19

Chapter3:

Research and Education 23

Chapter4:

Sustainable Food Systems and the Environment 33

Chapter5:

Food Security Safety Net 41

Chapter6:

Information and Mapping 49

Chapter7:

Food and Water Safety 55

AppendixA:

A Model for Halving World Hunger A-1

AppendixB:

Approaches to Measuring Food Insecurity B-1

AppendixC:

Glossary C-1

AppendixD:

Acronyms D-1

AppendixE:

Interagency Working Group on Food Security E-1

AppendixF:

Food Security Advisory Committee F-1

Table of Contents
Boxes

1 Hunger at Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i

2 School Feeding Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ii

4 Changing the Politics of Hunger, David Beckmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

5 The Right to Food, Food Security Advisory Committee . . . . . . . . . . . .7

6 Agricultural Development and Food Security, G. Edward Schuh . . .8

7 U.S. Actions to Raise Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

8 Nutrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

2.1 Private Sector Investment Provides Economic Security, 

Cargill, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

2.2 The Food System Approach, U.S. National Center for APEC . . . . . .20

3.1 Linking Agriculture and Health: A Food Systems Approach, 

Cornell University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

3.2 Building Agricultural Capacity in Africa, 

The Rockefeller Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

3.3 Sasakawa-Global 2000 Program, The Carter Center . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 

3.4 Promising Partners for Sweet Potatoes, Monsanto Company . . . . .29

3.5 USAID Creates an East African-Owned Agricultural 

Technology Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

4.1 The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program

(SARE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

4.2 Conserving Marine Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

4.3 The Future of Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

4.4 Sustainable Cocoa, Mars, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

5.1 Feeding Hungry Children in Houston, Kid-Care, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

5.2 Monetizing Food Aid, Save the Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

7.1 Integrated Pest Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

7.2 Health and Sanitation in Ecuador, Rotary International . . . . . . . . . .58

A NOTE ON BOXES

Unless otherwise indicated, the boxes contained in this document do

not represent U.S. Government policy. Rather, they contain the views of

civil society, represented by the Food Security Advisory Committee, or

information on programs related to hunger and food security carried out

by private industry, private voluntary organizations, non-governmental

organizations, and universities. The boxes are intended to show the

diversity of opinion and experience on this complex issue.
d U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

Food Security: When all people at all

times have physical and economic access

to sufficient food to meet their dietary

needs for a productive and healthy life.
PREFACE: THE FACES OF HUNGER i

The Problem 

at Home

The vast majority of households in

America are food secure. The United

States produces an abundance of

affordable and nutritious foods. American consumers spend a smaller share

of their budget on food than their counterparts around the world. 

Over the years, American

investments in agricultural production,

research, and education have increased

and improved food production, processing and marketing so much that the

United States is more than able to share

its bounty with the rest of the world.

The United States also imports a wide

variety of food from its trading partners.

A strong food regulation and inspection

system ensures that consumers receive

safe food products.

Despite its advantages, the United

States confronts nutritional challenges

on several fronts. As diseases caused by

nutritional deficiencies have become

less common, they have been replaced

by diseases related to dietary excesses

and imbalances. These diseases, including heart disease, some types of cancer,

stroke, and diabetes, are now among

the leading causes of illness and death

in the United States. They touch the

lives of most Americans, and they generate substantial health care costs.

These diseases also disproportionately

affect the poor.

Despite America’s ability to produce

more food than it can consume, food

insecurity and hunger still exist. A Government survey in 1995 showed that

hunger was present at least part of the

year among members of 4.2 million

American households, or 4.1 percent of

all households in the United States.

Nearly 20 percent of the hungry households (817,000 of the 4.2 million) had

one or more members who

experienced severe hunger either

through reduced food intake among

children (332,000 households) or a

prolonged lack of food among adults in

households with no children. Of all U.S.

Preface:

The Faces of Hunger

Since the first World Food Conference a quarter century ago, global efforts have

resulted in a large reduction in the number of chronically undernourished people in

developing countries. Many countries owe their success to economic development and

increased agricultural production. Despite these improvements, a staggering number

of people around the world — more than 800 million — still go to sleep hungry or

undernourished each night. This is simply unacceptable. The United Nations Food

and Agriculture Organization (FAO) convened the World Food Summit in 1996 to

refocus international efforts on eliminating hunger and food insecurity.

Even in the United States, where food is plentiful, safe, nutritious, and relatively

inexpensive, nearly 12 million households are food insecure, and of these, nearly 4

million are hungry at some point over the course of a year. 

Hunger at Home 

I was in a soup kitchen one night...

when a young mother rushed in with

three children—an infant and twin

boys.... Her boys were about 4,

dressed in rags and bone thin, and

they attacked a tray of peanut-butter

sandwiches as if they hadn’t seen

food in a month.... They ate furiously, their eyes darting in all directions

as if someone might stop them.

— JOHN GRISHAM, “MY TURN COLUMN: SOMEWHERE FOR

EVERYONE,” NEWSWEEK FEBRUARY 9, 1998. ALL RIGHTS

RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION.

BOX 1

11.9%Food Insecure

88.1%Food Secure

7.8% Food Insecure 

without Hunger

3.3% Food Insecure 

with Hunger 

0.8% Food Insecure with 

Severe Hunger 

PREVALENCE OF FOOD SECURITY AND

HUNGER IN THE UNITED STATES, 1995

(source: USDA, FNCS, “Household Food 

Security in the United States in 1995: 

Executive Summary” (September 1997).
ii U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

households, 11.9 million, or about 12

percent, were food insecure because of

resource constraints.1

Hunger in less-developed or war-torn

nations may be obvious and extreme,

but the food insecurity experienced by

many Americans is no less real, though

it is less overt. Faced with limited

resources, one out of six Americans

turns to government food assistance

programs to achieve a measure of food

security. Other Americans respond to

food insecurity by skipping meals, substituting less expensive, less nutritious

alternatives, or seeking emergency food

from soup kitchens or food pantries.

In the United States, those who may

be particularly susceptible to food insecurity include:

▲ The homeless, who may sleep in the

streets or in emergency shelters most of

which provide only one daily meal;

▲ Poor children, who may fall through

the gaps in the service system and

whose nutritional needs are critical for

growth and development;

▲ Some female-headed households,

African-American and Hispanic households, and those who live in central city

areas;

▲ The working poor;

▲ Some legal immigrants, subject to

eligibility restrictions on food stamps

and other assistance; 

▲ Some single-person households,

including able-bodied adults without

dependents (ABAWDs) who may lose

eligibility for benefits;

▲ Some elderly and immunocompromised individuals, who may experience

health problems, poverty, and difficulties purchasing, preparing, and eating

nutritious foods;

▲ Some residents in rural areas and

communities;

▲ American Indians, Alaska Natives, and

others who live in remote areas; and

▲ Migrant and seasonal farm workers.

The most important cause of chronic food insecurity is poverty. More than

36 million people (13.8 percent of the

American population) or 7.5 million

American families (10.8 percent) lived

at or below the poverty line in 1995;

this percentage has not changed to the

present.2 Twenty percent of U.S. children live in households with incomes

below the poverty line; this is the third

highest proportion among developed

nations. Poverty and food insecurity

vary greatly by race, and although the

majority of food-insecure people in the

United States are Caucasian, AfricanAmerican and Hispanic households

have higher rates of food insecurity and

hunger. In 1993, for example, about 11

percent of Caucasian children, 42 percent of African-American children, and

40 percent of Hispanic children were

poor. Among households with children

under 18 years old, overall 82.5 percent are food secure; however when

disaggregated by race, 84.6 percent of

Caucasian households with children are

food secure, compared with only 71.8

percent of African-American

households and 69.6 percent of Hispanic households. Within those households that are food insecure, 4.3

percent of Caucasian, 10.1 percent of

African-American, and 8.8 percent of

Hispanic households experience either

moderate or severe hunger.

3

Significant factors leading to food

insecurity in the United States include

limited resources and difficulty accessing food. Low incomes, low literacy,

certain disabilities, and poor health can

all increase the risks of food insecurity

and hunger for individuals. Access to

food in ways that are socially acceptable

can also be limited by lack of

transportation, living in remote locations, or lack of accessible food stores.

Additionally, some people may feel stigmatized by accepting food assistance.

1

Hamilton, Cook, Thompson, et al., Household Food

Security in the United States in 1995: Summary Report

of the Food Security Measurement Project

(Alexandria, VA: USDA, FNCS, September 1997).

Please note: these figures do not include the homeless population.

2

Figures from 1995 are used to be consistent with the

data from the benchmark Household Food Security

Survey. The 1996 figures are not significantly different; according to the Census Bureau, in 1996, 36.5 million or 13.7 percent of Americans were poor.

3

Household Food Security in the United States in 1995,

op.cit., p. 48.

School feeding programs

...for thousands of Sacramento children who miss school breakfast and

lunch programs, the long, dry summer is spelled h-u-n-g-r-y. To help fill

the gap, the city administers a summer lunch program, and children

lining up for their box lunches...were

enthusiastic diners. ‘I like it,’ said 9-

year-old Rachel... ‘They have good

food. I like bringing my sister,’ she

said....

— KATHRYN DOR-PERKINS, “SUMMER BOX LUNCHES HIT THE

SPOT: PROGRAM HELPS COVER NUTRITION GAP WHILE

SCHOOLS ARE ON BREAK,” SACRAMENTO BEE, JULY 23, 1998

REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

BOX 2
PREFACE: THE FACES OF HUNGER iii

The Problem

Abroad

Today more than 800 million people

are hungry around the world, and that

number continues to grow.

4 Apart from

natural disasters, the root causes of

food insecurity include: poverty; war

and civil strife; inappropriate national

policies; inadequate development,

transfer, and adaptation of agricultural

and other research and technology;

barriers to trade; environmental degradation; population growth; gender

inequality; cultural insensitivity; and

poor health. 

To understand the magnitude of the

problem of world hunger one has only

to consider that:

▲ There will be approximately 2.5 billion more people by the year 2025, with

a world population exceeding 8 billion;

▲ Nearly 1.3 billion people today live

on less than $1 a day;

▲ Women and children are particularly

vulnerable to hunger. Worldwide,

34,000 children under age five die daily

from hunger and preventable

diseases—24 children every minute,

one every three seconds;

▲ 2 billion people live at risk of diseases resulting from deficiencies such

as vitamin A, protein, iodine, and iron;

▲ Over 50 percent of the populations

of Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique, Haiti,

Somalia, and the Central African Republic are hungry;

▲ Over 60 percent of the world’s hungry reside in seven countries: China,

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia,

Nigeria, and Indonesia. 

Hunger has many faces—young and

old, female and male, poor. It touches

more than one-fifth of the world’s population and at least 4 percent of the

American population. With population

growth and decreasing agricultural

lands, hunger will likely become an

increasing problem unless there is

effective action now. ❖

4

This number represents FAO estimates of the number

of undernourished people in the world at the time of

the World Food Summit in 1996. The recent economic

upheavals in Asia, the earthquakes in Colombia, and

hurricanes in Central America may have increased

this number. Appendix B explains some of the

methodologies used to measure undernutrition and

food insecurity.
iv U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

Executive

Summary

Today, more than 800 million people in the world are hungry. At

the 1996 World Food Summit, the United States and 185 other

countries pledged to reduce the number of undernourished people by half by 2015. The United States adopted an even broader

commitment as a domestic goal, and is developing a target for

reducing food insecurity in the United States through the Healthy

People 2010 Initiative.

The United States Action Plan on Food Security outlines the

means by which the United States will address the World Food

Summit’s goals. It is the result of extensive national consultations

and represents a range of partnerships between the U.S. Government and civil society—non-governmental and private voluntary

organizations, academia, business, and individuals.

The Plan identifies the following as priority strategies and

actions:

▲ Encourage a policy environment at home and abroad

that enables individuals, households, communities, and

nations to attain economic and food security.

Domestically, the United States will support economic security

through jobs and human capital investment and will partner

with civil society to achieve economic security for especially

vulnerable groups. Internationally, the United States will

encourage policy reform that brings about macroeconomic

stability and fosters sound, market-oriented economic institutions. The United States will also encourage an enabling policy environment through bilateral and multilateral initiatives,

especially in concert with the Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development (OECD) poverty reduction targets, and by implementing the African Food Security Initiative.
2 U.S. ACTION

PLAN ONFOODSECURITY

▲ Promote continued trade and investment

liberalization to benefit all countries.

In the new trade round, scheduled to begin in late 1999, the

United States will work with countries to achieve freer trade

and to assure that benefits, especially more stable supplies of

food and increased incomes, are equitably realized.

▲ Strengthen food security research and educational

capacity to expand the productivity and nutritional impact

of agriculture and aquaculture and ensure that a broad

range of appropriate information and technology reaches

producers and consumers.

U.S. efforts will center on generating adequate research to

meet future food security needs through private/public partnerships. Efforts will also focus on sharing the results of and

improving the impacts of this research, especially in developing countries, through improved extension and linkages that

help adapt new technologies to local conditions and meet the

needs of producers. Also via public/private partnerships at

home and abroad, the U.S. Government and civil society will

promote nutrition and basic education, especially for girls

and women.

▲ Integrate environmental concerns into food security

efforts to assure sustainability.

U.S. domestic and international priorities include developing

and implementing flexible, environmentally sensitive agricul-

ture, aquaculture, and land-use policies; enhancing local food

systems through grass-roots partnerships with broad partici-

pation linking communities, farms, and markets; and

addressing global phenomena, especially climate change, that

affect the United States and other countries.

▲ Improve and, when possible, extend the food and

nutrition assistance safety net, especially those programs

targeting vulnerable women and children.

The delivery system provided at home and abroad by nongovernmental organization-U.S. Government partnerships is

broad and largely effective, but needs improvements in target-
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3

ing and more emphasis on training and achieving effective

utilization of food supplies.

▲ Enhance the U.S. ability to identify food-insecure individuals and populations to make better use of food assistance programs and to provide an improved

decisionmaking tool for local authorities in the United

States and for governments and communities in developing countries.

The United States will refine its national survey measures to

monitor changes in nutritional status and food security in a

welfare-to-work environment. Internationally, the United

States will focus on promoting a food insecurity and vulnerability information and mapping system (FIVIMS) and improving—both in details and accessibility—regional and national

information systems.

▲ Assure that food and water production and distribution systems meet public health safety standards as a part

of ensuring food security for U.S. and international consumers.

Implementation of the President’s National Food Safety Initiative and related recent Federal initiatives will require development and implementation of preventive controls for food

production systems and enhanced surveillance and coordination in controlling foodborne illness. Coordination with all

stake-holders is essential to the training and education of

food handlers, producers, and consumers to improve the

global food safety system. The United States supports the work

of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in setting international

standards for foods and food safety.

The Action Plan is a living document that has been endorsed

by the U.S. Government and the federally constituted Food Security Advisory Committee. We invite individuals, local communities,

and civil society across the country to join the challenge. ❖
4 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY
INTRODUCTION 5

5

GAO is publishing a report to Congressional

Requesters entitled, Food Security: Factors That Could

Affect Progress Toward Meeting World Food Summit

Goals. The report details the ongoing actions of the

international community in response to the Summit.

6

Healthy People 2010 is the U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services-led national health promotion

and disease prevention initiative that identifies opportunities to improve the health of Americans over the

next decade.

Introduction

Where Do 

We Stand?

The United States Action Plan on Food

Security is about working through partnerships to empower people. It is the

result of extensive national consultations in which the U.S. Government,

civil society, business, farmers, international organizations, and individual citizens participated. Within the Federal

Government, an Interagency Working

Group brings together agencies with

domestic and international responsibilities. A federally constituted Food Security Advisory Committee also provided

input and guidance in the development

of the Plan. There is a consensus that

food security is dependent on:

▲ adequate food availability through

agricultural production, imports, and

government policies including nutrition

safety nets; 

▲ social, educational, and economic

conditions that enable individuals to

gain access to food by earning income

to buy food and through community

food security activities; and 

▲ full utilization of food through the

presence of adequate diet, safe water,

sanitation, education, and health care. 

Food insecurity can be either temporary or chronic. The World Food Summit focused on chronic food insecurity. 

Without action and involvement of all

stakeholders to improve the availability,

access, and utilization of food, within

two decades the number of hungry people will reach almost 1 billion. To prevent this, the strategies contained in this

Action Plan draw on the wisdom and

experience of the farming community,

agribusiness, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and universities, and

the U.S. Government to define affordable, effective intervention methods.

These strategies concentrate on the special resources of the American people:

Hunger amidst plenty is a profound contradiction of our age. Food security is fundamental to individual human dignity, growth, and survival. We all pay for widespread hunger and malnutrition through sacrificed human potential, lost economic

opportunity, social tension, violence, and war. Global food security is essential to

world peace and national security. 

At the World Food Summit in Rome in November 1996, the United States and

185 other countries made a promise to dedicate “our political will and our common

and national commitment to achieving food security for all.” The international

community set the goal of reducing the number of undernourished people to half the

1996 level by 2015.5 The United States adopted an even broader commitment as a

domestic goal and is developing a target for reducing food insecurity in the United

States through its national Healthy People 2010 Initiative.6 To help reach this goal, in

January 1999, the U.S. Government began a Community Food Security Initiative.
6 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

▲ Productive farmers and producers,

▲ NGOs experienced in food delivery,

sustainable agriculture, nutrition education, and community participation,

▲ A strong private sector, including

agribusiness,

▲ The academic and research

community,

▲ Innovators in maternal and child

care and the public health community,

▲ Leaders in trade and investment liberalization,

▲ Worldwide strategic interests, and

▲ Citizens who care.

What Should

We Do Next?

Although all ongoing and new activities

discussed in the Action Plan contribute

to the reduction of hunger, the Plan

identifies the following as priority areas

for the next 5 years:

▲ Encouraging a policy environment at

home and abroad based on macroeconomic stability and competitive markets

that enables individuals, households,

communities, and nations to attain economic and food security;

▲ Promoting continued trade and

investment liberalization to benefit all

countries;

▲ Strengthening food security research

and educational capacity to expand the

productivity and nutritional impact of

agriculture and aquaculture and to

ensure that a broad range of appropriate information and technology reaches

producers and consumers; 

▲ Improving and extending the food

assistance safety net, especially targeting vulnerable women and children;

▲ Enhancing our ability to identify and

target food-insecure populations.

We also need to tailor our efforts,

given that the causes of chronic food

insecurity differ among different populations. Internationally, food insecurity is

most acute in South Asia and Africa. In

South Asia, major causes of food insecurity include low average incomes, poor

health due to high population density in

a monsoon environment, and the low

status of women. Opportunities for

lower priced, higher quality food and

increased food intake will improve as

trade barriers are removed. U.S. programs, accordingly, will focus increasingly on international trade negotiations,

food aid targeted to maternal and child

health, and women’s education. In

Africa, problems of food security relate

to widespread poverty, low agricultural

and fish production, famine, war, civil

strife, and deteriorating natural

resources. Interventions here will focus

on international trade, national policy

reform, private sector technology transfer, research to improve productivity

and sustainability, and community participation in resource management and

political advocacy. 

In the United States, food insecurity

and hunger are disproportionately a

problem of poverty. Households with

children, African-American and Hispanic households, households of single

unemployed persons, and female-headed, single parent households are more

likely to be food insecure than households without children, Caucasian

households or male-headed

households.7 Short-term ways to combat hunger include both food and cash

assistance programs (e.g., food stamps,

school meals, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program).

These programs reduce but do not

eliminate hunger entirely. Longer term

interventions include investments in

education at all levels and job skills

training programs.

Women are central to the success of

any food security strategy due to their

multiple roles in agricultural production and income generation, as well as

their household maintenance and child

rearing roles. Increased analytical

BOX 4

We could end mass hunger in our

richly blessed nation within a couple

of years if we really wanted to. The

United States could also do much

more than it does to help overcome

hunger around the world.

On the domestic front, the Special

Supplemental Nutrition Program for

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is

one proven—but in my opinion underfunded— way to make sure that little

children have enough to eat. Leaders

of both our political parties agree that

WIC works. Citizen groups such as

Bread for the World have been lobbying for decades on behalf of WIC. Yet

appropriations for WIC still fall short,

so WIC doesn’t reach all of the children who need it.

The Africa: Seeds of Hope Act of 1998

will help struggling farmers and other

hungry people in Africa. Congress

approved it because tens of thousands

of Bread for the World members and

others insisted that reducing hunger in

Africa was important to them.

The key to ending hunger is changing

the politics of hunger. Bread for the

World is a nation-wide Christian citizen’s movement against hunger. Its

44,000 members commit ourselves to

urge elected officials to support

stronger efforts to reduce hunger.

We’re working to transform the politics of hunger.

— DAVID BECKMANN, PRESIDENT, 

BREAD FOR THE WORLD

CHANGING THE

POLITICS OF HUNGER

7

Household Food Security in the United States in 1995,

op.cit., p. 48.
INTRODUCTION 7

attention to women’s multiple roles, the

constraints such roles impose, and the

opportunities they afford, will be critical in achieving our World Food Summit goals. 

What Is Our

Responsibility?

The United States plays a leading role in

advancing internationally recognized

human rights. It fully subscribes to the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

that includes the statement “Everyone

has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of

himself and his family, including food....” 

