Food assistance critical component of U.S. global development, national security strategies

"While only a small part of the Farm Bill, food assistance is a critical component of our nation's global development and national security strategies, reaching 50 million people a year," Ellen Levinson, executive director of Alliance for Global Food Security and president of Levinson & Associates, writes in the Hill's "Congress Blog," adding, "Improvements made to international food aid programs in the 2008 Farm Bill have borne fruit." She notes, "By 2050, world population is expected to reach nine billion and food production will have to increase by 50-70 percent to keep pace." 

"Today, 925 million people have too little to eat and 12,000,000 metric tons of food would be required to close the food gap in the 70 neediest countries," she writes, adding, "Thus, U.S. food assistance continues to be a critical component of America's global food security arsenal." Levinson continues, "One thing that would help U.S. food aid programs is more complete reporting of program methodologies and results," concluding, "These programs have a record of success and are critical for America's global engagement. The story needs to get out" (3/7).