When you hear the words food aid you no doubt imagine a wealthy country sending bags of food to parts of the world where people are starving. Yet in the case of the US, the reality is quite different. In fact, there is many ways that your food does not go from here to there. Even more alarming, could the US food aid program be hurting hungry people more than helping them?
“Who Does US Food Aid Benefit” is a recent article for In These Times, written by my first guest Megan Tady.
We then hear from Jordan Dey, director of US Relations for the World Food Program
Topics Covered:
– Different types of food aid
– Agri-business money making
– Genetically Modified Food
– Buying Local and Local Farmers
– Free Trade Agreements
– The farm bill
– Underlying Economic and Political goals
– Needs to address the present hunger crises around the world
+much more
Ever since Lindsay started writing for In These Times, I’ve become a regular reader of their work. One recent article on food donations from the US and how the food donation system works has sparked my attention as a topic for an upcoming podcast.
According to their investigation, the US food aid system, which is supposed to feed starving people throughout the world, actually works against that goal. By selling off much of the food, encouraging factory farming, using genetically modified foods, and seeking to boost US influence in different regions, the food aid program can actually increase the level of hunger in the world.
50% of the world’s food donations are said to come from the US… but clearly that fact in itself does not tell the whole story. And while you often hear about how a country donates food to help starving people, there is significant evidence that what is really happening is the creation of a corrupt and inhumane shadow economy where political agendas and profit seeking supersede the aim of assisting those in need.
More on this topic coming soon in a podcast.