The United States also promotes

food security activities consistent with

the principles set out in the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The U.S. Government

ratified the International Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights and promotes

ways for communities and civil society

to shape activities and policies affecting

food security better. In addition, the

United States has supported several

international agreements on the right of

access to safe and nutritious food. The

U.S. Government understands the term

“access” to mean an opportunity to

secure food. 

The U.S. commitment to food security, however, goes beyond support for

international agreements or affirmations. Domestically, the Federal Government, in partnership with the States,

local communities, and civil society, has

a long history of promoting food security and ending hunger. For 140 years,

the U.S. Government has made significant commitments to agricultural

research and education through the

Land Grant University System. For over

six decades, the U.S. Government has

operated food assistance programs.

Today, the Federal Government runs 15

major domestic food programs at a cost

of $36.5 billion per year. In addition,

the States provide a variety of food proWork is ongoing among private voluntary organizations (PVOs) on a Code of Conduct

on the Right to Food to be presented to governments for acceptance. The U.S. Government believes the best route to food security, particularly in the most food-insecure countries, is not through legal instruments, but through adoption of sound

policies that expand food production, encourage economic development, and

improve access to food.

In contrast, the Advisory Committee and many in civil society reaffirm the conclusion

of the 1980 Presidential Commission on World Hunger, which stated that without the

right to food, “the protection of other human rights becomes a mockery for those

who must spend all their energy merely to maintain life itself.” In the Advisory Committee’s view, international legal instruments bring pressure to bear on governments

to enact and implement appropriate policies and programs. Endorsing the right to

food does not oblige governments to provide everyone with three meals a day.

Rather, governments must respect everyone’s right to have access to adequate food,

protect that right from encroachment by others, facilitate opportunities to enjoy that

right, and only in the last instance fulfill the right to food for those unable to do so by

themselves. The Advisory Committee strongly urges the U.S. Government to support

global efforts, in accordance with Objective 7.4 of the World Food Summit Plan of

Action, “to better define the rights related to food...and to provide ways to implement

and realize these rights....”

–FOOD SECURITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

BOX 5

THE RIGHT TO FOOD
8 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

grams to those in need. For nearly five

decades, the U.S. Government and U.S.

private voluntary organizations have

provided aid for emergency relief and

long-term development in those parts of

the world where poverty and hunger

are more widespread.

Are We Ready

For The

Challenge?

A 1995 public opinion study by the University of Maryland8 found that an overwhelming majority of Americans are

genuinely committed to helping people

in need. Although a large majority of

those polled felt that the United States

spends too much on foreign aid, this

view was based on the impression that

the United States commits five times

more to foreign aid than is actually the

case. When informed that foreign aid

constitutes just 1 percent of the Federal

budget and that only one-fifth of that 1

percent is focused on sustainable development and humanitarian programs, a

strong majority of those polled favored

maintaining or increasing aid. Furthermore, aid for agriculture by all donor

countries is decreasing. In fiscal year

1997, the United States Government

committed $245 million for agricultural

development and $1.1 billion for 

P.L. 83-480 food aid. The fiscal year

1992 figures were $594 million and

$1.62 billion respectively.

The link between world food security and the well-being of Americans is

not clear to most Americans. A recent

opinion poll found that Americans consider domestic hunger to be one of our

most serious national problems. But the

extent and causes of hunger, the ways

that hunger can be reduced, and mobilizing Americans to act remain

challenges.

8

“Americans and Foreign Aid,” University of Maryland,

1995

The modernization of agriculture through the introduction of productivity-enhancing

technology has a direct effect of raising the incomes of rural people, who make up

most of the population of developing countries. Poverty tends to be concentrated disproportionately in rural areas in most countries. Agricultural modernization also has

more general effects in the economy, however. The introduction of new technology in

the food or subsistence sector lowers the cost of production and eventually leads to

a reduction in food prices. This reduction in food prices is equivalent to an increase

in income for all consumers. Moreover, the reduction in food prices favors the poor,

since they spend a larger share of their budget on food than do middle and upper

income groups.

New production technology for cash or export crops has similar, although somewhat

different effects. By increasing the competitiveness of these sectors in international

markets, it increases foreign exchange earnings for the country. These exchange

earnings can be used to finance a higher rate of economic growth, which in turn

increases employment and thus improves incomes. Moreover, export commodities

tend to be labor-intensive. Thus, the expansion of these sectors increases the

demand for unskilled labor and also improves the incomes of the poor.

– G. EDWARD SCHUH, CO-CHAIR OF THE FOOD SECURITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND ORVIL AND JANE FREEMAN PROFESSOR OF

INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT POLICY, HUBERT H. HUMPHREY INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, UNIVERSITY OF

MINNESOTA

AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND FOOD SECURITY

BOX 6
INTRODUCTION 9

What Is

Required?

Addressing food security—whether

globally or in the United States—

requires integrating ongoing efforts with

new initiatives. The chapters of the

United States Action Plan on Food

Security address key inputs, identified

during the national consultative

process, that are needed to achieve

food security. The discussion incorporates ongoing successful activities of

U.S. stakeholders, a number of specific

initiatives, such as the Community Food

Security Initiative, and a framework for

mobilizing future efforts in these key

areas: economic security and policy

environment; trade and investment;

research and education; sustainable

food systems and the environment; community food security and safety nets;

food and nutrition information and

mapping; and food and water safety. 

The U.S. Government will maintain

the Interagency Working Group on

Food Security as the focal point within

the Executive Branch for its continuing

response to the World Food Summit,

including identifying issues for the

Executive Branch to address in concert

with Congress. The Food Security Advisory Committee will also continue to

oversee implementation of the Plan and

to reflect a broad range of viewpoints

and experience. But this effort will

require more than government and

advisory committee action. To accomplish many of the initiatives and activities described in this plan will require

participation and commitment from all

sectors of society. There is a vital role

for each person, from all areas of

American society in the effort to achieve

lasting food security. ❖

To promote an awareness and understanding of hunger and food insecurity

among Americans, the United States

will:

■ Conduct a national “Food for All”

campaign and help communities

(including schools and business

groups) formulate their own outreach

and awareness campaigns;

■ Highlight the linkages among

domestic and international agriculture,

hunger, food security, and poverty by

sharing such information with Congress, the public, and the U.S. agricultural community; boosting awareness

of the role of economic, human capital, and agricultural development in

alleviating food insecurity and malnutrition; and building more effective

outreach efforts and partnerships

among government, academia, and

agribusiness.

U.S. ACTIONS TO

RAISE AWARENESS

BOX 7

This Action Plan complements the U.S. Government’s earlier Nutrition Action

Themes for the United States, prepared as a follow up to the International Conference on Nutrition in December 1992. The many strategies and actions identified in

that report will help to attain the World Food Summit goals and ensure an integrated

approach to improving the availability, access, and utilization of food. We have

included some of the overarching themes that are reported in this document. See

USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Nutrition Action Themes (September 1996) for more details.

NUTRITION

BOX 8
10 U.S. ACTION

PLAN ONFOODSECURITY

CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 1

ECONOMIC SECURITY AND POLICY ENVIRONMENT 11

Domestic

Dimension

1. PRIORITIES

▲ Supporting individual and family economic security through adequate jobs and increased human

capital investment and appropriate

government policies

▲ Working in partnership to

achieve economic security for vulnerable groups

2. ISSUES

The U. S. Government employs a set of

macroeconomic, sectoral, and social

policies that support the general economic and food security of American

citizens. Among these are monetary,

fiscal, and trade policies promoting

strong economic growth and job creation along with low inflation. Welfare

reform policies currently under implementation establish strong incentives

for welfare recipients to move from

welfare to work. Welfare reform policies also represent a fundamental shift

in philosophy toward fiscal federalism

in which public funds are transferred in

block grants to States along with

increased responsibility and authority to

implement social programs to encourage work. Such programs empower

States while maintaining strict standards

and a solid safety net. Social supports

to welfare recipients and transitional

workers provided by States include support for child care, education and training programs, transportation, and other

types of assistance. The Federal Government encourages education through

fiscal policies, support of educational

reform, and emphasis on early childhood education. The Federal Government also encourages States and tribal

organizations to share experience and

information regarding implementation

of policy reform. Finally, the Federal

Government has maintained food assistance and medical insurance programs

as social safety nets for many lowincome households.

In 1995, 13.8 percent of Americans,

including 20.8 percent of all children,

lived at or below the Federal poverty

Economic Security

and Policy

Environment

Both domestically and internationally, food security depends on the creation of an

environment— economic, political, and social—that enables individuals to achieve

food security. This requires investing in the growth and well-being of individuals

through education, job creation, the maintenance of safety nets, and the alleviation

of poverty. Economic growth is essential to poverty reduction, and an enabling policy

environment is critical to growth and development. The essentials of this

environment include sound macroeconomic policies, an open trade and investment

climate, elimination of policies that discriminate against the private sector or rural

areas and that result in disincentives to agricultural production, and equal participation by all members of society. 

1
CHAPTER 1

12 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

line. By the time they reach 18 years of

age, 36 percent of children have spent

a portion of their lives in poverty. Many

of these children may have experienced

periods of food insecurity or hunger,

which jeopardize sound growth and

healthy development.

Equally important is the need to

enhance adults’ economic security, particularly as the United States implements

welfare reform legislation enacted in

1996. Enhancement of adults’ economic

security requires innovative intergovernmental and non-governmental action to

help unemployed persons find and keep

jobs and underemployed, low-income

individuals upgrade their skills and

jobs. Critically important in this effort

are creative approaches that build effective partnerships, incentives, and special

transitional supports for those who need

them. Of special importance is the need

to invest in primary, secondary, postsecondary, and continuing education.

3. DISCUSSION

In August 1996, the 104th Congress

enacted, and the President signed into

law, the Personal Responsibility and

Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

1996. The Act created the Temporary

Assistance for Needy Families Block

Grant Program (TANF), which replaces

Federal payments under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program,

and the Job Opportunities and Basic

Skills Training Program. TANF provides

block grants and greater flexibility to

the States.

Under TANF, Federal welfare benefits

are limited to 5 years per adult participant lifetime, but States may set shorter

time periods if they believe this better

motivates recipients to train and gain

employment. States also determine benefit levels, which services they will fund,

and eligibility standards. The law gives

States performance bonuses if they

move welfare recipients into jobs. Also

included are a stronger child support

enforcement program, supports for

families moving from welfare to work,

and reduced duration of food stamp

benefits for able-bodied adults without

dependents. States also can exclude

some legal immigrants from the TANF

program.

As they implement TANF, States and

communities are forming new partnerships with civil society. Federal agencies

are tracking and evaluating welfare

reform measures and other actions for

possible modeling, replication, or

expansion by States and communities. 

Of immediate importance is the need to

identify and implement successful policies and job creation and expansion

programs. Promoting increased dialogue

at all levels, especially within and across

States, will enhance these efforts.

Because the new law widens States’ latitude in administering welfare programs,

States can be viewed in one sense as

laboratories for analysis of the factors

that help Americans achieve greater economic security.

4. ACTIONS

To focus on groups at risk for food

insecurity, especially children:

▲ The United States9 will encourage the

use of case-management by States, communities, and employers to address the

difficulties many vulnerable groups face

in trying to achieve economic security,

including, where appropriate, integrated

case management across programs.

▲ The United States will assist individuals disabled from work because of

health problems, including substance

abuse, mental or emotional difficulties,

and AIDS.

▲ The United States will partner with

States, tribal organizations, and communities to help those at particular risk

for food insecurity, especially legal

immigrants and others affected by

recent changes in Federal welfare and

food assistance programs.

▲ The United States will encourage

States to ensure that child support

award levels are sufficient to meet chil9

Throughout this document the term “United States”

refers to all sectors of the country and its population,

both governmental and non-governmental.
CHAPTER 1

ECONOMIC SECURITY AND POLICY ENVIRONMENT 13

dren’s needs and implement uniform

interstate child support laws.

▲ The United States will encourage

community- and State-level strategies to

prevent teen pregnancies.

To build a solid foundation for

learning and enhance access to

education:

▲ The United States will create business, community, and other alliances

that meet the diverse needs of the student population, decrease drop-out

rates, and support at-risk students—

particularly those with limited English

proficiency, with disabilities, in migrant

families, and in schools with large proportions of students living in poverty.

▲ The United States will encourage

local businesses and community groups

to create and share new ways to boost

participation in State school-to-work

programs that enhance student achievement and technical skills.

▲ The United States will encourage

family, community, and local school

district involvement in State efforts to

develop and implement challenging

academic standards and assessment for

all students in core academic subjects.

▲ The United States will develop communications strategies among businesses, community groups, and schools

designed to boost enrollment in postsecondary and continuing educational

programs and improve access to financial aid and support services connected

with such programs.

▲ The U.S. Government will improve

coordination of Federal donations of

surplus computers and other equipment

to schools.

To emphasize job creation and

expansion:

▲ The U.S. Government will hire and

successfully utilize welfare recipients as

an example for business leaders.

▲ The United States will enhance

incentives and innovative approaches

for private sector participation in welfare-to-work efforts and expand efforts

through partnerships and forums for

sharing results.

▲ The United States will encourage

civil society to create jobs and training

programs for current and former welfare recipients as well as under-skilled

and unemployed persons.

▲ The United States will tailor economic development activities for persons

living in remote areas.

▲ The U.S. Government, through USDA,

will continue to support the rural

Empowerment Zones and Enterprise

Community (EZ/EC) program, which

enables people and institutions in communities with high levels of poverty to

conceive and implement plans to provide

jobs, services, and community facilities.

To help low-income persons

obtain jobs:

▲ The U.S. Government will sustain

macroeconomic, sectoral, and social

policies to maintain strong growth and

job creation and support the general

economic security of American citizens.

▲ The U.S. Government will implement

social policies establishing strong

incentives for replacing welfare with

work and encouraging provision of

transitional support to persons entering

the job market.

▲ The U.S. Government will encourage

States to use all available funds for

training people for jobs that lead to

economic self-reliance.

▲ The U.S. Government will encourage

employers to provide job training, skills

development, enhanced job opportunities, and other ways to improve selfsufficiency and also ensure adequate

income.

▲ The United States will use innovative

communications strategies, including

community networks and informationsharing strategies, to enhance awareness of community opportunities for

jobs and training.
CHAPTER 1

14 U.S. ACTIONPLAN ONFOODSECURITY

To help people keep jobs, the

United States will: ▲ Support the development and provi

-

sion of adequate, convenient, and

affordable social services, including

child care, health care, public transportation, and training, and foster collaboration, cost-sharing, and information

dissemination among small businesses

for such programs. ▲ Continue to provide special transi

-

tional supports to entry-level workers in

low-paying jobs. ▲ Promote skills development among

low-skilled and underemployed workers as they move from welfare to jobs

with increasingly greater responsibility. ▲ Promote the use of mentors to help

improve workers’ chances of succeed-

ing in entry-level jobs and progressing

to better jobs. Encourage involvement

of communities’ elderly populations as

volunteers and mentors. ▲ Expand existing educational

programs to include job training, par-

enting, and other skills. ▲ Expand awareness and use of the

Earned Income Tax Credit.

International

Dimension

1. PRIORITY ▲ Encouraging an enabling policy

environment for food security in

concert with the Organization for

Economic Cooperation and Devel-

opment (OECD) Development

Assistance Committee (DAC)

poverty reduction targets

2. ISSUES

The World Food Summit recognized

that poverty is a major cause of food

insecurity in the developing world and

that economic growth is essential to

poverty eradication. While solutions to

poverty and food insecurity are not

directly transferable across or within

regions, and must be based on solid

region- and country-specific analysis,

common ingredients include the creation of a policy environment that will

achieve macroeconomic stability and

promote the development of legal and

economic institutions conducive to economic and food security. To create a

stable economy, appropriate policies

include low inflation, stable monetary

policies, reasonable tax burdens, and

balanced national budgets. Appropriate

legal and economic institutions include

laws of land and tenure, private proper-

ty and contract enforcement, a fair and

impartial judicial system, reform of

burdensome regulations, and privatization of state-owned enterprises. Such

national policies, in concert with the

liberalization of international trade and

investment, foster an enabling environment that encourages productivity,

innovation and initiative, and that

directs resources and investments

toward the goal of economic and food

security for all.

The World Food Summit recognized

that the multifaceted nature of food

security necessitates concerted national

action and effective international efforts

to supplement and reinforce national

action. The issues for the United States

are how to support and promote a

more enabling policy environment, how

to ensure that our assistance and policy

instruments are appropriate, equitable,

and effective in reducing poverty and

food insecurity, and how to better coor-

dinate these efforts with other donors.

3. DISCUSSION

The United States recognizes that there

is no one world food security problem

and will adopt a differentiated strategy

to address food security issues with tar-

get countries. It stands ready to join in

a new kind of partnership with all

countries prepared to face the

challenge of conquering world hunger

and to take the difficult steps necessary
CHAPTER 1

ECONOMIC SECURITY AND POLICY ENVIRONMENT 15

to meet and surmount that challenge.

This new partnership will be based on

collaboratively determined indicators

for measuring local, national, and

regional progress. The United States

will intensify its dialogue with other

donor countries and with international

organizations to assure better coordination of policies, self-monitoring, and

assistance. The U.S. Government will

work in partnership with business and

civil society organizations in these joint

efforts to increase food security. 

The responsibility for food security

rests with national governments. The

U.S. Position Paper prepared for the

World Food Summit contained a comprehensive checklist advocating that

national governments:

• Adopt economic policies that facilitate and complement efficient markets, rather than attempting to

substitute government action for

markets. Government should establish and enforce appropriate protocol and procedures and create and

sustain a stable economic environment that is conducive to the full

participation of the private sector.

Government should also invest in

“public good” infrastructure including transportation, communications,

education, and social safety nets.

• Provide basic health and sanitary

services, maintain basic levels of

nutrition, and facilitate voluntary

population stabilization.

• Develop institutions and a land

tenure system that provide broad

and equitable access to land services

and incentives for users to protect

and invest in the long-term productivity of natural resources.

• Ensure a political system that does not

discriminate against women or racial,

ethnic, and religious minorities and

which fosters political stability without

resorting to repressive measures.

• Provide a macroeconomic and trade

environment with linkages to global

markets so that long-term changes

are transmitted to the domestic

economy, thus avoiding macroeconomic imbalances that could induce

destabilizing adjustments.

• Foster food, agricultural, and fisheries policies that are consistent with

the resource endowment of the

country, including the preservation of

biological diversity, and supportive of

its natural comparative advantage.

• Adopt policies that provide an effective incentive structure for appropriate management of natural resources,

including: soil, water, and genetic

resource management, including

preservation of biological diversity;

food, agricultural, forestry, and fisheries policies; and the effective integration of trade and domestic

policies.

• Emphasize investment in agricultural

research and technical education,

international research systems, and

policies that facilitate the flow of

knowledge and technology among

and within countries while protecting intellectual property rights so

necessary to proving incentives for

private sector research.

• Establish a general development policy that does not discriminate against

the agricultural or fishery sectors,

nor against rural or coastal areas,

and that recognizes that poverty alleviation requires an integrated

approach to rural development.

• Combat graft and corruption wherever it exists, especially in the political and economic systems.

• Develop regional and national conflict prevention and resolution

mechanisms.

Given the links between poverty and

food insecurity, the United States also

will encourage national policies that

address poverty reduction, women’s

status, food safety, and income distribution problems. We similarly recognize
CHAPTER 1

16 U.S. ACTIONPLAN ONFOODSECURITY

the important role infrastructure devel-

opment plays in food security. 

In countries eligible for U.S. Government development assistance programs,

recipients that enact appropriate food

security policies and that involve all

stakeholders in identifying and implementing such policies could be eligible

for a greater share of development

resources. The selection of focus countries for the 1998 African Food Security

Initiative (AFSI) follows this logic. Under

the Action Plan, the United States envi-

sions that this concept, and the criteria

for measuring it, will be developed col-

laboratively through the OECD/DAC

Poverty Reduction Network and made

explicit in a suitable international forum. To support such a framework, food

security information systems will need

to be harmonized to measure the effectiveness of programs and reforms.

Donors and recipients will need to

negotiate a mutually acceptable food

security policy framework, criteria for

measuring its implementation, and an

information tracking system to monitor

results. This methodology, in turn, will

strengthen the negotiating ability of the

net food importing countries in the

upcoming trade round.

The United States participates in

Paris Club debt reductions for those

poor countries that have committed to a

sound economic reform program. In

fiscal year 1998, the U.S. Government

forgave $338 million worth of debt, at a

cost of $23 million to the U.S. budget.

The United States also contributes,

through the Paris Club and international financial institutions, to the Highly

Indebted Poor Countries Initiative,

which provides bilateral and multilater-

al debt reduction for those severely

indebted low-income countries with a

track record of serious economic

reform. Finally, in assessing international financial institution programs, we

will take into account the impact on

improving food security.

4. ACTIONS To achieve improved results from

U.S. assistance and reinforce our

efforts with other donors: ▲ The U.S. Government will allocate

available development assistance fund-

ing in collaboration with recipient

countries through processes that

involve participation of civil society

organizations and other stakeholders.

