Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently called for an escalation in the fight against global hunger. Clinton, speaking at a summit in New York, said that "food security is about economic, environmental, and national security for our individual homelands and the world."

This is the kind of leadership America needs to craft an effective foreign policy, one that fights world hunger with vigor. In fact it was another Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, who said almost to the day in 1947 that "hunger and insecurity are the worst enemies of peace." Marshall, at that time, was also a member of President Truman’s Cabinet Committee on World Food Programs.

Marshall emphasized that "food is the very basis of all reconstruction," and this notion was central to rebuilding Europe after World War II. Without food, no peace or reconstruction plan has a chance. We must remember this when trying to help countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia and so many others.

In her speech Clinton talked about a U.S. plan to boost agricultural production in developing countries. While this plan is being enacted, there also must be emergency funding to meet the current hunger crisis.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP), facing a $3 billion shortfall, is being forced to cut programs for those who depend on the agency for survival. Cutting rations for starving people is no strategy for peace.

Congress needs to act, and pass the Roadmap to End Global Hunger legislation. The Roadmap bill would create a White House office to coordinate the U.S. response to hunger. Clinton, in her speech, emphasized the need for effective coordination at all levels. The Roadmap bill would do just that by creating a global hunger advisor to work with President Obama and the Cabinet.

Article Author: William Lambers

William Lambers is the author of "Ending World Hunger: School Lunches for Kids Around the World." This book features over 50 interviews with officials from the United Nations World Food Programme, Catholic Relief Services, World Vision, ChildsLife International and Shakira's Barefoot Foundation. …

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