This past weekend at the Books by the Banks festival in Cincinnati, I talked to a number of people about the Roadmap to End Global Hunger, a bill in Congress that would create a White House office on global hunger. A special advisor to President Obama would be appointed to coordinate the U.S. response to the hunger crisis now impacting over 1 billion people. As Rep. Jim McGovern says, “we are trying to put global hunger on the top of the administration’s agenda.”
The reaction to the Roadmap at the festival was very positive. A number of people planned to use a flyer that I provided to contact their Representative about supporting the bill (H.R. 2817). People want to see the President and the Congress pay more attention to global hunger. I also heard from people who are wary of the focus on military solutions to conflicts in different areas. More emphasis needs to be placed on ending hunger and promoting development. Afghanistan was mentioned in this regard a number of times.
One comment I heard, more than once, was that the Roadmap bill would create another czar for President Obama. He has been criticized for having so many "czars" in the White House. But people I spoke with on Saturday agreed that a "hunger czar" is one he would need. One theme that was persistent throughout the day was that fighting global hunger has to be a priority among world leaders.
Josette Sheeran, head of the UN World Food Programme, said earlier this year that fighting hunger has to be the business of world leaders. If President Obama and other leaders are not focused on hunger, the problem is not going to be solved, despite the valiant efforts of so many people. That is why the Roadmap to End Global Hunger legislation is so important. It would put hunger at the top of the administration's agenda and create the kind of coordination needed to improve national response.
It would also help improve the global response. When Herbert Hoover served as a "food ambassador" in 1946, he gained the cooperation of governments to build the food supply so desperately needed at that time in war-torn Europe and Asia. President Truman’s Cabinet Committee on World Food Programs carried out the same role during the critical period of 1947-1948. Without food, the famous Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Europe could never have succeeded.
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