In each country, the United States will

strive to provide staff with cultural and

gender expertise and will seek similar

involvement by representatives of the

recipient countries. Priority setting will

be guided by the precepts emerging

from the North-South partners’ dialogue

within the OECD/DAC Poverty Reduction

Network. ▲ The U.S. Government, through

USAID, is implementing the AFSI on a

pilot basis. The initial five country recipients were selected on the basis of a

conducive policy environment and a

demonstrated will to achieve food secu-

rity. The initiative focuses on reducing

childhood malnutrition through increasing incomes of poor rural people in

three areas: increased agricultural production, improved market efficiency and

access, and increased trade and investment in agriculture. Particular attention

will be paid to increasing the labor productivity of women in their multiple

roles as food producers, food processors, entrepreneurs, and caretakers,

and to the promotion of improved nutri-

tional status. Further development of the

AFSI will involve USAID’s Office of Women in Development in program and

policy analysis, design, development,

and evaluation. ▲ The U.S. Government will improve

coordination of its trade, aid, research

and technology transfer, investment

guarantees, environmental and

geographic information monitoring,

and other instruments. It hopes to form

a partnership with the private sector

and NGOs to achieve this objective.
CHAPTER 1

ECONOMIC SECURITY AND POLICY ENVIRONMENT 17

▲ In conjunction with its partners in

the OECD/DAC Poverty Reduction Network, the U.S. Government will review

ongoing programs and policy initiatives

in food-insecure countries not eligible

for development assistance—particularly those programs promoting economic reform and trade and

investment—to ensure a sounder basis

for addressing food security needs.

▲ The U.S. Government will better

coordinate its assistance efforts with

other donors, especially in the OECD,

and with the European Union (through

the Transatlantic Agenda), the U.S.-

Japan Common Agenda, international

financial institutions, and other multilateral organizations. As part of this effort,

the U.S. Government will work toward

defining and supporting those measures

called for by the Marrakesh Decision

on Measures Concerning the LeastDeveloped and Net Food Importing

Countries (see also Chapter 2).

▲ As it is doing in the President’s

Greater Horn of Africa Initiative

(GHAI), the U.S. Government will

encourage governments to take responsibility for conflict prevention and resolution, while enhancing the ability of

existing international mechanisms to

address this area.

▲ The U.S. Government will work in

conjunction with the governments of the

33 other democracies in the Western

Hemisphere to implement the actions

agreed to in the Second Summit of the

Americas held in Santiago, Chile, in April

1998, which focused on the eradication

of poverty in the region and on the

reduction of hunger and malnutrition. ❖
CHAPTER 2

18 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY
CHAPTER 2

TRADE AND INVESTMENT 19

Trade And

Investment

1. PRIORITY

▲ Further liberalizing trade to

ensure improved access to food

2. ISSUES

The World Food Summit Plan of Action

recognizes that trade and investment

are key elements in achieving world

food security. Appropriate policies

enable the private sector to participate

in national markets, a participation that

is fundamental to sustainable growth,

development of human and physical

capital, and food security. 

Progressive implementation of the

Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) will

generate increasing opportunities for

trade expansion, economic growth, and

lower food prices to the benefit of many

participants. In the new trade round,

scheduled to begin in late 1999, the

United States will work with countries to

achieve freer trade and to assure that its

benefits—increased incomes and a stable supply of food— are equitably realized. It is also recognized that some

least-developed and net food-importing

developing countries may experience

short-term negative effects in availability

of adequate supplies of basic foodstuffs

from external sources on reasonable

terms and conditions, including shortterm difficulties in financing normal levels of commercial imports of basic

foodstuffs. The United States is committed to addressing these special concerns. 

Acknowledging the critical importance of increased investment to the

achievement of food security, the World

Food Summit’s Plan of Action maintains

that appropriate national policies are

essential to stimulating investment. The

international community has a key role

in supporting the adoption of national

policies that stimulate international and

domestic investment and, where necessary, in providing technical and financial assistance to help developing

countries and countries with economies

in transition achieve food security.

3. DISCUSSION

The United States contributes to global

food security in its role as the largest

supplier of agricultural commodities to

the world market. According to the Food

and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of

the United Nations, world agricultural

trade will be valued at $270 billion in

1999, and the U.S. share of this total is

estimated at about 23 percent. U.S. agricultural exports for fiscal year 1998

reached $53.6 billion. Additionally, the

United States is the third largest agricultural importer in the world. In fiscal year

1998, U.S. agricultural imports reached

a record $37 billion, with more than 50

percent coming from the developing

world. Similarly, U.S. forestry and fishery

imports totaled $11 billion in fiscal year

1998, with more than half of this amount

originating in developing countries.

To accomplish the Administration’s

aims, the United States must reaffirm its

policies on trade liberalization by adequately funding the International 

Monetary Fund, securing fast track

2

Seventy-five miles north of

Palembang, Indonesia, in the area

known as Sungai Lilin, Cargill is investing in a palm plantation and building a

palm oil plant to provide 8,500 villagers

with steady income. When the project

is complete and the plant is at full production, these villagers will be earning

four times the region’s minimum wage

from the sale of palm fruit, in addition

to any wages earned from working in

the plant. The project supports the

government’s urban resettlement

efforts to alleviate chronic urban

crowding. The villagers working for

Cargill have planted more than 1 million trees, including trees on their own

land. Production from their own

acreage directly nets income to them

based on the world market price for

palm oil. Sungai Lilin is becoming connected to the world economy. Crude

oil from the mill will be sold into

Indonesia or Malaysia or beyond. The

remaining pulp is a renewable energy

source. Cargill depends on the services and harvesting of the villagers,

and they rely on Cargill for advice on

harvesting and fertilizing. Said one

villager, whose family moved from

Java, “We had no land in Java. I like it

here. We are farmers.” 

— CARGILL, INCORPORATED

BOX 2.1

PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT

PROVIDES ECONOMIC SECURITY
CHAPTER 2

20 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

negotiating authority, and assuring the

reliability of U.S. supplies. The United

States recognizes that meaningful trade

liberalization requires effective financial, information, and government institutions, and it will continue to assist

countries in developing the private sector capacity and institutions needed.

Trade liberalization and structural

adjustment may have short-term negative impacts on women and other vulnerable groups and on nutritional

status in rural areas. Further research

and analysis are needed to address

these concerns. U.S. leadership in promoting intellectual property rights has

resulted in significant multilateral and

bilateral agreements, but many developing countries continue to lose the enormous contribution biotechnology can

make toward alleviating malnutrition

and productivity problems because of

inadequate intellectual property protection. The U.S. Government will continue

to address this issue.

Many businesses, NGOs, and academics would like food, agricultural

products, food production inputs, and

export guarantee programs to be

exempt from all embargos and sanctions. They think that the unpredictability of sanction and embargo policies

has undermined the competitiveness of

U.S. agriculture and agribusiness by

fostering concerns regarding our reliability as a supplier. The result, in their

view, has been lost sales and lost markets. They believe that these policies

also deny basic necessities to the most

vulnerable of society in those nations

where sanctions areimposed. The

Administration agrees that provision of

food and other human necessities

should not be used as a tool of foreign

policy except under extraordinary circumstances. There will be, however,

cases where this general principle will

not apply, such as armed conflict or

international terrorism, and restrictions

may be necessary.

Net private capital flows to developing countries rose sharply from $43

billion in 1990 to $184 billion in 1995.

Foreign direct investment flows from

the United States in 1995 were $95.5

billion; however, many of the most

food-insecure countries receive little of

that total. Recognizing the vital contribution that access to the global trade

and investment system has made to economic development in Asia and Latin

America, the Administration supports

passage of the African Growth and

Opportunity Act. The Act will emphasize

support for sub-Saharan African countries that are making strong efforts in

three areas: trade and investment liberalization, investment in human

resources, and improved policy management. U.S. Government policies and

programs will be refocused to facilitate

this initiative.

4. ACTIONS

To further strengthen efforts to

assure that trade liberalization

benefits are realized by lowincome, food-deficit countries

(LIFDCs):

▲ The United States is preparing for

multilateral agricultural trade negotiations to begin in 1999 to continue the

reform process agreed to in the

Uruguay Round. Fast track negotiating

authority is an important policy tool for

the Administration to conduct these

negotiations.

▲ In response to the Marrakesh Decision on Measures Concerning the LIFCs,

the U.S. Government and other donor

governments are renegotiating the Food

Aid Convention to expand the list of

products eligible for donation and the

membership list, and to establish acceptable and feasible minimum food aid levels. (See Chapter 1 for other actions

related to the Marrakesh Decision.)

Strong voices in the private sector

argue that the best way for governments to securely and equitably meet

rising food demand and changing consumption patterns is to move toward a

“food system” approach that emphasizes removing barriers to international efficiency and cooperation.

Members of a food system would

trade food at market prices with nondiscriminatory access by all parties.

They would cooperate in harmonizing

regulatory regimes, developing infrastructure and transferring technology

while emphasizing environmental sustainability in food production.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council,

which directly advises the leaders of

21 Pacific Rim economies, is developing a proposal that APEC become one

food system in the near term. The

Business and Industry Advisory Committee of the OECD is reviewing a proposal for an “Open and Efficient Global

Food System.” This proposal supports

an APEC food system as a step in

building a global system.

— U.S. NATIONAL CENTER FOR APEC

THE FOOD SYSTEM APPROACH

BOX 2.2 
CHAPTER 2

TRADE ANDINVESTMENT 21 ▲ The Administration will seek enactment of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. ▲ The U.S. Government, working in

close collaboration with the private sector, will seek to ensure that global trade

in biotechnology products is free from

non-scientifically based restrictions and

protects the rights of privately developed

technology while allowing the benefits of

this technology to be shared among all

countries to enhance food security. It will

also seek to counter the use of non-tariff

trade barriers that are not in compliance

with the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Stan-

dards (SPS) Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO). ▲ The U.S. Government, through USDA,

will expand the Cochran Fellowship

Program to additional sub-Saharan

African countries. The program helps

develop agricultural infrastructure and

agribusiness linkages by exposing

senior and mid-level specialists and

administrators from middle-income

countries and emerging markets to U.S.

expertise, goods, and services. ▲ The Department of State is incorporating an analysis of new instruments,

such as the provisions of the Uruguay

Round, into its training of Foreign Ser-

vice Officers to enable more efficient

use of these instruments. ▲ The U.S. Government, through

USAID and its partners, will improve the

collection of gender disaggregated data

and routinely conduct gender analyses

to verify that the benefits of trade liber-

alization are realized and to identify

impediments to their full realization. As

a part of this process, the Working

Group on Women and the Global Economy of the President’s Interagency

Council on Women will produce a bibli-

ography on the effects of globalization

on women.

To catalyze U.S. private

investment flows to low-income

food-deficit countries: ▲ The U.S. Government will facilitate the

establishment, possibly through a con-

sortium of trade associations, of a "onestop shop" for small- and medium-sized

companies to acquire information on

government programs to facilitate their

business in food-insecure countries. ▲ The U.S. Government, through USDA,

will facilitate a forum for leaders of pri-

vate industry on ways in which businesses can contribute to food security. ▲ As part of its implementation of the

Africa: Seeds of Hope Act, the U.S. Government will encourage new investment

in African rural development through

the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). ▲ As part of its implementation of the

African Growth and Opportunity Act, the

U.S. Government will promote partner-

ships in agribusiness technology devel-

opment, agricultural policy and related

fields, and promote non-discriminatory

access to these economic opportunities

and their benefits. ▲ The U.S. Government and agribusi

-

ness firms will jointly organize and fund

a series of agribusiness opportunity

missions to encourage private sector

joint ventures and investment in the

food and agricultural sectors of targeted low-income, food-deficit countries

of sub-Saharan Africa, the former Soviet

Union, and Asia. ▲ The U.S. Government will promote

public-private sector dialogue on devel-

oping sustainable regional and global

food supplies in the next century; an

example would be a more open food

system in the Asia-Pacific region. ▲ The U.S. Government will continue

to work toward the creation of a Free Trade Area of the Americas, a process

begun at the First Summit of the Ameri-

cas held in Miami in December 1994

and expected to be completed no later

than 2005. ❖
CHAPTER 3

22 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY
CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION 23

Research and

Education

Domestic

Dimension

1. PRIORITIES

▲ Generating effective research

and investment by public and private partners in diverse research

areas vital to the attainment of

food security

▲ Promoting education critical to

attaining food and nutrition security by linking research to education: through public/private

partnerships, use of consistent

messages, and effectively targeted

programs

2. ISSUES

A series of consultations held throughout the United States in 1997-98 led to

identification of several key dimensions

of food security. Each of these key elements is associated with a number of

recommended research efforts and

educational outreach activities that

could contribute significantly to U.S.

ability to achieve food and nutrition

security and sustainable food systems.

Priority areas identified for research

and educational emphasis and referred

to in the Actions section below include: 

Economic security and human

capital development. Expanded

research and education on poverty,

family economics, education and training, labor markets, economic development in urban and rural areas;

3

Food security tomorrow depends on investment in research and education today.

The range of research and educational needs relevant to achieving food security is

broad, encompassing many physical, social, and life sciences and addressing agriculture, nutrition, economics, politics, family and gender, and numerous other elements of the food security equation. Knowledge transcends national boundaries.

Research conducted in the United States benefits the United States and all other

nations that produce food, use natural resources, and feed their populations. Similarly, the development in other countries of new crops or improved crop characteristics and innovations in food production and processing contributes to the

productivity of U.S. producers and the welfare of American consumers. 

Limited resources and population pressure are global problems that research and

education can help solve. But research and innovation need effective education and

extension programs to ensure that information can be used by those who need it:

farmers, fishers, scientists, consumers/citizens, and policymakers. Information sharing among these groups contributes to the effective transmission and application of

research. This chapter discusses some important domestic and international dimensions of food security-related research and education, recognizing that in nearly all

cases there are overlapping interests and concerns.
CHAPTER 3

24 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

research to identify and assist economically vulnerable people in becoming

more self-reliant; and research to measure status and program impact.

Food and nutrition sciences. Basic

and applied nutrition research and education, especially research concerning

relationships among physiological and

neurological development processes and

nutrient intake, and the relationships

among hunger, energy balance, obesity,

diabetes, and other acute and chronic

health conditions along with their economic and social costs. Research on

healthy eating, food and resource management, and identification of methods

to encourage healthful dietary choices

and physical activity patterns, particularly among vulnerable populations. Finally,

research to improve nutrition monitoring through improved survey and data

collection techniques, measurement, and

estimation procedures including longitudinal tracking to elucidate food security

dynamics: relationships over time among

income, racial and ethnic status, assistance programs, and sporadic, cyclical,

and long-term food insecurity. 

Food security and nutrition

education. Enhanced education related to food and nutrition security

includes ways of assisting food-insecure

individuals, households, and communities to make the best use of limited

resources, practice healthy dietary

habits (including breast-feeding),

reduce medical costs, and improve the

quality of life. Also required is an

expansion of public education to

encompass the multiple dimensions of

food security, including agricultural and

nutrition research. Food security and

nutrition education contributes to

healthful diets; is essential for optimal

growth, productivity and well-being;

and can also reduce the risks,

incidence, and costs associated with

many chronic diseases. In keeping with

the national commitment to increase

the self-reliance of low-income Americans, it is important to assist food-insecure Americans to manage food budgets and other household and

community resources economically and

effectively.

Productivity and sustainability

of agricultural and aquacultural

food systems and rural communities. The need for basic and applied

research (including biotechnology) and

education contributing to sustainable

food system productivity growth

includes research to identify environmentally sensitive agricultural, aquacultural, watershed, and fisheries

practices, research to enhance the

nutrient profile of foods and to reduce

post-harvest food losses, research to

identify improved risk management

tools in production and marketing,

research to assess impacts on food

security and rural communities of

increasing concentration in farm and

agribusiness sectors, and research to

understand the influence on food security, system productivity and sustainability of international trade policies,

emerging information technologies, and

biotechnology. Consultations particularly emphasized the need for research

and education to enhance human capital, including the status and capacities

of women and the viability of rural

communities and small farms, considered important in the context of sustainable agriculture and food systems.

Food and water safety. Research

to identify, understand, and mitigate

food and water safety hazards from

microbiological and chemical sources,

improved risk assessment methods,

improved food production and handling

processes, and culturally appropriate,

effective, and sensitive ways to communicate food safety information to different target audiences are priority areas

for research and education.

Climate change and mitigation.

Research on climate change, global

warming, and the impact of climate variLINKING AGRICULTURE AND

HEALTH: A FOOD SYSTEMS

APPROACH

BOX 3.1 

We see food security as involving not

only access to “food” but, more importantly, access to foods of such composition and diversity as to provide

adequate amounts of the many nutrients that people need. The dilemma

comes from the fact that existing food

systems have not been designed

explicitly to provide balanced nutrient

output for the support of human health

and well-being. For this reason, we, in

our Food Systems for Improved Health

Program, are keenly interested in ways

of bringing nutrition and health

outcomes into agricultural research,

policies and practices by using holistic,

food systems-based approaches to

address the linked needs of human

health and environmental sustainability. 

–CORNELL UNIVERSITY
CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH ANDEDUCATION 25

ability on crop yields, water resources,

and energy demands is called for along

with research to identify mitigation

strategies and effective educational

efforts targeted to achieve them.

3. DISCUSSION

Assuring adequate investment in the

wide array of food security-relevant

research and education presents a for-

midable challenge. Despite the benefits

it provides, agricultural and fisheries

research accounts for a minuscule por-

tion of the U.S. Government research

budget. In 1994, U.S. Government agri-

cultural research spending comprised

only 2 percent of the $66.5 billion in

total government spending on research

and development. That level has

remained static since then; the private

sector has generated any recent growth

in agricultural research spending.

Under-investment in research is surprising since the annual rate of return to

society from public investment in agri-

cultural research is estimated to exceed

35 percent. 

Payoffs from investments in nutrition

research also are likely to be high due

to the significant links among diet,

health, productivity, and medical costs. We know that food insecurity is often

characterized by poor food consumption patterns (affecting both the quality

and quantity of nutrients) and inferior

nutritional status. These in turn

contribute to low birth weight babies,

slow growth and development of chil-

dren, and reduced resistance to disease.

Nutrition research conducted in the

United States by the National Institutes of

Health, the Agricultural Research Ser-

vice, academia, and the private sector is

essential to determine the relationship

of nutrient intakes and diet to health

status and disease risk. For nutrition

research, the gap between investment

and need appears especially wide. Fed-

eral funding of human nutrition

research totaled only about $540 mil-

lion in 1995, while the four leading dietrelated causes of death in the United

States cost as much as $250 billion per

year in direct health care costs and lost

productivity. Cumulative, long-term con-

sequences of chronic food insecurity

and under-nutrition on the growth and

learning capacity of children, the health

and productivity of adults, the stability of

families and societies, and migration

patterns of refugees worldwide are of

the utmost significance and not well

understood.

One explanation for the lag in Feder-

al and total investment in most aspects

of food security research may be that

Americans do not understand the need

for it. Few Americans understand the

complex nature of food security. Fur-

thermore, although many Americans

are aware that people in other countries suffer from hunger, they may not

understand why, nor realize the extent

of hunger and food insecurity in the

United States itself. Any investment in

food security research and education

should be coupled with investment to

enhance public understanding of the

extent, causes, and consequences of

food insecurity.

4. ACTIONS To address the overall need for

food security-relevant research: ▲ The U.S. Government will utilize

research priority-setting processes and

sponsorship methods. These methods

will address the ongoing need to

increase the productivity and economic

security of individuals including

females, families, communities, and the

nation. Priority should be given to

research that assists in the elimination

of poverty, including that found in rural

and remote areas, and disproportionately among female-headed households,

and small and minority farmers. ▲ The U.S. Government, led by the U.S.

Department of Commerce, USDA, and

DHHS, will continue to support public-
CHAPTER 3

26 U.S. ACTIONPLAN ONFOODSECURITY

sector agricultural, marine, and other

food and nutrition related research.

This research contributes to the productivity, efficiency, and long-term sustainability of U.S. farms, fisheries, and

rural communities. These groups have

important roles as major suppliers of

food and nutrients to America and the

world, as providers of income and rural

amenities, and as the guardians of

important values related to agrarianism

that are important to American society. ▲ The U.S. Government, led by USDA

and DHHS, will stimulate research on

food systems and nutrition, including

identification of the links among agri-

cultural varieties and crop nutrient profiles and between food insecurity,

nutritional status, race and ethnicity,

health outcomes, and health care costs. ▲ The U.S. Government, led by USDA,

will sponsor research studies to

enhance access to and performance of

food assistance programs for vulnerable

individuals and groups including chil-

dren, the elderly, and the homeless.

