Imperfect Storm For World Hunger

How A Declining Dollar Is Hurting Food Aid Programs Abroad

(CBS)  The American dollar has been declining. And while we know it affects the U.S. economy and American tourists traveling abroad, there is another consequence. CBS Evening News Saturday anchor Thalia Assuras reports.

"World hunger is the leading global health problem in the world. There's 852 million people who go hungry every night," says Jordan Dey, a spokesman for the World Food Program, which distributes more aid to the hungry than any other body. He's a worried man.

"The U.S. budget for food aid and humanitarian assistance has remained stagnant over about the last three years. What that means is for every dollar we have, we can buy less," said Dey. "and we need donor governments to provide more resources."

He calls what is happening the perfect storm: A confluence of increasing food costs, the sinking dollar, increasing transportation costs caused by spiraling gas prices, and global warming responsible for floods in some areas and drought in some farming regions.

The numbers show how bad it's become. The U.S. gives $1.2 two billion in U.S. aid. In 2005, that fed 105 million people. Last year the same amount fed only 70 million people.

That means difficult choices will have to be made about who gets food and who doesn't.

"It will be those people who are in high profile emergencies, the tsunamis, the droughts, the earthquakes," he said. "And yet those people who live in the shadows, who aren't in the high profile emergencies, will be left out."

Congresswoman Rosa Delauro chairs the committee that sets the amount of food aid given by the United States.

"We were told 1.2 billion dollars is what we need," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. "Well we met that request. It would appear that it's more than that, and we will try in the interim to do what we can."

The government is also wrestling with the effects of other policies on aid, such as developing the bio-fuel ethanol. It's siphoning off part of the country's corn crop.

"Ethanol affects the price of corn," said Dey. "Corn is one of the main commodities we distribute around the world. ... We're now projecting that the cost of commodities for us will increase about 35 percent over the next two years."

It's estimated that 25,000 people a day die from hunger; Eighteen thousand are children.

"When you see a child at 4 or 5 years old, who can't eat or who can't walk or who can't hear because of severe malnutrition," said Dey, there's no other emotion other than severe -- just severe pain."

The world food program says that of the 850 million hungry people around the world, only about 10 percent get any help.

[whispyseas]

'' ... the companys grew big on cheap labor, then began truning up noses at two dollar savages, and ultimately moved overseas in order to exploit two dollar savages, only to turn up their noses again, and ultimately move again ... ''

[tnt1954]

and they laid siege to the city, until all inhabitants
starved to death, and then the city was theirs.
the ugly facts of life. should the food stay
in the u.s.a. for lower prices for americans w/food stamps
or go to starving africans for gold and diamonds?

[whispyseas]

'' ... courtesy and efficiency is standing before audiences of millions to remind them to stuff trillions of dollars of autism experiments down the throats of your grandchildren instead of pumpingg the kids full of trillions of dollars of tried and true bullets, in order to make the world a more eternal and less hellhole place ... ''

'' ... just do something about all the naked kids holding hands and weaving bouquets and forcing everyone to invest dollars and vote in non charity and taxation at gunpoint ... ''

'' ... the lord sang scream my name & blame everyone but yourself, & dared kids sang scream our names & blame everyone but yourselfs ... ''

'' ... 300 hike naked dance dressed folk in 300 days to 300 weeks visiting up to 36 sick beds and 36 villages each night or week and dancing get well feed world songs rallied around 100s millions sick beds drifting 10s millions spore bloom weed dragon trail fickle first aid lunch farm cottage studio trail crossing yseedsberry trail groups spaced a mile or two apart and of avg 16+ acres and three hundred 340 square foot homes on 2500 square foot lots can assemble 90,000 little museums of medical you are here map song dance skit kit and enjoy up to 20 minutes each day of danceing even porno get sick tax world songs ... and no one on land will ever be more than 6000 ft from a home and a nation all their own ... ''

[mediapreachr]

Besides food and water, people also need birth control and intestinal parasite control. Those are the basics.

Posted by sandy19731 at 09:43 AM : Oct 14, 2007

Absolutely true.I bet Sandy works in the medical field.
It''s good to see specialists giving their input,I''m tired of wannabes.

[rsmphd]

The USA is at 26 year lows of available food crops. The USA today has 30% more people than then and the rest of the world has had their crops decimated by the RU 99 rust fungus. India and China have accumulated lots of our money and if only 10% use it to eat better that is as many people in our USA. Food prices have risen 30% in the last two years and headed way higher this year.

Russia is suspending wheat sales because of their shortages. The USA government is subsidizing corn into ethanol(only our government can do the exact opposite of what needs to be done.) And we will see food shortages and higher prices as the grocery stores inventories have less than a week turnover in products. This is not told in a total package by government agencies or the MSM; but this could turn into a election issue as food climbs and the dollar plunges. CHEERS,

[kantsleep]

So let''s see if I got this right. The U.S spent $1.2 billion dollars that fed 70 million people. Only 10% of the 850 million people get fed, thats 85 million. That means the U.S feeds 82.3% of the those being fed.
So then when are the other countries going to get up off their butts. Why is it that so much is always expected of the U.S.

[sandy19731]

Besides food and water, people also need birth control and intestinal parasite control. Those are the basics.

[sueneely]

It is really time for new thinking on this problem.
Perhaps sending virtual food around the world is an archaic concept. Perhaps essential nutritional components can be delivered in flake form which would be more easily transported. Like the manna supplied to the Israelites in the wilderness, it is impractical to enforce our own dietary standards on the world.
It is also difficult to understand how starving people continue to reproduce more people destined to starve. Unless this cycle is broken, there is little hope for the starving world.