IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 344 

Recognizing that we are facing a global food crisis. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2008 

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas (for herself, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. KILPATRICK, Ms. 

CLARKE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. JOHNSON of 

Georgia, Mr. WYNN, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. DAVIS

of Illinois, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. 

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. HARE, Mr. 

BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. SUTTON, Ms. LEE, Mr. KLEIN of 

Florida, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. 

LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. KIND, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. SIRES, Mr. 

ARCURI, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. BACA, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. 

ENGEL, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. CARSON, Ms. MOORE of 

Wisconsin, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. WATSON, Ms. 

ROYBAL-ALLARD, and Ms. WATERS) submitted the following concurrent 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Recognizing that we are facing a global food crisis. 

Whereas according to the United Nations, over 850,000,000 

people in the world are chronically or acutely malnourished, and over 300,000,000 of these are children; 

Whereas the 2000 United Nations Millennium Development 

Summit called for halving the proportion of hungry people in the world by the year 2015, but progress reaching 

this goal has been slow, and, according to the United NaVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:51 May 08, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC344.IH HC344

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tions Food and Agricultural Organization, only the Latin 

American and Caribbean region has been reducing the 

prevalence of hunger quickly enough to reach this target; 

Whereas every year, malnutrition caused by chronic hunger 

leads to the death of an estimated 5,600,000 children 

under 5 years old; 

Whereas, according to UNICEF, an estimated 146,000,000 

children, or roughly one in every four children under 5 

years old, are underweight; 

Whereas hunger and malnutrition weaken the immune system, and as a result treatable diseases pose a greater risk 

to malnourished children; 

Whereas even temporary deprivation of essential nutrients 

can have a lasting impact on children’s physical growth 

and intellectual potential; 

Whereas children who are only mildly underweight are twice 

as likely to die of infectious diseases as children who are 

better nourished, and children who are moderately or severely underweight are 5 to 8 times more likely to die of 

infectious diseases; 

Whereas according to a study conducted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 45 percent of 

children who died after contracting measles were malnourished, as were 60 percent of children who died after 

contracting severe diarrhea; 

Whereas chronic hunger and undernutrition can lead to 

growth retardation (stunting), affecting an estimated 

168,000,000 children under age 5 in developing countries; 


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Whereas some 42 percent of children under 5 years old are 

stunted in the least developed countries, compared to 30 

percent globally; 

Whereas women whose growth was retarded face ongoing 

health complications as adults, when they are more likely 

to have obstructed labor, are at greater risk of dying during childbirth, and are more likely to deliver low-birthweight and stunted children; 

Whereas stunted growth has also been linked to diminished 

work capacity and higher propensity to diseases, including diabetes and heart disease, in adults; 

Whereas the global community is currently facing a food crisis, with food prices doubling over the past 3 years and 

rising 65 percent between January and April 2007 alone, 

and the World Bank has estimated that the emergency 

situation could push 100,000,000 people in low-income 

countries deeper into poverty; 

Whereas rising food prices have caused riots in Haiti, Bangladesh, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mozambique, 

and Senegal, and, as of December 2007, 37 countries 

faced food crises; 

Whereas as a result of rising food prices, individuals and 

families throughout the developing world have a decreased buying power, and are often forced to either buy 

significantly smaller quantities of food, or to buy less nutritious food; 

Whereas in times of food crisis, families often must cut more 

expensive foods, such as meat, fruit, and vegetables, from 

their diets, instead relying on less nutritious staples such 

as rice and maize, foods without the vitamins and minerals necessary for proper child growth; 


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Whereas, given the scope of the current food crisis, United 

Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has proposed a 

task force, to be composed of the heads of United Nations agencies and the World Bank, to address the global 

problem caused by soaring food prices; and 

Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has 

made closing a $755,000,000 funding gap for the World 

Food Programme, caused by rising food prices, a priority: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That— 

3 (1) it is the sense of Congress that— 

4 (A) in emergency situations, children have 

5 different needs than those of adults, and nutri6 tional deficiencies disproportionately affect chil7 dren; and 

8 (B) in the context of the current global 

9 food crisis, the nutritional needs of children 

10 must be a humanitarian priority; and 

11 (2) Congress— 

12 (A) recognizes that we are facing a global 

13 food crisis caused by, among other things, ris14 ing fuel prices, increased diversion of land to 

15 biofuel production, drought, and increases in 

16 population; 

17 (B) recognizes that lack of adequate nutri18 tion is particularly damaging to children, as it 


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1 stunts their growth, leaves them more vulner2 able to numerous diseases, and hunger affects 

3 children’s ability to learn; and 

4 (C) calls for a world forum to be held, on 

5 the issue of rising food prices and international 

6 response, and for the United States to play an 

7 active role in alleviating the crisis. 

Æ 


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