These may include developing useful

indicators of nutrient intake, diet quality,

and food security for program targeting

and evaluation; identifying barriers to

participation; assessing impacts of electronic benefits transfer technology on

food security and program participation

and stigma; evaluating alternative assistance approaches and methods, including means to assure program integrity. ▲ The United States will support

research to improve monitoring and

understanding of food security and nutri-

tional status including longitudinal measures of food security in conjunction

with income and program participation

to reveal dynamic interactions, relationships to cognitive and health outcomes,

improved methods for survey sampling,

design, data collection, and measurement procedures for high risk groups. ▲ The United States, led by DHHS,

USDA, and the Department of

Commerce, will generate research on

microbiological and chemical hazards

in foods (including marine-based) and

water from source to consumption and

their health risks including development

of cost-effective, rapid assay methods,

understanding of pathogen resistance,

safety technologies and best management practices including waste management and effluent control, and effective

strategies for communicating safety

information to relevant groups. The

Joint Institute for Food Safety Research

will coordinate planning and prioritysetting and will facilitate the translation

of research into practice. ▲ The U.S. Government, led by the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA), will sponsor

research on climate change and weather variability. The USDA will sponsor

research on the relationship between

these phenomena and agricultural and

fisheries production systems and practices, crop yields, and water, energy,

and other resource uses. To enhance the overall quality,

quantity, and efficiency of

conducting food security research,

the U.S. Government will: ▲ Adopt research policies to generate

the greatest social benefits by providing

incentives for complementary research

efforts in priority areas by public and

private partners. ▲ Conduct or support basic research

in agriculture, nutrition, natural

resources and life sciences leading to

improved productivity, enhanced nutri-

tional and environmental quality, and

enhancements in food and water safety. ▲ Implement mechanisms to expand

protection for intellectual property

rights to encourage privately funded

research. ▲ Establish or facilitate cooperative

partnerships and research networks to

leverage and expand research resources

including Cooperative Research and

Development Agreements (CRADAs).
CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION 27

▲ Enhance support for competitive

grants programs that support food

security goals.

To promote food security and

nutrition education, the United

States will:

▲ Sponsor nutrition education

research on how to encourage healthy

food, nutrition, and physical activity

behaviors. 

▲ Establish a decisionmaking framework for development of public nutrition programs that incorporate

information on the dietary choices and

health, nutritional, and educational status of vulnerable groups. 

▲ Encourage public-private cooperation to achieve consistency of dietary

messages based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

▲ Strengthen emphasis on nutrition

education, health promotion, and

resource management in food

assistance programs and target highrisk groups, including immigrants,

using social marketing techniques to

reach them.

▲ Extend use of effective technologies,

including the Internet, in nutrition education and promotion. 

▲ Continue promotion and support of

breastfeeding and raise awareness of its

benefits among WIC participants, health

care providers, and employers.

▲ Integrate food recovery, gleaning,

and food safety in nutrition education

programs. Include this integrated curriculum in food handler training programs and in home economic and life

skills education programs.

▲ Teach awareness and benefits of

agriculture, community gardening, food

production, distribution and consumption in nutrition education programs.

▲ Strengthen emphasis on direct marketing opportunities for agricultural

producers, particularly those located in

urban areas, by providing them with

information and training material on

integrated marketing strategies into

production planning.

To better focus U.S. research

efforts:

▲ The U.S. Government and the Land

Grant and Sea Grant College systems

will continue efforts to reduce duplication and strengthen complementarity of

the public and private sectors in all

areas of research and technology.

▲ The U.S. Government will cooperate

with States, tribal, and local institutions,

including nonprofit organizations, in

complementary research efforts.

▲ The U.S. Government will encourage

research to assess the effectiveness of

community food security efforts.

International

Dimension

1. PRIORITIES

▲ Adapting U.S. private sector

expertise to conditions in developing countries

▲ Improving the research capacity

of U.S. and international institutions

and individuals

▲ Enhancing human capacity, particularly creating greater educational

opportunity for women and girls

2. ISSUES

Improved agricultural and aquacultural

productivity will become increasingly

critical given current expectations of

population and income growth and

constraints on water and land. Agricultural research and extension provide

the foundation for technological innovation and productivity growth. Government funding for research has been flat.

Although private sector agricultural and

food research is increasing, it is not

necessarily a good substitute for public

sector research, especially in terms of

transferability to developing country

environments. 

The Forum on Agricultural Resources

Husbandry is an African-directed competitive grants program designed to

strengthen the capacity of selected

African universities to conduct field

research and train graduate students

in agriculture. The Forum invites proposals from faculty members who

have Master of Science students in

problem-oriented field research that is

explicitly linked to a government

agency, a farmer organization or some

other user of research results. Proposals undergo peer review by a technical panel and are recommended for

funding on a competitive basis by an

advisory committee. Participants thus

far include 90 students and 34 faculty

from eight universities. Through workshops, newsletters, and e-mail networks the participants increasingly

are becoming a collaborative African

research community.

–THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION

BOX 3.2

BUILDING AGRICULTURAL

CAPACITY IN AFRICA
CHAPTER 3

28 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

There is a fundamental linkage

between education and food security.

Access to and quality of basic education

are critical to improving productivity

and nutrition and decreasing poverty in

developing countries. Additionally,

development of indigenous scientists

and research institutions is necessary to

transfer technology to developing countries and adapt it to local conditions. 

For a more meaningful contribution,

the United States wants to enhance technology transfer; promote better access

to and adaptation of U.S. research;

enhance developing country research

capacity by building better links with

U.S. universities and research institutes

and by offering more postgraduate

scholarships; improve the partnership

between the public sector research system and International Research Centers; work at grass-roots levels to

identify problems, solutions, and

exchanges of information and practices;

increase support for maternal education and health; and promote universal

primary education, with a special focus

on girls.

3. DISCUSSION

The foundation for an international

agricultural research system has been

laid. Many multilateral and bilateral

activities and organizations facilitate the

sharing of developed-country research

results and expertise. The U.S. Government, along with OECD donors and

other countries, supports a global

research system, called the Consultative

Group on International Agricultural

Research (CGIAR), which encompasses

16 centers.10 CGIAR covers most areas

of food production, resource management, food policy, and improvement of

national research systems. Many U.S.

university researchers and NGOs, however, would like to see more emphasis

on such areas as: market creation;

infrastructure and linked markets;

implications of income disparity on

food security, health, and nutrition;

reduction of post-harvest losses; the

gender dimensions of resource management and control, and their implications for productivity; household and

community food security; and nutritional status.

The Carter Center’s Global 2000 program was formed to help arrest, in rural areas of

developing countries, the downward spiral of poverty, disease, hunger, and social

injustice that could seriously threaten economic stability and world peace, as

described by the Global 2000 report commission by former U.S. President Jimmy

Carter during his administration. In 1986, President Carter, Global 2000, and the

Sasakawa Africa Association created Sasakawa-Global 2000 (SG 2000) to contribute

to the improvement of the standard of living of people through actions in favor of

food self-reliance. SG 2000 has conducted agriculture initiatives in Benin, Burkina

Faso, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania,

Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. Dr. Norman Borlaug, recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace

Prize for work in revolutionizing the agriculture of Asia and Latin America, directs the

SG 2000 program. Working with subsistence farmers through national agricultural

extension services, SG 2000 programs work closely with the Ministries of Agriculture

to develop the best program specific to the area’s resources, climate, and needs.

Utilizing extension agents and test plots, they demonstrate increased yield through

the use of better crop and soil management practices, improved seed varieties, fertilizer use, and proper storage and handling techniques. 

–THE CARTER CENTER

BOX 3.3 

10The following countries are members of the CGIAR:

Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil,

Canada, China, Colombia, Cote D’Ivoire, Denmark,

Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia,

Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Luxembourg,

Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria,

Norway, Pakistan, Peru, The Philippines, Portugal,

Republic of South Africa, Romania, Russian

Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab

Republic, Thailand, Uganda, United Kingdom, and the

United States of America. Additional members

include the Ford Foundation, International

Development Research Centre, Kellogg Foundation,

Rockefeller Foundation, African Development Bank,

Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development,

Asian Development Bank, European Commission, FAO,

Inter-American Development Bank, International

Forum on Agricultural Development, United Nations

Development Program, United Nations Environment

Program, and the World Bank.

SASAKAWA–GLOBAL 2000 PROGRAM
CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION 29

Most developing countries have

national agricultural research and extension systems in various stages of development and effectiveness. For the most part,

these systems are seriously underfunded.

U.S. foundations, which spend about $50

million a year on international research,

have been especially active in developing

indigenous research capacity. U.S. companies, also, contribute importantly to

adapting their advanced technologies to

local production. USAID supports nine

Collaborative Research Support

Programs (CRSPs) to link U.S. agricultural universities to developing country

research organizations. 

The U.S. system of Land Grant Colleges and Federal research agencies

gives the United States a research and

outreach system that is a major contributor to the success of U.S. agriculture

and fisheries. This system disseminates

the research and technology flowing

from the U.S. research system as well as

provides a method of sharing it. Land

Grant Colleges also contribute significantly in the postgraduate education of

developing country graduates in agricultural sciences and nutrition. 

Basic education, particularly for

girls and women, contributes directly to

food security, improved nutritional status, poverty reduction, and overall

household welfare. Gender bias in

access to education and training persists in many countries, especially at

post-primary levels. USAID, U.S. NGOs,

and the Peace Corps are forming partnerships with Ministries of Education,

national and local organizations, religious communities, and the private sector to provide greater access to basic

education for women and girls and to

ensure improved rates of school attendance, retention, and completion. Apart

from school, other opportunities to

provide education include programs

supported by maternal and child health

clinics, which offer food, health care,

and a host of educational services.

4. ACTIONS

To address the need for continued

research:

▲ The U.S. Government will continue

its support for public-sector agricultural

and other food-related research dedicated to increasing the efficiency, productivity, safety, and long-term viability of

U.S. agriculture and fisheries in their

role as a major world supplier of food.

The Monsanto Company, the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute, and the U.S.

Agency for International Development (USAID) are collaborating to address production problems for one of the most important crops in Africa...the sweet potato.

African yields of this highly nutritious food average half of world levels, due in part to

virus infections.

Previously, research and development efforts that have been applied successfully to

many temperate-climate crops did not focus on tropical “orphan” crops like the

sweet potato. With funding from USAID and Monsanto, Kenyan scientists have

developed genetically modified African varieties. At Monsanto labs, testing is underway to evaluate if these plants resist infection by African virus strains.

If successful, this technology could significantly reduce crop losses, which can be

as high as 50 percent. Monsanto has granted a royalty-free license for the use of its

proprietary technologies needed for improving sweet potatoes in Kenya.

–MONSANTO COMPANY

PROMISING PARTNERS FOR SWEET POTATOES

BOX 3.4 
CHAPTER 3

30 U.S. ACTIONPLAN ONFOODSECURITY

▲ The U.S. Government, through USAID

and USDA, will continue to support inter-

national agriculture research institutes

within CGIAR. ▲ The U.S. Government, through USAID,

will continue to support international

agricultural research through its CRSPs. To better focus U.S. research

efforts: ▲ The U.S. Government and the Land

Grant and Sea Grant College systems

will continue to reduce duplication and

strengthen complementarity of the public and private sectors in the conduct of

agricultural and fisheries research and

technology. ▲ The U.S. Government, through USAID,

will develop criteria for assessing

research programs that include a focus

on the gender dimensions of the food

security problem and will apply these

criteria for future resource allocation. To expand and strengthen

linkages of U.S. resources with

the international community: ▲ The State Universities and Land

Grant Colleges will continue efforts to

internationalize curricula, extension

programs, and research priorities. This

effort will include formation of effective

partnerships with institutions of higher

education, extension and research, and

marketing organizations, including

cooperatives, in developing countries. ▲ The U.S. Government, through

USAID and USDA, will develop a plan,

consistent with the Africa: Seeds of

Hope Act, to coordinate the efforts of

international agricultural research insti-

tutes, U.S. universities and research

institutions, and African agricultural,

research, and extension agencies. ▲ The U.S. Government, through

USAID and USDA, will continue to promote exchange of scientists to develop a

larger cadre of agricultural and fisheries scientists and educators in devel

-

oping countries. ▲ The U.S. Government, in collaboration with the State Universities, Land

Grant Colleges, Sea Grant University System, and private universities, will make

available additional technical and institutional expertise to developing countries. ▲ The U.S. Government, through

USAID and USDA, will join other inter-

ested parties in a public-private partnership to enable the Global Forum for

Agricultural Research to share information and technology that will link NGOs,

private sector agricultural research

USAID CREATES ANEASTAFRICAN-

OWNEDAGRICULTURALTECHNOLOGYAGENDA

USAID’s investments in regional African research networks in East Africa paid off

in 1998 with the finalization of a strategy by the partners and directors of the Asso-

ciation for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Southern Africa

(ASARECA). Supported by USAID’s Africa and Global Bureaus for a number of

years, four East African networks have had significant impact on speeding the

adoption of new varieties and technologies across national frontiers for some time.

In 1998, these four networks, together with a number of others, under the auspices

of ASARECA, came up with rigorous plans to rationalize research, focus it even

more on client and market needs, and integrate the work of international agricul-

tural research centers and universities in the work they were doing. The result is a

concentration of resources on the highest priority technical problems in the region

and a new alliance of donors, African institutions, U.S. universities, and interna-

tional research centers to solve the most pressing food problems of East Africa.

BOX 3.5
CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION 31

organizations, international agricultural

and fisheries research centers, developing country national agricultural

research systems, and U.S. public agricultural research institutions.

▲ The U.S. Government will support

information and mapping systems on

food insecurity (see Chapter 6).

To help develop human capacity:

▲ The U.S. Government, through

USAID, will implement the President’s

Africa Education Initiative.

▲ The U.S. Government and U.S. 

NGOs will increase resources devoted

to improving the education of girls 

and women.

▲ The U.S. Government and U.S. Land

Grant Colleges will seek to provide

additional postgraduate scholarships

for foreign students in agricultural sciences, social sciences, and nutrition.

▲ The U.S. Government will continue

to work with the governments of the

other 33 democracies in the Western

Hemisphere to ensure achievement by

2010 of the commitment to provide

universal access to and completion of

quality primary education for all children that was made during the First

Summit of the Americas. ❖
CHAPTER 4

32 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY
CHAPTER 4

SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS AND THE ENVIRONMENT 33

Sustainable Food

Systems and the

Environment

Domestic

Dimension

1. PRIORITIES

▲ Implementing environmentally

sensitive policies and programs in

all sectors 

▲ Promoting conservation and

protection of vulnerable ecosystems, including watersheds and

coastal zones and soil, water, and

air quality

▲ Enhancing local food systems

through partnerships linking 

communities, farms, and markets

2. ISSUES

Sustainable, ecologically sound agriculture, aquaculture, and fisheries ensure

the ability of farmers and fishers to

continue producing food indefinitely

and to contribute significantly to sustainable food security. To be sustainable, food production practices and

policies must meet the criteria of

accepted farming practices, environmental stewardship, and quality of life.

Environmentally sensitive policies aim

to conserve soils, protect fragile lands,

and protect watersheds.

All efforts to simultaneously expand

agricultural and fishery productivity,

conserve natural resources, maximize

the nutritional quality of foods, and

ensure the delivery of foods at a reason4

Sustainable food systems have three interrelated components: environmental health,

economic profitability, and social and economic equity. Understanding sustainability

entails recognizing the important linkages that affect natural and human resources

on the global, regional, and local levels.

In recent years, the interrelationships of the world’s natural systems have become

increasingly clear. We know that pollution from one country can end up in another

country as acid rain or polluted river flows. Climate change is likewise a global phenomenon. Events like El Niño can affect both Californians and Australians significantly. In the same way, all countries have similar struggles to maintain and

improve their natural resource base. In some countries the most significant problem

may be sustainable use of limited water resources. In other countries it may be prevention of soil erosion or overgrazing, or reclamation of denuded land. Or it may

be the removal of marginal lands from cultivation. The United States, because of its

size and environmental diversity, faces all these challenges. Similarly, the challenges

to the sustainability of human capacity and food systems are global. The strengthening of local communities and rural economies, whether in Alabama or in Mozambique, requires investments in long-term development, credit, and education.

Sustainable communities, both human and natural, are essential to long-term food

security. Without them, food insecurity today may end in famine tomorrow.
CHAPTER 4

34 U.S. ACTIONPLAN ONFOODSECURITY

able cost present a major challenge.

Agriculture accounts for over 50 per-

cent of U.S. land use, 40 percent of

freshwater withdrawals, and 80 percent

of freshwater consumption. At the same

time, agricultural production and runoff

from farmland can pollute surface water

and ground water, and harm wildlife

and fisheries. To achieve sustainability

in agriculture and aquaculture, expand-

ed production must be balanced with

the need to protect the environment.

Adding to the challenge are the

prospects of global warming and cli-

mate change. These climate effects,

together with other patterns such as the

El Niño and La Niña oceanic and atmospheric effects, need to be studied in

order to minimize possible adverse

effects on agriculture, fisheries, and

other sectors.

3. DISCUSSION

Environmentally sensitive agriculture

keeps water clean and potable, builds

soil fertility, controls pests with minimal

chemical use, minimizes and mitigates

adverse impacts of nutrient over-enrichment, and maintains healthy air quality.

At the same time, such agriculture

makes full use of emerging technologies such as biotechnology that hold

promise for increasing productivity as

well as improving the nutritional content of foods. Tailored to site-specific

requirements, sustainable agriculture

satisfies food and fiber demand,

enhances environmental quality and the

natural resource base, and promotes

efficient resource use— without jeopardizing the economic viability of farm

and ranch operations or the vitality of

the rural community.

Although farming systems vary, common themes and practices emerge

among farmers who are using sustainable agricultural practices. These

include greater use of on-farm, local,

or management resources; restrained

use of toxic inputs; resource conservation and pollution abatement; effective

marketing, including direct marketing;

on-farm research to identify successful

approaches; and increased crop and

landscape diversity.

SARE works to increase knowledge about—and help farmers adopt—practices that

are economically viable, environmentally sound, and support local communities. To

advance this knowledge nationwide, SARE administers a USDA-Cooperative State

Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) competitive grants program

first authorized by Congress in 1988. Regional administrative councils recommend

projects to be funded after proposals go through a technical peer review. These

councils are made up of a diverse group of producers, consultants, academics, gov-

ernment staff, and representatives from non-governmental organizations. 

Nationally, SARE devotes significant resources to outreach projects including a Pro-

fessional Development Program and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN),

which disseminates information relevant to SARE and sustainable agriculture.

SARE’s priorities include boosting profitability for farmers while encouraging envi-

ronmentally sound practices; protecting natural resources; improving rural life; and

enhancing communities.

BOX 4.1 THE

SUSTAINABLEAGRICULTURERESEARCH ANDEDUCATION

PROGRAM (SARE): WORKINGTOWARD ANENDURING

AMERICANAGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 4

SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS AND THE ENVIRONMENT 35

Two important issues for the development and implementation of 

sustainable food production practices

encompass: 1) farmland preservation

because once land is developed for

urban or industrial use, it rarely returns

to agriculture; and 2) reduction of nonpoint-source pollution, because agricultural nutrient runoff can degrade

watersheds and coastal waters. Nutrient

over-enrichment can also lead to excessive algal growth or blooms that can

result in fish kills and the closure of

fishing areas. In addition, efforts should

continue to protect environmentally

sensitive lands and reduce soil erosion.

The “greenhouse effect” demands

special attention. Cost-effective policies

that help mitigate its causes and resulting climate changes should be explored

and implemented where feasible. Over

the short term, the adverse effects of

weather variability on food production

and availability can be moderated by

increased use of climate forecasts

based on the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomena, available up to a year

in advance. The international community addressed global warming in the

1997 Kyoto Protocol to the 1992 Climate Change Treaty. The Kyoto Protocol

asked 38 industrialized nations to

reduce their greenhouse gas emissions

to below 1990 levels by the year 2012.

Some development specialists believe

that increasing consumer demands for

organic and/or locally grown food may

create new opportunities for sustainable

and/or small-scale agricultural producers and revitalize local economies.

Another focus is a national program to

build sustainable fisheries in the United

States, including prevention of over-fishing, replenishing over-fished stocks,

avoiding overcapitalization and bycatch,

and preserving fish habitats and environmentally sound aquaculture.

4. ACTIONS

To develop and implement flexible,

environmentally sensitive agricultural policies, the United States,

led by the USDA, will:

▲ Implement programs such as the

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

and the Wetlands Reserve Program

(WRP) that protect fragile lands and

reduce soil erosion, targeting programs

to those lands that are the most environmentally sensitive and yield the

greatest environmental benefits.

▲ Implement ecosystem and watershed

management approaches to USDA policy

development and research prioritization

as described in the USDA Ecosystem

Approaches Action Plan.

▲ Work with stakeholders to identify

ways to minimize and mitigate effects of

nutrient over-enrichment.

▲ Increase collaboration among government and civil society to strengthen

understanding of the role of sustainable

agriculture in food security.

▲ Develop ways to quantify agricultural

sustainability, including indicators and

measures of environmental goods and

services.

To emphasize farmland protection

policies and partnerships with

States, tribal organizations, and

communities, the United States,

led by the USDA, will:

▲ Implement and expand on the

requirements of the Farmland Protection Policy Act of 1981 and the Farmland Protection Program provisions of

the Federal Agriculture Improvement

and Reform Act of 1996.

▲ Monitor the conversion of farmland

to other uses, and work to eliminate

policy conflicts among Federal, State,

and tribal agencies that can lead to

farmland conversion.

▲ Support State, tribal, and local government incentives to landowners to

retain land in agriculture and keep it

affordable to attract new farmers. 

