Question

Describe at least two ways that recent changes in food aid policy will affect

aid the U.S. provides. Use journalistic sources to find suitable responses.

Answer 1

The U.S. has performed more to assist the needy around the globe than any other country. We are by far the World Food Program's biggest donor. Furthermore, through programs such as Food for Peace and the International Disaster Assistance account, we provide more than $2 billion in food aid. Indeed, U.S. taxpayers have fed over 3 billion starving individuals in 150 nations since President Eisenhower set up America's first food assistance program in 1954.

The effect in nations with dispute or instability is particularly serious. The 2018 Global Report on Food Crises estimates that in conflict-ridden nations such as South Sudan and Yemen, more than half of the 120 million individuals facing severe food insecurity or starvation live.
Americans can be justifiably proud to save individuals every day from hunger. Unfortunately, our generosity is undermined by outdated U.S. government policies.

The concentrate of U.S. food aid should be to feed as rapidly and effectively as possible the maximum amount of individuals. Buying and shipping demands waste between 30% and 50% of every dollar of food aid.

Eliminating these demands would enable U.S. food aid to feed millions more individuals worldwide. Unfortunately, there is opposition in Congress to eliminating these demands, especially the shipping requirement.

Legislation adopted in the 1950s dictates how U.S. food aid works to overseas nations, with the vast majority linked in such a way that it needs to be bought, processed and delivered by U.S. firms, even if cheaper options exist. It is an strategy that has abandoned most other donor nations, stating it increases prices, delays deliveries, damages the economies of developing nations, and does little to end reliance on foreign aid.

USAid amended its buying regulations to allow the organization to purchase the majority of products and services from developing nations. But these modifications did not cover the bulk of U.S. food aid, which falls within the agriculture rather than the assistance budget.

By comparison, most other nations running international food aid programs have mainly transformed to cash-based food aid. Because of its recognized inefficiencies and potential market distortions relative to cash-based assistance, US dependence on in-kind food aid has become contentious.
Another concern about U.S. international food aid is how food aid is provided abroad. In-kind food aid shipments are subject to a number of criteria that may restrict the U.S. reaction flexibility to urgent food crises.