In California, Commonweal, the Center

for Marine Conservation, the Natural

Resources Defense Council and the

Environmental Defense Fund are working closely with the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Associations

and United Anglers as well as state

legislators and local fisher groups to

develop a sustainable marine life management system. Reforms will be

geared to the best available information, take into consideration the precautionary principle, and provide for a

peer review process for key decisions.

BOX 4.2

CONSERVING MARINE RESOURCES
CHAPTER 4

36 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

To implement policies to mitigate

global warming and climate

change, the United States, led 

by the Department of

Commerce/NOAA, will:

▲ Encourage States to implement

incentives and actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as residential tax credits, home weatherization

programs, home energy ratings

systems, mortgages for energy-efficient

improvements, new home building

codes, and retrofits for government

buildings.

▲ Increase the use of climate forecasts

based on the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomena to mitigate the effects

of these phenomena on crop yields,

water resources, and energy demands. 

To enhance the development of

local food systems, the United

States, led by USDA, will:

▲ Expand the WIC Farmers’ Market

Nutrition Program and similar efforts by

other agencies that provide fresh fruits

and vegetables to low-income households and promote small-scale farms.

▲ Begin coordinating the Small Farms

Initiative and the Community Food

Security Initiative to enhance the links

between farmers and communities.

▲ Promote farmers’ markets and other

direct marketing opportunities for small

and medium-sized farmers.

▲ Expand links among local institutional food services, such as cafeterias

and restaurants, school lunch

programs, and local sources of food.

▲ Encourage the growth of inner-city

markets in areas that lack the income

to attract and sustain supermarkets.

▲ Explore the expansion of Enterprise

Zones/Empowerment Communities’

rural projects that involve farmers’

markets.

To develop a national program to

build sustainable fisheries and

sustain healthy coasts, the United

States, led by the Department of

Commerce/NOAA, will:

▲ Build sustainable fisheries by: maintaining healthy stocks and rebuilding

stocks that have been over-fished

through improved assessments and

forecasts of fishery resources; managing for sustainable economic growth;

ensuring compliance with regulations;

addressing bycatch and overcapitalization; and providing research and services for fishery-dependent industries.

▲ Promote the development of economically healthy and environmentally

sound aquaculture.

▲ Sustain healthy coasts by protecting,

conserving, and restoring coastal habitats, promoting clean coastal waters,

and encouraging well-planned, revitalized coastal communities.

International

Dimension

1. PRIORITIES

▲ Implementing the African Food

Security Initiative

▲ Implementing the Africa: Seeds

of Hope Act

▲ Achieving ratification of the

Desertification and Biodiversity

Treaties

2. ISSUES

The World Food Summit recognized

that sustainability is a key component of

food security. The issue for the United

States is how to assure that we fully

integrate sustainability and environmental concerns into our food security

efforts. The sustainability of human capital is an important component of overall sustainability goals. Since the

majority of the world’s farmers are

women, more attention should be given

to their situation.

The Henry A. Wallace Institute for

Alternative Agriculture project is fostering the development of shared

visions of what agriculture and food

systems might look like in the future.

The project will ultimately translate the

local and regional visions for the future

of our food and agriculture system into

policies designed to promote a sustainable agriculture and food system.

BOX 4.3

THE FUTURE OF AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 4

SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS AND THE ENVIRONMENT 37

3. DISCUSSION

The United States believes that solutions

to the problems in agriculture, aquaculture, and rural development must be

linked. We are addressing these issues

in terms of developing human capacity,

supporting local and regional food production that enables people to feed

themselves or purchase food, providing

support and assistance to small and

resource-poor farms and fisheries, and

recognizing the potential of urban agriculture and aquaculture. All these

actions are targeted toward feeding

hungry people and meeting the food

and nutrition needs of food-insecure

families. For example, USAID’s rural

development, enterprise, education,

and population programs are specifically designed to promote sustainable

development.

The actions listed below indicate

guidelines that refocus the context in

which the U.S. Government and U.S.

civil society assistance programs will

operate in the future. As noted in Chapter 1, the U.S. Government’s development assistance programs will be

increasingly allocated on the basis of

performance against transparent results

indicators for policy reform, investment

promotion, gender equality, and

improved food security. While policies

are essential to establishing guidelines

and creating a platform for change,

policies alone will not ensure the security of food for communities and families. Securing food resources in most

developing countries is a complex task

involving numerous issues: status of

environmental resources, the educational level of the people, population

pressures, climate, competing economic

and market forces, nutritional awareness, the availability of capital, diversified ownership of land and agricultural

resources, local storage and processing

capabilities as well as the local capacity

to plan.

The Africa: Seeds of Hope Act of

1998 focuses on development activities

carried out by USAID and its non-governmental partners that pertain to agriculture, small farmers, and microenterprise

development, which are critical to

reducing hunger and poverty. This Act

complements the African Growth and

Opportunity Act that the Administration

strongly supports, and reinforces the

positive messages of President Clinton’s

trip to Africa in 1998 and the Administration’s efforts to focus attention on

and build a new partnership with

Africa.

Speaking at the United Nations in

June 1997, President Clinton

announced that the United States will

provide at least $1 billion over the next

5 years to collaborate with developing

nations and countries in transition to

reduce the threat of climate change.

That announcement signaled a renewed

U.S. Government commitment to help

developing countries to achieve the

goals of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC).

Through a comprehensive program that

will use USAID strengths—local presence, focus on local priorities, and

experience in reconciling economic

development and environmental management goals—the United States will

lead the development assistance community toward greater cooperation in

promoting an environmentally sound

approach to sustainable development.

A broad range of issues need to be

considered at the community level if

communities and households are to be

food secure. Appropriate support

should be targeted to this level through

locally based initiatives as well as

broader institutional change and policy

reform. The U.S. Government sponsors

programs that help develop the capacities of local communities and rural

organizations, including participatory

farmer-initiated cooperatives and initiatives focused on alleviating the

constraints that face women in access-
CHAPTER 4

38 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

ing and controlling productive

resources. The Peace Corps, for example, is addressing food security along

with agriculture, health, environment,

women in development, microenterprise development, and education. 

The U.S. Government also promotes

farmer, fisher, and civil society participation in planning and decisionmaking that

affect local and regional food systems

and agricultural production. Such programs include research and enhanced

education and awareness programs in

schools and local communities, leadership training, and business entrepreneurship opportunities. U.S. businesses,

NGOs, and universities sponsor numerous sustainable agriculture projects.

The United States advocates the following national policies and actions to

promote sustainable agriculture, fisheries, and sustainable food systems,

with particular attention given to the

constraints faced by women who play a

focal role in natural resource management, and all aspects of the food system

including production, distribution, and

consumption:

• Develop human capacity as a central

element in sustainability and rural

development, including investment

in women’s productive capacity and

removal of the constraints on

women’s increased productivity.

• Address social, economic, and environmental pressures on food systems.

• Formulate and implement programs

that broaden dissemination of sustainable agriculture techniques by

the U.S. Government, NGOs, and private industry. Included would be the

development and adoption of integrated pest and nutrient

management; crop diversification

and rotational grazing; use of indigenous species; waste management,

pollution prevention, and water quality; and improved and expanded

training in sustainable agriculture

and aquaculture.

• Promote, develop, and market environmentally sound agricultural and

aquacultural technologies, including

energy-efficient, low-cost, small-scale

equipment and systems, for use by

small-scale farmers and fishers in

local and regional food systems.

• Improve access to information about

appropriate and environmentally

sound technology through publicprivate cooperation, public and private sector technology exchange

initiatives, and market mechanisms.

• Support programs, such as the

African Soil Fertility Initiative, that

promote the conservation and

restoration of soils through the

application of technologies and economic policies to reverse soil degradation processes and remedy the

problems of significant soil erosion.

• Promote and support agricultural

policies, including the use of traditional crops and techniques, which

have a beneficial impact on agrobiodiversity.

• Develop and improve, through 

joint public-private efforts, pollution 

prevention and source-reduction

programs for agriculture and aquaculture, including actions to reduce

risks to human health and the environment posed by pollution from

chemical and toxic substances that

persist in the environment.

4. ACTIONS

To support sustainable agricultural

and aquacultural systems:

▲ The U.S. Government, through

USAID, is implementing the African

Food Security Initiative (AFSI). (See

Chapter 1).

▲ The U.S. Government will implement

the Africa: Seeds of Hope Act of 1998,

which directs increased attention to agriculture and rural development in Africa.

▲ The U.S. Government will support

information systems that identify foodinsecure individuals and populations

Chocolate comes from the cocoa tree.

The cocoa tree is a rainforest tree that

likes to grow in the shade of other

trees. Traditionally, cocoa is grown

under a shade canopy. The combination of the shade canopy and the

cocoa tree understory make traditional

cocoa farms appear like small forests.

Today, most of the world’s chocolate is

produced by small farmers. 

Mindful of the unique relationship

between forest and farmer in the

growth, cultivation, and production of

cocoa and the dependence of the

small cocoa producer on the health of

the tropical environment for long-term

economic well-being, Mars, Incorporated, provided funding to the Smithsonian Institution to convene the

world’s first sustainable cocoa workshop in Panama in April 1998.

The Consensus Statement issued at

the workshop’s conclusion unequivocally acknowledged that “traditional

cocoa farming has the potential to be

both an important source of sustainable income and a powerful conservation tool.” Accordingly, collaborative

partnerships between stakeholders

and private industry are being formed

to promote new environmental and

economic opportunities offered by

sustainable cocoa production. 

— MARS, INCORPORATED

BOX 4.4

SUSTAINABLE COCOA
CHAPTER 4

SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS AND THE ENVIRONMENT 39

and provide needed information to policy makers and service providers. (See

Chapter 6).

▲ The U.S. Government, through

USAID, will enhance environmental

education and outreach to involve

NGOs, the private sector, and governments in an effort to promote sustainable development.

▲ The U.S. Government, through USAID,

will undertake a climate change initiative

that will focus on three objectives:

• Decreasing the rate of growth in net

greenhouse gas emissions by reducing emissions from greenhouse gas

sources and maintaining or increasing greenhouse gas sinks;

• Increasing developing country and

transition country participation in

the U.N. FCCC; and 

• Decreasing developing and transition country vulnerability to the

threats posed by climate change.

▲ The U.S. Government, through the

Peace Corps, will assess communitylevel needs in countries to strengthen

local capacities in food security through

a framework integrating agriculture,

health, environment, women in development, microenterprise development,

and education.

▲ The U.S. Government will focus

resources on understanding the relationship of household decisionmaking

to women’s status, environmental protection, nutritional status, and overall

food security. The results will be incorporated into ongoing programs to promote food security.

▲ The U.S. Government will lead an

international effort to remove land

mines threatening civilians by 2010,

with priorities based on socio-economic

concerns. The U.S. Government will also

continue to develop special programs

for returning demined land to economic

productivity and for promoting the

delivery of food to people and markets.

▲ The U.S. Government, through

NOAA, will strengthen efforts to implement the FAO Code of Conduct for

Responsible Fisheries and will share

U.S. expertise in fishery science and

management to help assess the status of

international fishery resources and

related ecosystems.

▲ The Administration will continue its

efforts to achieve Senate ratification of

the Desertification Treaty and the Convention on Biological Diversity. 

▲ The U.S. Government will continue

to support the commitments to sustainable agricultural development agreed to

in the Summit Conference on the “Sustainable Development of the Americas”

held in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in December 1996. ❖
CHAPTER 5

40 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY
CHAPTER 5

FOOD SECURITY SAFETY NET 41

Food Security

Safety Net

Domestic

Dimension 

1. PRIORITIES

▲ Maintaining and strengthening

an effective Federal food

assistance safety net

▲ Enhancing access of vulnerable

populations to food through multisectoral cooperation

▲ Strengthening community food

security, including promoting food

gleaning and recovery and supplemental feeding programs

2. ISSUES

Recently released USDA estimates from

the Food Security Supplement to the

Current Population Survey indicate

that about 12 percent of America’s 100

million households experienced some

degree of food insecurity in 1995, with

about 4 percent of U.S. households also

experiencing reduced food intake and

hunger. About 800,000 households

included children with reduced food

intake and hunger.

The U.S. Government spends about

$36.5 billion annually on domestic food

assistance programs, and is committed

to further improving the access of all

Americans, especially vulnerable populations, to safe, nutritious food. The

Federal Government works with States

and communities to address community

food system needs and to channel

often-wasted sources of food to those

who need it most. At the same time, the

Government recognizes the importance

of coupling food assistance with education on topics such as choosing nutritious diets, spending food dollars

wisely, and gardening where practical.

5

Economic opportunity and security are the most important means of achieving food

security. However, there are also instances where a food safety net is necessary, such

as when food is unavailable from regular market sources because of economic problems, poverty, political and military conflicts, poor health, crop failures, or other reasons. The U.S. food security safety net, both at home and abroad, consists of a

network of official government programs, non-governmental organizations (NGOs),

and charitable organizations.

In the United States, the food security safety net includes food stamps, school feeding

programs, surplus food distribution, food pantries, soup kitchens, home feeding for the

elderly and home-bound, and many other efforts. Internationally, the U.S. role in

maintaining a food safety net is mainly through emergency food aid and assistance.

Increasingly, this food aid is administered by relief and development programs operated by NGOs. In both the domestic and international arenas, the safety net is intended

as a short-term intervention in extreme circumstances to prevent hunger and not as a

substitute for the regular market system. Food aid is also an efficient and productive

way to use the U.S. agricultural bounty and it helps to support local farmers.
CHAPTER 5

42 U.S. ACTIONPLAN ONFOODSECURITY

It is important that food insecurity in

the United States be carefully monitored

as policy reforms and some assistance

cut-backs are implemented. Recently,

food banks and other non-profit organizations that provide emergency food

assistance have reported increased

demand for their services.

2. DISCUSSION

The U.S. Government has promoted

food access and consumer education

for more than 60 years, mainly through

programs administered by USDA. These

programs include the Food Stamp Program, the Child Nutrition Programs, the

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program

for Women, Infants, and Children

(WIC), the Expanded Food and Nutri-

tion Education Program (EFNEP), the

Food Distribution Program on Indian

Reservations, and other commodity and

nutrition programs. In addition, USDA’s

Fund for Rural America, which has now

been cancelled, provided competitive

grants to promote gleaning and food

recovery in 1997. The Administration

has requested $15 million for fiscal

year 2000 to fund community food project grants.

Other Federal agencies also provide

food assistance and support food securi-

ty, often through collaborative efforts.

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s

Bureau of Indian Affairs and its Office of

Insular Affairs offer food assistance to

American Indians and residents of U.S. Territories. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides nutritional support

services to homeless veterans. At DHHS,

programs that support food security,

such as the Elderly Nutrition Programs

and the Head Start program, are directed by its Administration for Children and

Families, Administration on Aging, Indi-

an Health Service, and Health Resources

and Services Administration.

In addition to efforts by Federal,

State, tribal, and local government agen-

cies, non-profit groups, religious organizations, individual volunteers and oth

-

ers provide critical links in the domestic

food safety net. Groups such as the

Christian Relief Service, Second Harvest

and its network of food banks, Share

Our Strength, Foodchain, the Society of

St. Andrews, the Famine Relief Fund,

and Feed My People, among many oth-

ers, provide food and technical assistance to low-income Americans and

deepen the network of individuals dedi-

cated to food security in the United

States. For example, Second Harvest

served approximately 21 million people

and distributed 811 million pounds of

food worth over $1 billion in 1995.

Despite the effectiveness of these

programs, certain groups continue to

experience difficulty accessing the food

they need. These groups include: • The homeless, who may sleep in the

streets or in emergency shelters,

many of which provide no more than

one daily meal. Soup kitchens are a

primary source of meals for these

persons, but negotiating this system

to obtain adequate food can be a

formidable, time-consuming task.

Moreover, although homeless people

are eligible for food stamps, they are

extremely limited in their ability to

store and prepare food, and very few

restaurants accept food stamps.

• The working poor. • Legal immigrants, many of whom

are restricted from food stamp eligi-

bility. In addition, non-working,

able-bodied adults without dependents are now subject to time limits

on receipt of food stamps. 

• Children and adolescents, whose

nutritional needs for growth and

development are especially critical.

Poor children may suffer from the

gaps in the current service system.

For example, while the National

School Lunch Program (NSLP) is

widely available, the School Breakfast

Program is available in only 70 

percent of NSLP schools and the Sum-
CHAPTER 5

FOOD SECURITY SAFETY NET 43

mer Food Service Program reaches

only 14 percent of NSLP recipients.

• The elderly, who may experience

health problems, poverty, and limitations in their ability to purchase, prepare, and ingest nutritious food.

These difficulties heighten the risk of

experiencing food insecurity. Experts

expect this risk to rise significantly as

the number of elderly people doubles and the number of those over

85 years of age quadruples by 2050.

• The immunocompromised, who may

be at greater risk for infection, or

who may be too ill to prepare nutritious food for themselves.

• American Indians and Alaska Natives

living in remote locations. Additional

obstacles result from high unemployment and high poverty rates. For

example, while the 1995 unemployment rate for the entire U.S. population was 5.6 percent, it was 35

percent among American Indians

living on or adjacent to reservations.

Only 29 percent of those employed

American Indians who lived on or

near reservations earned annual

wages of at least $9,048.

• Rural populations and those living in

remote areas.

• Migrant and seasonal farm workers.

Low incomes and difficult working

conditions limit the abilities of many

in this group to buy and prepare

adequate meals. Moreover, migrant

labor camps are in rural areas and

workers often lack transportation.

This can limit their ability to buy

varied, reasonably priced foods. 

4. ACTIONS

To maintain an adequate food

security safety net and enhance

access to food for those at risk for

food insecurity, the United States,

led by USDA and DHHS, will:

▲ Work to secure funding for food

assistance programs at levels that allow

the programs to respond to changing

economic conditions and meet the

needs of both the general population

and specific special-needs groups. For

instance, for fiscal year 2000, the

Administration has requested a 33-percent increase in funds for WIC farmers’

markets, a $200 million increase in

WIC overall, $10 million to restore food

stamp eligibility for elderly immigrants,

and $13 million for a school breakfast

pilot program.

▲ Work to ensure that families leaving

the welfare roles, or being diverted

from welfare receipt, are aware of their

continued eligibility for food assistance

programs, and work to remove barriers

to their participation in these programs.

▲ Identify ways to improve the current

system to overcome food access barriers faced by populations at risk for

food insecurity, including the homeless,

the working poor, poor children, the

elderly, and American Indians, Alaska

Natives, and others who live in rural or

remote areas.

To encourage State and local

community groups to address

hunger, food security, and community service needs and to coordinate their efforts, the United

States, led by the USDA, will:

▲ Implement the Community Food

Security Initiative.

▲ Involve and encourage local antihunger groups and multi-sectoral food

security councils to help build community capacity to address food insecurity

by assessing common needs and combining resources and approaches.

▲ Expand home delivery to the needy

through partnerships between private

food providers and local food

assistance and volunteer organizations.

Similarly, consider providing home food

delivery programs to serve poor children outside school hours and during

summers.

▲ Explore ways to coordinate public

and private nutrition services. For

BOX 5.1 

FEEDING HUNGRY CHILDREN

IN HOUSTON

Kid-Care began in 1984 when Carol

and Hurt Porter saw children in their

neighborhood eating out of a trash

dumpster. The Porters launched their

“meals on wheels” program out of

their own kitchen. Since its inception,

this nationally recognized program has

provided over 1 million meals to children in the Houston area. Currently,

Kid-Care provides over 20,000 meals a

month to children in poverty in Houston. But many more are still going hungry. Kid-Care, Inc. does all of this

without government or United Way

funding. In recent years, Texas Southern University has become involved in

Kid-Care, Inc., through the efforts of

Dr. Selina Ahmed and many of her

students from the Department of

Human Services and Consumer Sciences. They hope someday to help

establish a national meals on wheels

program for children based on the KidCare experience.
CHAPTER 5

44 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

example, co-locate child care services

and WIC clinics within subsidized housing projects.

▲ Create mobile farmers’ markets to

increase access to fresh produce by

low-income women and children who

live in remote and inner-city areas.

To increase food security, including attaining the national goal of

boosting food recovery by 33 percent annually by the year 2000, the

United States, led by USDA, will:

▲ Convene annual summits on food

security aimed at building partnerships,

assessing progress, addressing barriers,

and sharing information.

▲ Encourage community-based food

security efforts by providing technical

assistance, encouraging public-private

partnerships, and bringing national

attention to such efforts.

▲ Increase public awareness of food

waste and the importance of year-round

gleaning, especially through USDA’s

food gleaning hot line (1-800-GLEANIT) and the Citizen’s Guide to Food

Recovery and publicize applicable U.S.

tax incentives and the Good Samaritan

Act to encourage food donations.

▲ Promote volunteer gleaning and

food recovery activities.

To launch a community food security initiative designed to focus,

coordinate, and multiply Federal

efforts to reduce hunger and

expand food security, the United

States, led by USDA, will:

▲ Conduct a tour headed by the Secretary of Agriculture designed to focus

attention on hunger and food insecurity.

▲ Continue to identify ways to reduce

the incidence of hunger in the United

States, strengthen the nutrition assistance safety net, eliminate the stigma of

nutrition program participation, and

increase public awareness of hunger

here and abroad.

▲ Create a community hunger action

kit, transform nutrition assistance into

nutrition promotion and health

enhancement programs, and expand

the WIC Farmers’ Market Program.

International

Dimension

1. PRIORITIES

▲ Targeting a greater portion of

food aid to the most needy in the

most chronically food-insecure

countries

▲ Developing and incorporating

gender-sensitive analysis and 

policies into food aid programs

▲ Improving the efficiency and

effectiveness of food aid programs

2. ISSUES

The World Food Summit encouraged

donors to sharpen the focus of their

food aid on the most chronically foodinsecure countries and regions, provide

an appropriate volume of food aid on

the basis of need, establish incentives to

encourage the best use of food aid, and

strive to ensure that food assistance

reaches those who have the most

responsibility for household food security. The Summit also recognized that

emergency food assistance does not

lead to and cannot be substituted for

sustainable food security. 

In the 10 years from 1986 to 1996,

worldwide U.S. Government food aid

levels fell from 8.3 million tons annually to 3 million tons.11 Global food aid

shipments of major donors through the

Food Aid Convention (FAC) declined

from 11.6 million metric tons in

1990/91 to an estimated level of 5.1

million metric tons in 1996/97. Global

food assistance in 1996/97 covered

only 6.5 percent of the estimated total

food imports of the world's Low- 11During the 1980s, U.S. food aid averaged 6 million

metric tons per year. FY1985 and FY1986 were higher

due to the Sub-Saharan drought.
CHAPTER 5

FOOD SECURITY SAFETY NET 45

Income Food-Deficit Countries (LIFCs).

Therefore, a concerted effort is needed

to use available food assistance

resources efficiently and effectively.

3. DISCUSSION

The U.S. Government is committed to

improving its food aid programs by efficiently responding to emergencies and

helping food-insecure populations reach

the point where they can feed themselves.

Food aid is both a flexible resource that

can support food security in a variety of

ways, and a specialized resource which

requires careful consideration of programming circumstances. 

Programming decisions are often

constrained by the increasing need to

respond to complex emergencies.

Emergency relief constitutes a growing

share of food aid resources while the

proportion dedicated to development

purposes that help to create long-term

food security continues to decline. To

the extent possible, the United States will

use food aid during complex emergencies, in concert with other initiatives and

programs, to address concerns such as

conflict prevention and resolution, rehabilitation of infrastructure, and to bridge

the relief-to-development continuum.

Constrained budgets have resulted in

sharp cuts in the amount of food assistance provided by major donors,

including the United States. The decline

in available food aid resources, however, does not signal a reduced need for

assistance. On the contrary, the need is

expected to double in the next 10 years.

Accordingly, food aid must be fully integrated into the national food security

plans and priorities of recipient countries and coordinated with other forms

of assistance if it is to promote food

security. This must include an understanding of the differential constraints

and opportunities experienced by men

and women in their need for and use of

food assistance. The United States will

also seek to address other key issues in

food aid programming, including nondiscriminatory distribution, nutritional

impact, and dependency. The U.S. Government will seek to implement a range

of actions that tighten the linkage of

food aid programs to food security,

enhance U.S. emergency humanitarian

response capabilities, and strengthen

international commitments to food

assistance. A number of the actions listed below will be undertaken in collaboration with NGOs, international

organizations, and the private sector. 

In Mozambique, Save the Children manages a project which is funded in part

through the proceeds of a monetization program managed by a consortium of NGOs

which, in addition to Save the Children, includes ADRA, Africare, CARE, Food for the

Hungry International, and World Vision. Save the Children’s project, located in Nampula Province, seeks to improve the food security of 5,000 families by reconstructing

and maintaining 150 kilometers of farm-to-market roads, by raising agricultural production, and by promoting improved diets and health for children. Between 1997 and

2001, the largest portion of this project’s cost, over $5 million, will be made available

through the sale of approximately 22,000 metric tons of wheat. Monetization provides

Mozambique with an important imported commodity without draining the country’s

scarce foreign currency reserves. Through regular sales, monetization generates

sufficient local currencies to operate large-scale development activities implemented by different NGOs participating in this consortium. 

— SAVE THE CHILDREN

MONETIZING FOOD AID

BOX 5.2 
CHAPTER 5

46 U.S. ACTIONPLAN ONFOODSECURITY

An increasingly higher proportion of

U.S. food aid—75 percent in 1997

compared with 41 percent in 1990— is

being channeled though targeted relief

operations and development projects

managed by NGOs and international

organizations such as the World Food

Program, rather than through government-to-government concessional

sales/commodity grants for broadbased economic support. The United

States is committed to building on these

non-governmental partnerships, which

are vital to the long-term success of

food security programs. 

The United States has begun discussions with participating countries

through the Inter-Governmental Authori-

ty on Development (IGAD) on a code of

conduct for food aid in the context of

food security for the Horn of Africa. The

draft IGAD code highlights the establishment of emergency preparedness and

prevention strategies. Similarly, the United States has long supported the Permanent Inter-State Committee on Drought

Control in the Sahel (CILSS) and

remains committed to improving the

application of its Food Aid Charter in

promoting West Africa's progress in agri-

culture and regional food security. The

Southern Africa Development Conference

(SADC) is also a strong candidate for

partnership in discussions on improving

food aid practices in that region. 

Through the new Transatlantic Agenda with the European Union, the U.S.

Government has agreed to jointly assist

a number of developing countries in

formulating national food security

strategies and action plans. These plans

include an ongoing analysis and justifi-

cation of the appropriate role for food

assistance. Similar dialogue is now

underway through the U.S.-Japan Common Agenda.

Through the Greater Horn of Africa

Initiative and similar efforts, the United

States is pursuing with its implementing

partners the use of food-for-work in

relief and post-emergency settings to

support both saving lives and helping to

rebuild essential infrastructure. 

4. ACTIONS To maximize the impact, efficiency, and effectiveness of its food

assistance programs: ▲ The U.S. Government will give priority

in its P.L. 83-480 programs to the most

food-insecure countries, as well as those

that promote market economy, gender

equality, and food security policies. ▲ The Administration will seek author

-

ity to expand grant food aid provisions

to cover inland transportation costs for: • countries in transition from crisis to

development; and 

• least developed, net food importing

countries.

▲ The United States will support ongoing efforts by the World Food Program

and the FAO to develop and implement

gender-sensitive analysis and policies in

carrying out food assistance programs.

The United States will review its own

policies and programs to ensure gender

consideration. ▲ The Administration will implement

the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust,

which strengthens the Food Security

Commodity Reserve (FSCR) to better

respond to unanticipated emergency

needs. ▲ The Administration will seek author

-

ity to use Export Enhancement Program

(EEP) funds uncommitted at the end of

the fiscal year to purchase commodi-

ties, as appropriate, for replenishment

of the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust. ▲ The U. S. Government will procure

and pre-position small quantities of

selected commodities in the United

States for sudden overseas emergencies. ▲ The Administration will exercise,

when appropriate, authorities under the

Commodity Credit Corporation Charter

Act to strengthen the capacity of the

United States to respond to growing

humanitarian food assistance needs.
CHAPTER 5

FOOD SECURITY SAFETY NET 47

To further strengthen coordination, especially at the country and

regional levels, on the qualitative

aspects of food aid: 

▲ The U.S. Government will pursue

regional and sub-regional food aid

codes of conduct to engage food aid

recipients with donors in developing

preventive mechanisms to mitigate the

increasing demands on international

food aid, particularly in sub-Saharan

Africa. These codes will feature:

• development of common terms of

reference for carrying out joint country food security assessments in order

to achieve widespread consensus on

individual country food security profiles that incorporate gender analysis;

• better integration of food aid and

other food security related objectives

and resources;

• development of coordinated, genderintegrated strategies for refugees and

transition situations in given areas;

• coordinated distribution to ensure

optimum use of logistical resources

and commercial networks, in cooperation with local traders and nongovernmental organizations.

To implement the 1994 GATT

Uruguay Round decision that

donor nations will review the

level of food aid commitments

and their form: 

▲ The United States is pursuing, in the

appropriate international fora, the

implementation of the 1994 Marrakesh

Agreements and the 1996 Singapore

World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial, which would consider expanding

the list of products eligible for donation

and establishing acceptable and feasible

minimum levels of food aid. Specifically,

the United States will:

• encourage dialogue on improved,

gender-disaggregated information

systems and analytical frameworks

to monitor the effects of trade liberalization;

• continue to work with other major

food exporting nations to assure

reliability of supply to net food

importers;

• seek to ensure that the World Trade

Organization is adequately funded;

• continue to encourage an increase in

the number of food aid donors and to

broaden the commodity base to

include a wider range of foodstuffs. ❖
CHAPTER 6

48 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY
CHAPTER 6

INFORMATION AND MAPPING 49

Information 

and Mapping

Domestic

Dimension

1. PRIORITY

▲ Monitoring changes in

nutritional status and food security

in a welfare-to-work environment

through refined and comprehensive survey measures

2. ISSUES

Measuring and tracking changes in food

insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition are

essential to ensuring that actions taken

to eliminate these problems are effective.

To this end, the United States spends

nearly $155 million each year on the

National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Program (NNMRRP). This

program estimates nutritional and

dietary status along with determinants

and consequences.

During the past decade, the United

States invested in the development of

comprehensive measures of food security and hunger. In April 1995, the Food

Security Supplement to the Current

Population Survey included a series of

questions designed to measure these

problems. This survey provides the first

objective national estimates of the

prevalence of food insecurity in the

United States, with and without hunger.

However, additional steps are needed to

improve the quality and quantity of

information gathered. 

Gaps in the survey include that it

lacks a community-level food security

measurement component and does not

measure the homeless and those living

in shelters or institutions. Better coordination of Federal, State, tribal, and

local monitoring activities would also

be beneficial. In addition, the data from

all surveys should be presented in a

form that policymakers and the public

can understand. Finally, the monitoring

program needs to be refined so that it

can track changes in nutritional status

and food security in a welfare-to-work

environment.

3. DISCUSSION

The NNMRRP, one of the most sophisticated nutrition and food security monitoring systems in the world, is a mosaic

of interconnected Federal and State

activities that provides information about

the dietary, nutritional, and related

6

Understanding where hunger exists, both geographically and socially, is an essential

tool for decision makers. Both domestically and internationally, there is a dearth of

information on community-level food insecurity. In developing countries, FAO estimates the prevalence of hunger and undernutrition according to inadequate food

energy intake on a per capita basis and inadequate growth of children under the age

of five. In the United States, where chronic undernutrition is less than 3 percent by

FAO measures, new tools have recently been developed that measure food insecurity

specifically.
CHAPTER 6

50 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

health status of people who live in the

United States. The program also gathers

information about the relationship

between diet and health and the factors

that affect dietary and nutritional status.

More than 20 Federal Government

agencies currently cooperate under a

10-year comprehensive plan to monitor

the Nation’s dietary, nutritional, and

food security status. Their work is coordinated by the Interagency Board for

Nutrition Monitoring and Related

Research (IBNMRR).

One of the most important products

released so far under the NNMRRP is the

September 1997 report on the first Food

Security Supplement to the U.S. Current

Population Survey. This survey measures

U.S. food security at four levels:12

1. Food secure: Households with little

or no evidence of food insecurity.

2. Food insecure without hunger:

Household concerns and

adjustments to food management

(for example, reduced dietary quality) present evidence of food insecurity, but with little or no reported

reduction in quantity of household

members’ food intake;

3. Food insecure with hunger: Households in which adults reduce food

intake to the extent that they have

experienced hunger. Such reductions are not reported among children in the household; and

4. Food insecure with severe hunger:

Households in which both children

and adults experience hunger. 

The survey provides coordinated

indicators that capture a range of

poverty-linked food insecurity and

hunger behaviors. The questions

address food expenditures, food assistance program participation, food sufficiency and related concerns, food

scarcity, and strategies for coping with

food shortages. When viewed together,

the answers to such questions help to

indicate whether a household experiences hunger and food insecurity.

This survey is the largest of its kind,

in terms of number of households surveyed and number of questions asked.

It represents a significant first step in

providing a comprehensive evaluation

of the food security of U.S. households,

although continuing improvements are

needed.

4. ACTIONS

To refine measures of food security, the United States will:

▲ Continue to develop standard indicators and survey instruments related to

food consumption, food security, nutritional status, and participation in food

assistance and other programs that

involve Federal, State, local, and private

partners.

▲ Develop measures of community

food security.

▲ Provide leadership in developing an

international dialogue on methodologies for measuring and interpreting

food insecurity in both developed and

developing countries and, where appropriate, urging international agencies to

consider adopting U.S. methods for

measuring food insecurity.

To monitor changes in nutritional

status and food security in a welfare-to-work environment:

▲ The United States, led by DHHS and

USDA, will regularly track U.S. food

security by integrating standard U.S.

food security questions into a broad

spectrum of national, State, and local

surveys, and assure the timeliness of

those surveys.

▲ The United States will explore expanding through cooperative efforts the survey

coverage of high-risk subgroups that are

not easily sampled in national surveys,

such as the homeless or American Indians living on reservations.

▲ Continue the work of the

USDA/DHHS-led Welfare Reform, Nutrition, and Data Needs Working Group,

12Definitions of food insecurity and hunger can be

found in the glossary
CHAPTER 6

INFORMATION ANDMAPPING 51

whose goals are to identify gaps in data

collection systems, encourage use of

comparable measures at all levels to

assess progress, serve as a repository of

nutrition survey efforts related to wel-

fare reform, and foster interagency col-

laborative research in this area. To improve Federal, State, tribal,

and local coordination: ▲ The United States, led by DHHS and

USDA, will continue to coordinate nutri-

tion and food security monitoring activities, and make survey instruments and

technical assistance available through

the IBNMRR’s member agencies. ▲ The United States will develop

appropriate statistical procedures for

providing State and local estimates with

data gathered from relevant national or

State surveys. ▲ The United States, led by USDA and

DHHS, will encourage civil society to

use standard methods to monitor food

security, and develop protocols for col-

lecting and aggregating information to

increase its usefulness and credibility. ▲ The United States, led by USDA and

DHHS, will continue work to develop a

shorter version of the food security measurement scale for use in surveys with

space, time, or financial constraints. To enhance information for use by

the public and policymakers, the

United States will: ▲ Assess and report on the determi

-

nants and health outcomes related to

food insecurity. ▲ Link survey planning and implementation to information needs, and ensure

that monitoring programs provide

information to policymakers in a timely

manner. ▲ Fill major gaps in the coverage and

timeliness of the Nation’s information

on the nutritional status of children and

youth.

▲ Prepare periodic status reports on

U.S. food security and nutritional status

through joint efforts of civil society and

government.

International

Dimension

1. PRIORITY ▲ Improving regional and nation

-

al information systems relevant to

food security

2. ISSUES

Existing data systems relating to food

insecurity and its causes are inadequate

in a number of respects. Many developing countries, particularly in Africa,

face multiple problems: data systems

that are non-existent or in disrepair;

insufficient institutional capacity for

policymakers to utilize and analyze data

effectively; poor access to technical and

market information; insufficient infor-

mation about women and children as

well as other under-represented groups

including racial, ethnic, and religious

minorities; insufficient information on

the effects of trade; agricultural extension systems, that, if they exist, lack

close collaborative ties with farmers

and the marketplace; and a lack of education and research capacity.

Although there are international

information systems that provide early

warning for food emergencies, public

and private sector decision-makers at

the local, national, and regional levels

need an adequate information base to

identify solutions to structural food

insecurity problems and to monitor

their implementation. Accurate, timely

information is an essential aspect of

good governance and economic growth

and is a critical decisionmaking tool.
CHAPTER 6

52 U.S. ACTIONPLAN ONFOODSECURITY

3. DISCUSSION

The World Food Summit Plan of

Action recognized the constraints that

poor access to information poses to

global food security. Countries partici-

pating in the Summit committed to

addressing these constraints, including

efforts to “develop...a food insecurity

and vulnerability information and mapping system [to] indicate areas and

populations...affected by or at risk of

hunger and malnutrition, and elements

contributing to food insecurity”; to

“promote sustainable systems for the

dissemination and extension of research

results”; and to “strengthen... skills

development and extension systems.” FAO and USAID currently operate

early warning systems. The United

States and several other donors have

been working closely with the FAO and

other United Nations agencies to establish a functional food insecurity and

vulnerability information and mapping

system (FIVIMS) which will identify

numbers of people at risk of suffering

from undernutrition and malnutrition.

In addition, USAID is modifying the

guidelines for its Collaborative Research

Support Programs (CRSPs) to require

greater electronic dissemination of

results and international academic linkages. USAID is also collaborating with

the government of Italy to support the

efforts of the Inter-Governmental

Authority on Development (IGAD) to

design a Regional Integrated Information System for the Countries of the

Horn of Africa. The World Bank has

launched a Rural Development Initiative

that emphasizes giving smallholders

access to service, knowledge, and technology, and rehabilitating national

information systems.

The recent El Niño event increased

awareness of the opportunities for and

the value of climate forecasts, leading

the developed nations to agree to establish an International Research Institute

to work on these issues. For many

years, the National Aeronautics and

Space Administration (NASA) has col-

lected several types of Earth-observing

satellite data. NASA will make these

archives available through the Internet. 

4. ACTIONS To increase the levels of informa

-

tion available on food security: ▲ The U.S. Government, through

USAID, will work with and through

regional and sub-regional institutions

and their member states to improve the

capacity of their information systems

relevant to food security, including their

capacity to monitor and measure food

insecurity and vulnerability on a disaggregated basis, including specific data

on gender, household, local, regional,

and minority populations’ food security. ▲ The U.S. Government will make relevant unclassified satellite and

Geographic Information System (GIS)

databases available to food-insecure

countries, international organizations,

and civil society. NASA will make a global archive of vegetation data available

through the Internet as part of the

Global Pathfinder Continuation project.

USAID will work to increase the access

of less developed countries to the Inter-

net and NASA data bases. To improve the ability of decisionmakers at the national, international, and donor level: ▲ The U.S. Government will join with

other countries to support development

of FIVIMS that meet the needs of users

and generate reliable information for

decision-makers at both national and

regional levels. ▲ The U.S. Government, through

USAID, will work toward developing a

unified international early warning system with global coverage that is oriented around national early warning

systems, including capacity-building in

sub-regional organizations. It will also

make early warning information more
CHAPTER 6

INFORMATION AND MAPPING 53

accessible and useful to private sector

users in the developing countries.

▲ Through the International Research

Institute (IRI), the U.S. Government will

support the enhancement of global

early warning information products,

with climate forecasts targeted on lessdeveloped-country regions.

▲ The U.S. Government, through

USAID, will encourage the Consultative

Group on International Agricultural

Research (CGIAR) to develop strategic,

gender-disaggregated data bases, to convert existing center data holdings into a

compatible protocol, and to disseminate

both to food-insecure countries. ❖
CHAPTER 7

54 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY
CHAPTER 7

FOOD AND WATER SAFETY 55

Food and Water

Safety

Domestic

Dimension

1. PRIORITIES

▲ Assuring the safety of domestically produced and imported foods

and of water supplies by

implementing recent initiatives,

involving all stakeholders

▲ Educating consumers, preparers, handlers, producers, and

transporters of food about ways

they can contribute to ensuring the

safety of the food supply

2. ISSUES

Safe food and drinking water are essential not only to achieving food security,

but to maintaining physical health and

economic productivity as well. Although

U.S. food and water supplies are among

the safest in the world, foodborne illness strikes as many as 33 million

Americans each year and results in

some 9,000 deaths. Medical costs and

productivity losses related to foodborne

pathogens are estimated to be as high

as $34.9 billion each year. 

Concerns about food and water safety affect all consumers. However, certain groups, such as the homeless,

children, the elderly, American Indians,

Alaska Natives, immunocompromised

individuals, and migrant farm workers

may be especially at risk for food- and

waterborne illness. Broad prevention

strategies, including regulation, education, and research, are critical to ensuring food safety at each step in the food

chain.

3. DISCUSSION

Food- and waterborne illnesses result

from two types of causes: microbial

contamination and acute exposure to

harmful substances such as pesticides

or other toxic substances. Although

concern about these illnesses affects all

consumers, certain groups face special

obstacles to obtaining safe food and

water. These groups include:

• The homeless, who often face

unique problems in avoiding foodand waterborne illnesses due to lack

of refrigeration, cooking facilities,

and wholesome food.

7

Safe food and water, free from chemical and biological contaminants, are essential

for food security. Food- and waterborne diseases are increasingly common. U.S.

research on food safety can also be of great usefulness in foreign nations. The U.S.

concern about the safety of foreign-produced food stems not only from broad

humanitarian concerns, but also from the Government’s commitment to maintaining the safety of food imported for consumption in the United States. At the same

time, reducing post-harvest losses and improving the reliability of stored food supplies

helps avoid significant waste resulting from contamination, infestation, and

spoilage, and maximizes the nutritional benefits and amounts available to

consumers.
CHAPTER 7

56 U.S. ACTIONPLAN ONFOODSECURITY

• Children, who are more vulnerable to

contaminants for two reasons: their

bodies are growing rapidly and they

consume proportionately more fruits,

vegetables, water, and milk than

adults do; developing fetuses may

also be affected by toxic chemicals,

pathogen infections, and pathogen

toxins consumed by their mothers.

• The elderly, especially those affected

by degenerative diseases, who may

be less able to practice safe food

handling and may be less resistant to

foodborne illness.

• American Indians and Alaska

Natives, who consume proportionately more fish and game than other

populations do. Because these food

sources may be contaminated by

agricultural or industrial pollution,

the resulting food safety concerns

may increase the risk of food insecurity among these two groups.

Recognition of growth in concern

about these public health problems has

prompted new efforts to protect consumers from food- and waterborne ill

-

nesses. These efforts include: • President’s Council on Food

Safety. This Council was established

in 1998 to develop a comprehensive

strategic Federal food safety plan;

advise agencies of priority areas for

investment in food safety; ensure

that Federal agencies annually devel-

op coordinated food safety budgets

for submission to the Office of Management and Budget; and ensure

that the joint Institute for Food Safety

Research establishes a mechanism

to guide Federal research efforts

toward the highest priority food

safety needs.

• National Food Safety Initiative.

Launched in 1997, this Presidential

initiative calls for a nationwide earlywarning system for foodborne illness, increased inspections for

major higher-risk foods, and

expanded food safety research,

training, and education.

• Food Quality Protection Act of

1996. This law substantially

strengthens the U.S. pesticide regulatory system, and gives both the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) and the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) unprecedented

opportunities to provide greater

health and environmental protection

to vulnerable groups, especially

infants and children. The law establishes a single, health-based standard

for all pesticide residues in food, and

provides a more complete assessment of potential risks. Included in

the law are special protections for

potentially sensitive groups, such as

infants and children.

• Safe Drinking Water Act Amend-

ments of 1996. These changes will

assure the continued availability of

safe drinking water. The amendments

increase State flexibility in addressing

water safety problems, allow water

treatment systems to make more

efficient investments in water treatment and quality, and strengthen

EPA’s ability to regulate water quality

by allowing the agency to factor risk

and cost-benefit considerations into

setting drinking water standards. 

4. ACTIONS To implement the President’s

National Food Safety Initiative, the

U.S. Government will: ▲ Enhance surveillance and build an

early warning system to detect and

respond to outbreaks of foodborne ill-

ness and to collect data to prevent

future outbreaks. ▲ Improve responses to foodborne

illness outbreaks by improving intergovernmental coordination and strengthening State and tribal health agency

infrastructure.
CHAPTER 7

FOOD AND WATER SAFETY 57

▲ Improve risk assessment to characterize more effectively the nature and

magnitude of risks to human health

associated with foodborne hazards to

help regulators allocate resources

appropriately.

▲ Formulate new methods for rapid,

cost-effective testing for the presence of

pathogens in foods, improve scientific

understanding of how pathogens develop resistance to treatment, and develop

technologies to prevent and control

pathogens.

▲ Improve food production systems

through preventive controls for foods,

such as seafood, fruit and vegetable

juices, egg products, and produce.

To implement the Food Quality

Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996:

▲ The U.S. Government, led by EPA,

will reassess current pesticide residue

limits in accordance with the new, consistent, health-based safety standard and

will consider available information on

aggregate pesticide exposure from all

non-occupational sources.

▲ The U.S. Government, led by DHHS

and USDA in consultation with EPA, will

conduct surveys of dietary exposure to

pesticide residues among infants and

children.

▲ The U.S. Government, through EPA,

will apply the FQPA safety factor, where

appropriate, as a way of assuring an

extra measure of protection for infants

and children in cases where special

sensitivity or exposure for these subgroups is identified.

▲ The U.S. Government, led by EPA in

consultation with USDA and DHHS, will

publish a yearly “consumer right-toknow” brochure containing information

aimed at the general public concerning

the risks and benefits of pesticide chemical residues in or on food purchased

by consumers, and will distribute it in

supermarkets and grocery stores.

▲ The U.S. Government, through EPA,

will expedite approval of safer

pesticides and will develop effective but

safer crop protection tools for use by

American farmers.

To implement the Safe Drinking

Water Act Amendments of 1996

and to support related efforts, the

United States will:

▲ Require local water authorities to

provide annual disclosures of the

chemicals and bacteria present in

drinking water, and improve the 24-

hour notification process that takes

effect when dangerous contaminants

are discovered.

▲ Strengthen pollution prevention

efforts by assessing threats to and providing funding for State water protection efforts and by enforcing new

requirements for State water system

capacity development and operator certification programs.

▲ Improve badly deteriorating water

systems throughout the country and

strengthen State drinking water protection programs.

▲ Expand the voluntary, cooperative

Partnership for Safe Water between

EPA, the American Water Works Association, other drinking water organizations, and surface water utilities.

To promote integrated pest management (IPM), the United States,

led by USDA and EPA, will:

▲ Increase the use of IPM and strategies to significantly reduce the use and

potential risks of synthetic chemical

pesticides.

▲ Achieve USDA’s goal of bringing 75

percent of U.S. crop acreage under IPM

by 2000.

▲ Continue to promote the Pesticide

Environmental Stewardship Program

(PESP), a public-private partnership in

which utilities and grower groups jointly develop and implement programs

that reduce pesticide risks and use.

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT

Pesticide Action Network works to

promote the use of integrated pest

management and to advocate government and international financial institution policies that build on integrated

pest management methods by holding

workshops for farmers, legislators,

and consumers.

BOX 7.1
CHAPTER 7

58 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

To promote food safety education,

the United States will:

▲ Use the Partnership for Food Safety

Education to develop science-based, consumer-oriented messages that promote

safe food handling practices. The partners in this effort include the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services,

Agriculture, and Education, along with

representatives of State agencies, food

industry groups, and consumer groups.

▲ Increase collaboration among governmental groups and civil society to

identify and change unsafe food-handling

practices by targeting handlers throughout the foodchain, especially those who

provide food to vulnerable groups.

▲ Expand food safety education at

each point in the foodchain, including

for food preparers.

▲ Incorporate food safety education

into school curricula and programs.

▲ Encourage the establishment of a

volunteer-based food safety outreach

program aimed at homebound persons.

▲ Improve food safety education at veterinary and agricultural colleges, and

strengthen programs designed to educate producers, veterinarians, and regulators about proper animal drug use

and food quality assurance programs.

▲ Increase funding for USDA’s Food

Safety and Quality National Research

Initiative Competitive Grants Program,

which supports education to help

reduce foodborne illnesses and increase

knowledge of food-related risks.

International

Dimension

1. PRIORITY

▲ Supporting the work of the

Codex Alimentarius Commission

2. ISSUES

Safe food and water for human

consumption are essential requirements

for food security. Internationally, foodand waterborne diseases pose a serious

health threat. Broad strategies need to

be pursued to prevent food and water

contamination, including regulation and

producer and consumer education. All

are critical in assuring food and water

safety—from production to household

preparation and consumption. Contaminated food and drinking water are a

major vehicle for cholera and other

diseases. Contamination of stored food

by rodents, fungi, or bacteria also poses

a serious threat to stable food supplies

and is a significant source of post-harvest losses in some areas of the world.

Additionally, nutrient over-enrichment

can result in algal blooms toxic to fish,

shell fish, and humans.

3. DISCUSSION

The United States has several different

interests in international food and water

safety. The first pertains to the safety of

foods consumed in the United States

and to maintaining appropriate standards for the safety of internationally

traded food and water products. The

second is a humanitarian concern for

the health and well-being of foreign

populations and their access to safe and

clean food and water. The third is the

safety and reliability of stored food supplies, both food aid and local products;

this contributes directly to the effectiveness of our foreign assistance and the

stability of local food supplies. The loss

of stored grain to insects, rodents, and

molds is a serious problem, particularly

in hot, humid climates such as those

that exist in parts of Africa and Asia.

Currently, the U.S. Government has

several initiatives and programs to

address these issues:

• In 1997, the President announced

the National Food Safety Initiative to

ensure the safety of the U.S. food

supply through the enactment of

preventive measures to minimize

foodborne illnesses. He directed

DHHS, USDA, and EPA to work colThe Rotary Club of Salinas, Ecuador,

and the Rotary Clubs of Roseburg,

Greater Albany, Sweet Home, and

Lebanon in Oregon, USA, conceived

and developed a project in response

to critical public health needs. With

the help of a 3-H Grant from the Rotary

Foundation they were able to provide

clean drinking water and sanitation for

21 villages (some 4,000 people), develop a public health infrastructure in

each participating village, reduce by

20 percent the monthly case rate for

severe diarrheal illness, eradicate

cholera, and eliminate open dumps

and litter-filled ravines.

— ROTARY INTERNATIONAL

HEALTH AND SANITATION

IN ECUADOR

BOX 7.2 
CHAPTER 7

FOOD ANDWATERSAFETY 59

laboratively toward improving the

safety of fresh fruits and vegetables

through good agricultural practices

and accelerated research. They are

charged with expanding inspection

and compliance efforts through sci-

ence-based applications; enhancing

surveillance and investigation to

improve outbreak response; acceler-

ating food safety research efforts;

improving capacity to estimate risks

associated with foodborne hazards;

and strengthening coordination and

improving efficiency.

• The U.S. Government supports the FAO/World Health Organization

(WHO) Codex Alimentarius Commission, which establishes international

standards, codes of practice, guidelines, and other instruments relative

to food safety, inspection, quality,

certification, and labeling. Codex

texts have become one of the inter-

national benchmarks for trade under

the WTO’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary

Measures (SPS) Agreement.

• USAID, in cooperation with the

DHHS/Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention, sponsors assistance

programs to address food safety and

sanitation issues.

4. ACTIONS To promote food safety in interna

-

tional trade: ▲ The U.S. Government, through DHHS

in cooperation with USDA, the Department of State, and the U.S. Trade Representative, will develop technical

assistance and targeted programs for

domestic and foreign growers and producers to promote good agricultural

and manufacturing practices for fresh

fruits and vegetables in order to mini-

mize microbial hazards. ▲ The U.S. Government will continue

to support science-based activities in

the Codex Alimentarius, Office of Inter-

national Epizootics, and the International Plant Protection Convention, in order

to promote food, plant, and animal

safety and fair trade. ▲ The U.S. Government will continue

to support and collaborate in international activities, through Codex, WHO,

and FAO, to educate growers and consumers about microbial hazards, good

agricultural practices, and proper food

handling and preparation methods.

In order to assist foreign nations

to improve their own food and

water safety: ▲ The U.S. Government, through USAID,

will continue to support post-harvest

interventions, including agribusiness

development, which will increase food

safety and promote better conservation

with reduced losses in quality. ▲ The United States will continue to

support the efforts of the Global Water

Partnership and international organizations that promote strong national

water policies and best practices in

water quality management. ▲ The U.S. Government, through USDA

in cooperation with other government

agencies, will expand its technical assistance to foreign nations to help them

meet their WTO obligations on SPS. ▲ The U.S. Government, through

USAID, will continue to support the

provision of basic health care, water,

sanitation, and other services that

reduce infectious disease incidence,

especially in vulnerable populations. ❖
A-1 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

Although many more people are food secure today than at any time this century, the

problem of hunger, even in highly developed countries, is persistent. Solutions are

expensive, but affordable. Coordination among donors and consistency in approach

are critical to the success of any strategy.

In 1996, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that an annual investment in the agriculture sector of $170 billion from public and private

sources would be needed to achieve the World Food Summit target of reducing the

number of undernourished by half by 2015. This estimate represents a 25-percent

increase over current investment levels. To meet the FAO projection, official development assistance (ODA) in agriculture from all donors would need to increase by

$6 billion a year. 

As part of the preparation of the U.S. Action Plan on Food Security, USAID commissioned a separate study on the projected cost of meeting the World Food Summit target and a strategy for reaching this goal. The study, completed in mid 1998,

focused on a potential framework for ODA investments and estimated that the target

could be reached with additional global ODA of $2.6 billion annually, as compared

to the FAO’s estimate of $6 billion annually. The purpose of this appendix is to present the analysis and conclusions of the study as a springboard for future work.

THE COST OF MEETING THE

WORLD FOOD SUMMIT TARGET

The FAO estimate of the cost of reducing global hunger by half by 2015, based on

its “World Agriculture: Towards 2010,” presents an economic growth framework.

The study estimates that a $166 billion annual investment from public and private

sources is required — $86 billion in primary agricultural production (including

irrigation), $43 billion in the post-production sector, and $41 billion in public

expenditures in research, extension, and infrastructure (of which $6 billion would

be shifted within existing rates of infrastructure investment from urban to rural

areas). The current investment level is approximately $144 billion – $77 billion for

primary agricultural production, $34 billion for post-production, and $30 billion in

public expenditures ($10 billion for research and $20 for rural infrastructure).

Additional investment, primarily public investment and ODA, in the poorest developing countries is needed to meet the Summit target. 

The USAID consultant’s study establishes a targeted framework for ODA based on

the specific causes of chronic undernutrition in several regions and the relative

cost effectiveness of development assistance today. Table 1 illustrates the relative

costs of selected interventions. The consultant looked at four different investment

models: cost minimization; equal distribution of beneficiaries; no progress in policy

reform or reduction in the incidence of violent conflict; and equity and geographic

balance. Using the last scenario and assuming current donor investment levels of

approximately $60 billion per year until 2015, an additional annual global ODA

expenditure of $2.6 billion would make it possible to reach the World Food SumAPPENDIX A

A MODEL FOR HALVING

WORLD HUNGER1

1

This appendix is based on the findings of a 1998

report commissioned by USAID and prepared by Abt

Associates (Stryker and Metzel), entitled, “Meeting

the World Food Summit Target”.
Appendix A A-2

mit target. The approximately $43 billion total over 16 years would be optimally

distributed as follows: At the national level, meeting the Summit target would

involve preventing or reducing the existing levels of violent conflict that exist today

($500 million, particularly in Africa), promoting democracy and good governance

($1.7 billion), and programs in Africa and South Asia that enable governments in

all regions to increase the openness of their economic systems and to reduce food

tariffs ($2 billion). At the sectoral level, it would involve investing in agricultural

technology transfer, research and extension, and education ($27.6 billion, especially in sub-Saharan Africa), and rural infrastructure ($1.2 billion). And, at the

household level, it would involve targeted programs for the poor, women’s education, and increasing access to safe water ($10.4 billion, especially in South Asia).

CONSULTANT’S FRAMEWORK

The Geography of Hunger

The greatest numbers of undernourished people are in south, east, and southeast

Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. Food insecurity, measured in terms of availability of

kilocalories per capita per day, is most severe in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by

South Asia. In all regions, food insecurity is directly related to income – the less

money families have, the more food insecure they tend to be.

In South Asia, which has the highest numbers of undernourished in the world, the

problem stems in large part from several interrelated factors, including deep

poverty among the rural landless and other particularly vulnerable groups, which

limits adequate access to food; low education and social status of women, which

limits their control over the distribution of food within the household affecting the

food security of women and children; and high population density combined with a

humid monsoon climate and poor access to safe water and sanitation, which leads

to poor health and inhibits the utilization of the food that is available.

In sub-Saharan Africa, hunger is caused by low food availability and poverty, especially in the war-torn and least developed countries. A lack of education and poor

health are contributing factors.

Intervention E/SE South SS 

Asia Asia Africa

Rural Roads 390 1162 249

Agricultural Research 262 75 312

Safe Water 586 236 1021

Targeted Income-Increasing Assistance 571 347 961

Women’s Education 114 49 130

TABLE 1

The Regional Cost of Reducing Undernutrition (US$/Person)
A-3 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

East and Southeast Asia enjoy generally high food availability, high per capita real

GDP, and low levels of poverty in relation to other regions. Women’s education and

social status are generally better, and there is greater access to safe water and sanitation. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that undernutrition is decreasing, both

absolutely and in relation to the total population. Thus, chronic food insecurity in

east Asia is centered in a few countries that have yet to partake fully in the growth

process. The recent financial crisis has caused serious transitory food insecurity, but

is not expected to have a long-run adverse impact on undernutrition in the region.

In Latin America, the Caribbean, and most other areas of the world, food availability is generally adequate. Per capita income is much higher than in other developing

countries, but there are significant pockets of poverty, which may suggest the presence of undernutrition. In addition, while female illiteracy is relatively low within

Latin America and the Caribbean, it is quite high in many other areas, indicating the

possibility of undernutrition within households.

Levels of Interventions

The different levels at which interventions to alleviate hunger and undernutrition

can be undertaken are global, national, sectoral, and household. Some examples

are illustrated in Table 3. 

TABLE 2: 

Level of Investment Impact by Region

War-Torn Rest of 

Region Investment East/Southeast Asia South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa

Reduced Levels of Conflict

Increased Levels of Democracy

Increased Openness of Economy

Reduced Barriers to Food Trade

Increased Rural Infrastructure

Increased Transfer and Development 

of Agricultural Technology

Targeted Programs to the Poor 

(e.g., women’s education, access to safe water)

KEY

Very Important Impact

Important Impact

Somewhat Important Impact

Some Impact

Small Impact
Appendix A A-4

At the global level, an important requirement is to produce sufficient food to feed

the world’s population adequately. It is also important that global markets and

other institutions operate effectively to permit food to move reliably from areas of

surplus to areas of deficit. This requires a range of international agreements, such

as those under the World Trade Organization.

Peace and physical security are essential conditions for productive investments in

the agriculture sector, transport of food supplies, and security of food stocks. An

emphasis on conflict prevention and resolution is, therefore, important to food

security. The economic recovery of countries previously in conflict is a second priority. Research shows that undernutrition resulting from war and civil strife is the

most acute in the world and that the costs of dealing with it through emergency

food aid are also high.

At the national level, critical interventions include promotion of democracy, especially

in rural areas, and the creation of an enabling policy environment for growth, trade,

and investment. The promotion of democracy through civil participation and advocacy

can be important to creating the conditions for the sustainable use of natural

resources, especially collective resources, thereby maintaining the productive

capacity of the land. Effective political advocacy also helps ensure that rural populations receive their fair share of infrastructure investment, including roads, irrigation

works, schools, health facilities, safe water, and sanitation. All of these factors favorably influence nutrition by improving agricultural productivity, education, and health.

WHAT IS NEEDED HOW TO ACHIEVE IT

Global

• Secure access to food in • International agreements

world markets • Peace and physical 

• Conflict prevention and mitigation security recovery

National

• Promote democracy in • Civil participation

rural areas • Macro, trade, and

• Enabling environment legal reform 

Sectoral

• Rural production and • Public investment in roads

marketing infrastructure • Private technology transfer and

• Increase farm productivity public agricultural research

Household 

• Raise entitlement to food • Targeted food aid

• Empower women • Women’s education

• Improve rural health conditions • Safe water and sanitation

TABLE 3

Interventions to Reduce Undernutrition
A-5 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

Research has demonstrated that a policy environment open to international trade

and investment is critical for higher rates of economic growth. Growth, in turn, has

a favorable effect on food availability, women’s education, and access to safe water

and sanitation, which reduce undernutrition. In addition, countries can benefit by

reducing trade taxes and other barriers to food imports, which would result in

lower food prices and an increase in real incomes used to purchase food.

At the sectoral level, the two most important types of interventions are investment in

productive rural infrastructure and in agricultural research, extension, and education, both of which increase agricultural productivity, and, in turn, raise national

income through a multiplier effect. The result is increased food availability, women’s

education, safe water, sanitation and, consequently, improved nutrition. Alternatively,

direct investments in rural health, water, and sanitation will improve the health of

the rural population and allow more efficient utilization of existing food.

At the household level, the most effective way to improve nutrition is to direct interventions towards women. One approach, which has been used quite successfully in

a number of U.S. P.L. 83-480 Title II food aid programs, is to channel resources

through maternal and child health centers. These resources can be monetized to

pay not only for health care but also for nutritional education, functional literacy

programs, family planning, improved access to safe water and sanitation, and direct

income transfers. In addition, some of the aid can be channeled to participants

directly in the form of food assistance. Finally, investment in women’s education,

especially at the secondary school level, has been shown to have important nutritional benefits.

Conclusion

Through a concerted partnership of all nations, it is possible to reach the World

Food Summit goal. Unfortunately, if recent trends in official development assistance

continue, global undernutrition will increase in absolute terms by 2015. The FAO’s

and consultants’ studies show that viable and affordable strategies exist for achieving the World Food Summit goal that would involve a sustained but modest increase

in current development assistance levels.
APENDIX B B-1

APPENDIX B

APPROACHES TO

MEASURING FOOD

INSECURITY

A. Domestic

U.S. MANDATED NATIONAL

NUTRITION MONITORING

The United States collects data under a legislatively mandated interagency program

known as the National Nutritional Monitoring and Related Research Program

(NNMRRP). Key components in this system include: national food supply data and

household-based food expenditures; food composition and nutrient data bases;

food consumption and nutrient intakes; nutritional status and nutrition-related

health status; and knowledge, attitudes, and behavior assessments.

U.S. FOOD SECURITY BASELINE

Most recently, the United States has added a new component to its nutrition monitoring system with the 1997 release of its first national assessment of the prevalence

of food security and food insecurity with and without hunger. These measures were

developed by the USDA, DHHS, and others, using Department of Census Current

Population Survey data. This appraisal is specifically designed to measure the

prevalence of household food insecurity and hunger in the U.S. population and is

the outgrowth of over a decade of research in this field in the United States. It is

anticipated that data will be collected every 18 months, alternating between April

and September. A number of other U.S. surveys also measure food insecurity; these

include the planned National Food and Nutrition Survey, the National Health and

Nutrition Examination Survey, the Census Bureau’s Survey of Program Dynamics,

and the Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study.

B. International

FAO HUNGER MAP METHODOLOGY

The FAO estimates the proportion and number of undernourished persons in countries as a part of its World Food Survey reports. FAO derives a statistical distribution

of available food calories based on (1) food balance sheets–data on food production and net imports, minus non-human uses, waste, and food consumption, and

population size; and (2) a variance of the distribution of food based on household

consumption and expenditure surveys. Then, FAO develops a minimum calorie

requirement standard for the average person based on needs for different age

groups by sex. The proportion of the population with inadequate food calories is

estimated utilizing the cut-off measure identified. This proportion of the population

is defined as “chronically undernourished.”

FAO’s definition of minimum daily food requirements ranges from 1,720 to 1,960

calories and allows for only light physical activity. Using FAO’s measures, in 1990-

92 there were approximately 840 million chronically undernourished people living

in 93 underdeveloped countries.
B-2 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE

USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) produces an annual food security assessment that uses a method similar to FAO’s to measure undernutrition. Comparing

available food supplies within a country with minimum daily caloric intake standards,

it estimates the number of undernourished in select countries. However, ERS sets a

higher benchmark than FAO for the minimum amount of food, ranging from 2,000 to

2,100 calories a day. This standard, though higher than FAO’s, does not allow for play,

work, or any activity other than food gathering. Using this standard, ERS evaluated 58

of the 93 countries that FAO studied, and estimated that in those 58 countries, more

than 1 billion people could not meet their nutritional requirements.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

The World Health Organization (WHO) uses anthropometric measures (surveys of

physical measures like weight, height, and the proportion of the two) to estimate

undernutrition. In the 79 developing countries that it surveyed between 1980 and

1992, WHO estimated that 2 in 5 children are stunted, 1 in 3 is underweight, and 1

in 11 is underweight in proportion to height.
APPENDIX C C-1

APPENDIX C

GLOSSARY

A

Africa: Seeds of Hope Act

Passed by Congress on October 20, 1998, the

Act supports sustainable, broad-based agricultural and rural development in sub-Saharan

Africa through social and economic development

in a way that strengthens and expands marketled economic growth and reduces poverty.

African Food Security Initiative

A U.S. Agency for International Development

(USAID)-sponsored initiative to improve child

nutrition and increase agricultural income of

rural people throughout Africa by increasing

agricultural production, increasing small farmers’ access to the market, and expanding agricultural trade and investment.

African Growth and Opportunity Act

Introduced into the Senate on May 21, 1997, 

S. 778 is designed to support economic selfreliance of sub-Saharan African countries that

are committed to economic and political reform,

market incentives and private sector growth, the

eradication of poverty, and the importance of

women in economic growth and development.

The Act amends the Foreign Assistance Act of

1961 to provide additional program authorities,

including assistance to promote democratization

and conflict resolution and to allow for

increased program flexibility through presidential waivers of requirements. It directs the President to establish a U.S.-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade

and Economic Forum, and to establish a U.S.-

Sub-Saharan Africa Free Trade Area. It also contains provisions for debt relief and for focusing

some OPIC activities on the region. 

Aquaculture

The farming of aquatic plants and animals, for

instance, trout or sea kelp farming.

B

Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust

Formerly known as the Food Security Commodity Reserve, but renamed by the Africa: Seeds of

Hope Act of 1998, the trust is a reserve of commodities that may include wheat, rice, corn and

sorghum. It is intended solely to meet emergency humanitarian food needs in developing

countries. The reserve commodities are purchased by the Commodity Credit Corporation.

Biodiversity

There are three kinds of general biodiversity:

habitat diversity, genetic diversity, and species

diversity. Frequently, the term refers to maintaining the quality of existing ecosystems through

prevention of the destruction of habitats and of

the extinction of plant and animal species.

Biotechnology

The application of techniques that allow scientists to modify DNA, the genetic material of living

things. In the past, producers used crosshybridization to alter a plant’s genetic makeup.

With biotechnology, DNA can be altered directly.

In this paper, the term refers to the alteration of

DNA in agricultural products to produce a

desired effect. These might include resistance to

pests and diseases and tolerance for chemical

herbicides; improved food processing traits and

nutritional content; resistance to adverse soil

and weather conditions like salinity or drought;

or improved ripening, texture, or flavor.

Bycatch

Fish or other sea creatures caught unintentionally during commercial fishing operations.

C

Chronic Hunger

Long-term hunger caused by endemic problems

of availability and access, rather than by temporary emergencies.

Civil Society

The population of a nation and its institutions

aside from government and business. These

include, but are not limited to, individuals, nongovernmental organizations, neighborhood and

civic associations, religious groups, voluntary

associations, schools, and universities.
C-2 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

Collaborative Research Support 

Program (CRSP)

Created by a 1975 amendment, Title XII, to the

Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the CRSP is a

long-term mechanism to encourage and support

collaborative research efforts in the areas of

international food and agriculture among U.S.

Land Grant Universities and developing country

National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS),

International Agricultural Research Centers,

agribusiness, private voluntary organizations

(PVOs), academic institutions, private agencies,

USAID, and other U.S. Federal agencies. CRSP

research is intended to benefit both U.S. and

host countries and to strengthen the agricultural

sector of developing countries to promote economic growth.

Community Food Security

The availability within a community of adequate

food markets, with sufficient quality and quantity

of food, and the financial and physical ability of

the people in that community to acquire the

available food.

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

A voluntary U.S. Government program that offers

long-term rental payments and cost share assistance to farmers establishing permanent plant

and tree cover on environmentally sensitive or

erosion-prone agricultural land. The permanent

cover reduces soil erosion, improves water quality, and may provide wildlife habitat and timber.

Consultative Group on International 

Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

CGIAR is an informal association of 57 public

and private sector members that supports a

network of 16 international agricultural research

centers. Its mission is to promote sustainable

agriculture for food security in developing countries through research.

D

Desertification 

Land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and sub-humid

areas resulting from various factors, including climatic

variations and human activities.

Development Assistance

Specific economic assistance for the purpose of

promoting economic, social, and/or political

development.

E

El Niño

A cyclical disruption of the ocean-atmosphere

system in the tropical Pacific that has important

consequences for global weather, including

increased rainfall in the southern United States

and Peru, and drought in the western Pacific. 

El Niño conditions result in a rise in sea surface

temperature and a decline in primary productivity, which can affect higher levels of the ocean’s

foodchain, including commercial fishing.

Extension

The process of disseminating agricultural and

natural resource information from government,

research, or academic institutions to land users.

The term is most commonly associated with the

outreach work of the Land Grant Universities to

rural communities and farmers.

F

Farmers Market

A market where producers, generally farmers,

sell their goods directly to consumers.

Field Gleaning

The collection of remaining crops from farmers’

fields that have already been mechanically harvested or from fields where it is not economically profitable for the farmer to harvest.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

A United Nations organization responsible for

issues relating to food and agriculture. The FAO

deals with issues ranging from international food

aid to agricultural trade and research.

Food for Peace

(see P.L. 480)

Food for Progress

This food aid program allows the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation to provide agricultural commodities on credit or through grants to

support developing countries, emerging democracies, and countries that have made commitments to introduce or expand free enterprise

elements in their agricultural economies. The

commodities come from Title I of Public Law

83-480 (PL-480) or Section 416 (b) of the Agricultural Act of 1949.

Food Insecurity

Life Sciences Research Office (LSRO)2 defines

food insecurity as when the availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or the ability to

acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable

ways is limited or uncertain.

Food Insecurity and Vulnerability 

Information Mapping System (FIVIMS)

An interagency initiative that aims to bring

together data from various sources into one

information system, reflecting key food-security

indicators at the national, regional, and household levels. These systems will indicate the areas

and populations affected by or at risk of hunger

and malnutrition—the elements contributing to

food insecurity. Five basic classes of indicators

were recommended for use: income and income

sources, food production, food prices, income

distribution, and impoverishment.

Food Pantry

A service that collects and distributes unprepared food and grocery products to the needy.

Food Recovery

The collection of wholesome food for distribution to the poor and hungry. This includes field

gleaning; perishable food rescue or salvage, the

collection of perishable produce from wholesale

and retail sources; food rescue, the collection of

prepared foods from the food service industry;

and nonperishable food collection, the collection of processed foods with long shelf lives.

2

Life Sciences Research Office, Federation of

American Societies for Experimental Biology, “Core

Indicators of Nutritional State for Difficult to Sample

Populations,” Journal of Nutrition (1990) v. 120

(Supplement), pp. 1559-1600.
APPENDIX C C-3

Food Security

According to the LSRO, food security exists when

all people at all times have access to enough

food for an active and healthy life. This includes

at a minimum 1) the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, and 2) the

assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in a

socially acceptable way (for example, without

resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies).

Food Security Advisory Committee

A Federal advisory committee established as a

subcommittee of the Board on International Food

and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) to provide private sector and civil society support to the

Interagency Working Group on Food Security.

Food Security Commodity Reserve (FSCR)

See Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust.

Framework Convention on 

Climate Change (FCCC)

A 1992 United Nations agreement in which signatory nations recognized the problem posed by

climate change. They also agreed to the objective

of stabilizing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

at a level that is not dangerous, and committed to

doing this soon enough to ensure that food production is not threatened by changing climates.

G

Greater Horn of Africa Initiative

A Presidential initiative involving a collaborative

effort among African states, non-governmental

organizations, citizens, the Inter-governmental

Authority on Drought and Development, and the

international community to address the root

causes of food insecurity in Eritrea, Ethiopia,

Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania. The initiative focuses

on supporting regional food security strategies,

increasing capacity for crisis prevention and

response, improving regional collaboration to

promote sustainable growth and reduce population growth rates, and implementing regional

and national strategies to ensure the transition

from crises to sustainable growth.

Green House Effect

The theory that human activity leading to a growing concentration of chloroflourocarbons in the

upper atmosphere will increase global temperatures significantly.

H

Healthy People 2010 Initiative

This U.S. Department of Health and Human Services initiative defines the nation’s health agenda

and guides policy to promote health and prevent

disease. It includes specific objectives with 10-

year targets that are monitored over a decade.

By identifying the most significant opportunities

to improve the health of all Americans, Healthy

People helps focus both public and private sector action toward common health improvement

goals. Healthy People is data-driven, offering the

most current and best scientific knowledge in a

format that enables diverse groups to combine

their efforts.

Hunger

The uneasy or painful sensation caused by a lack

of food. The recurrent and involuntary lack of

food. Hunger may produce malnutrition over

time. The Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project defines hunger as the mental and

physical condition that comes from not eating

enough food due to insufficient economic, family, or community resources.

I

Integrated Pest Management

Techniques of limiting the impact of agricultural

pests without using harmful agricultural pesticides and chemicals. These techniques might

include alternative chemicals, biological controls, such as other insects, cultural practices, or

a combination.

Interagency Working Group on 

Food Security (IWG)

The Interagency Working Group on Food Security is a policy-level working group chaired at the

subcabinet level. It was established in 1996 to

guide U.S. Government preparations for the

World Food Summit. Its mission was extended

after the Summit to oversee Summit follow-up

and the preparation of the U.S. Action Plan on

Food Security.

L

La Niña

La Niña is a cyclical disruption in the oceanatmosphere system characterized by unusually

cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. These ocean conditions are just the opposite

of those found during El Niño: in La Niña ocean

temperatures fall.

Low Income Food Deficit Country (LIFDC)

The FAO defines LIFDCs as nations that are 1)

poor—with an annual net per capita income

below the level the World Bank uses to determine eligibility for IDA assistance; currently that

level is US$1,505 per person; 2) Net importers

of food. In many cases, these nations cannot

produce enough food to meet their needs and

lack sufficient foreign exchange to purchase

food on the international market. Currently, the

FAO lists 83 nations as LIFDCs—42 in Africa, 24

in Asia, 7 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 7

in Oceania, and 3 in Europe.
C-4 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

M

Malnutrition

A human condition that results from an excess,

imbalance, or deficit of nutrients. It is generally

defined as some measurable degree of ill health

due to inadequate nutrition that can be prevented

or cured by improved nutrition. Malnutrition can

include starvation and result in protein deficiency,

iodine-deficient goiters, tooth decay, and osteoporosis, and other conditions. It may also include

obesity, some types of atherosclerosis, hypertension due to excess sodium, anemias due to lack

of iron, folic acid, or vitamin B-12, as well as

classic nutritional deficiencies that cause scurvy,

beriberi, pellagra, xerophthalmia, and rickets.

Marrakesh Decision

At the conclusion of the Uruguay Round in Marrakesh, Morocco, participating ministers recognized that LIFDCs may experience a lack of

adequate supplies of basic food stuffs at reasonable terms and conditions, including short-term

financing. They agreed to establish mechanisms to

assure that trade liberalization does not adversely

affect the availability of food aid, to review the

level and form of food aid under the Food Aid

Convention of 1986, and to give full consideration

to requests from LIFDCs to improve their agricultural productivity and infrastructure.

Monetization

The selling of agricultural commodities, generally

given as food aid, to obtain foreign currency,

generally for use in U.S. development programs.

N

National Research Initiative (NRI)

The NRI is a competitive grants research program

administered by USDA’s Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)

Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)

A private sector nonprofit organization. Some

NGOs working in international development are

accredited by the United Nations or its agencies.

Non-Point Source Pollution

Pollution discharged over a large land area

rather than from one specific location. This can

be diffuse pollution caused by sediment, nutrients, organic, or toxic substances from land-use

activities, which are carried to lakes and streams

by surface run-off. Compared with point-source

pollution, it is difficult to control and prevent,

and is estimated to account for more than half of

the water pollution in the United States today.

P

Public Law 83-480 (P.L. 480)

The P.L. 83-480 food aid program authorizes the

U.S. Government to provide agricultural commodities overseas under three titles. Each title

has different objectives and provides agricultural

assistance to countries at different levels of economic development. Title I is administered by

USDA, Titles II and III are administered by

USAID. The programs are intended to combat

hunger and malnutrition, promote equitable and

sustainable development, expand international

trade, develop and expand export markets for

U.S. products, and encourage private enterprise

and democracy in developing countries. Title I

provides for government-to-government sales of

agricultural commodities to developing countries under long-term credit arrangements. Title

II provides for the donation of U.S. agricultural

commodities by the U.S. Government to meet

both emergency and non-emergency humanitarian needs in foreign countries. Title III provides

government-to-government grants to support

long-term economic development in the least

developed countries. Title III grants are provided

in the form of agricultural commodities that the

recipient country sells in its domestic market,

using the revenue of the sales to support economic development programs.

Private Sector

That part of the United States not engaged in

governing, or a part of the Federal, State, local,

or municipal government. Generally this term

refers to businesses and industry.

Private Voluntary Organization (PVO)

A not-for-profit, tax exempt non-governmental

organization established and governed by private

citizens for the purpose of overseas charitable or

development assistance.

S

Sanitary/Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)

International standards for food safety and animal (sanitary) and plant (phytosanitary) health

were established in the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures as

a part of the treaty that established the World

Trade Organization on January 1, 1995. These

standards are intended to help nations ensure

that their consumers are supplied with safe food

by maintaining the sovereign right of any government to provide the levels of health protection it

deems appropriate, but at the same time, to

ensure that these rights are not misused for

protectionist purposes and do not result in

unnecessary barriers to international trade.

Section 416(b)

This food aid program is part of the Agricultural

Act of 1949. It provides for overseas donations

of commodities owned by the Commodity Credit

Corporation to carry out assistance programs in

developing countries and friendly countries. 

Soup Kitchen

A center that prepares and serves free hot meals

to the hungry. Such centers may also be called

community kitchens, hot meal programs, or

aggregate meal programs.
APPENDIX C C-5

Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable agriculture integrates three aims:

environmental health, economic profitability, and

social and economic equity. In practice, it is an

integrated system of plant and animal production

that preserves or improves the quality of the

environment and the natural resource base, such

as soil and water, to ensure its continued productivity; makes the most efficient use of non-renewable resources; integrates, where appropriate,

natural biological and ecological cycles and controls such as integrated pest management and

inter-cropping; sustains the economic viability of

the production operations; and enhances the

quality of life for agricultural or aquacultural

producers and for society as a whole.

Sustainable Development

Development pursued in a manner that does not

damage or deplete the human or physical environment and that ensures through good management

that resources will be available for use indefinitely.

T

Trade Liberalization

The process of reducing the barriers to trade.

U

Undernutrition

A form of malnutrition resulting from a deficit of

nutrients. One of the signs of undernutrition is

inadequate growth in children. It is often accompanied by an excessive loss of lean body mass in

children and adults.

Uruguay Round

The eighth round of global trade negotiations

under the auspices of the General Agreement on

Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to reduce tariffs and

non-tariff barriers—launched in Uruguay in

1986. The resulting agreement, approved in

1994, established the World Trade Organization,

significantly cut industrial and agricultural tariffs, set down new rules for trade in services and

agriculture, and added protections for intellectual property.

W

Watershed

A region or area over which water flows into a

lake, river, reservoir, or stream.

Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)

A Federal program administered by USDA that

provides incentives for farmers and other land

users to preserve wetlands and/or remove them

from use that might damage them.

WIC Program

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is administered by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. WIC

provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition

education for low-income pregnant, and postpartum women, and to infants and children who

are at nutritional risk.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

An intergovernmental organization established in

1995 to implement and enforce the Uruguay

Round global trade agreement. The WTO

replaced the General Agreement on Tariffs and

Trade (GATT).

World Food Summit

An international conference called by the FAO in

November 1996 to address the continuing global

hunger crisis. The commitments made at the

Summit form the basis for the U.S. Action Plan

on Food Security.
D-1 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

CILSS Permanent Interstate Committee on Drought Control in the Sahel

CRADA Cooperative Research and Development Agreement

CRP Conservation Reserve Program

CRSP Collaborative Research Support Program

CSREES Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, USDA

DHHS United States Department of Health and Human Services

E&T Employment and training

EEP Export Enhancement Program

EFNEP Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

FAC Food Aid Convention

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization

FCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

FDA Food and Drug Administration

FIVIMS Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping System

FSCR Food Security Commodity Reserve

FY Fiscal year

GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

GHAI Greater Horn of Africa Initiative

GIS Geographic Information System

IBNMRR Interagency Board for Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development

IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development

IPM Integrated pest management

IRI International Research Institute

LIFDC Low-income food deficit country

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NGO Non-governmental organization

NNMRRP National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Program

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NSLP National School Lunch Program

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

SADC South African Development Conference

SPS Sanitary/phytosanitary measures

TANF Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Block Grant Program

UN United Nations

USAID United States Agency for International Development

USDA United States Department of Agriculture

VA Veterans Administration

WHO World Health Organization

WIC Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children

WRP Wetlands Reserve Program

WTO World Trade Organization

APPENDIX D

LIST OF ACRONYMS
APPENDIX E E-1

Central Intelligence Agency

Environmental Protection Agency

National Intelligence Council

National Security Council

Office of Management and Budget

Office of Science and Technology Policy

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Office of the Vice President

Peace Corps

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

APPENDIX E

INTERAGENCY

WORKING GROUP ON

FOOD SECURITY

Co-chairs

U.S. Agency for International Development

U.S. Department of Agriculture

U.S. Department of State
F-1 U.S. ACTION PLAN ON FOOD SECURITY

APPENDIX F

FOOD SECURITY

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Andrew N. Agle

The Carter Center

Selina Ahmed

Texas Southern University

David Beckmann

Bread for the World

Margaret Bogle

USDA, ARS Delta NIRI

John Cady

National Food Processors Association

Ralph Christy

Cornell University

Ada Demb

The Ohio State University

Betsy Faga

North American Millers’ Association

Walter P. Falcon

Stanford University

Rick Foster

W. K. Kellogg Foundation

David J. Fredrickson

Minnesota Farmers Union

Cutberto Garza

Cornell University

Miles Goggans

Goggans, Inc.

Richard Gutting, Jr.

National Fisheries Institute

John D. Hardin, Jr.

National Pork Producers Council

Walter A. Hill

Tuskegee University

Charles S. Johnson

Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.

Charles F. MacCormack

Save the Children

Whitney MacMillan

Cargill, Incorporated

Ellen Marshall

United Nations Foundation

P. Howard Massey, Jr.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute 

and State University

Cheryl Morden

International Center for 

Research on Women

Ertharin Cousin Moore

Jewel-Osco

Sharyle Patton

Commonweal Sustainable 

Futures Project

Sherrie Whitekiller Perry

Cherokee Nation

P. Scott Shearer

Farmland Industries, Inc.

Barbara Spangler

American Farm Bureau Federation

Goro Uehara

University of Hawaii

Co-chairs

G. Edward Schuh

Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public

Affairs, University of Minnesota

Christine Vladimiroff

Mount Saint Benedict Monastery
Notes
Notes