The Place of U.S. Food in Eliminating World Hunger

Hunger in the sense of severe malnutrition is a fact for hundreds of millions of people in the less de veloped countries. Though the countries collectively have made impressive gains in agriculture, potential benefits in the form of more food production per person have been wiped out by rapid population growth. The United States has become by far the world's leading food exporter while providing large quantities of prized foods for its own popu lation. Experts disagree on whether the food situation of the less developed world will worsen, but few expect elimina tion of hunger in this century. Among the means by which the United States might give assistance are help to poor countries in developing their agriculture and direct food aid. Costs of food aid include higher food prices in the United States, reduced foreign exchange earnings, and higher taxes and, together with dismay about population growth in recipient countries, are likely to limit food aid to much less than is technically possible. Suggestions for policy to provide more food aid than the modest amount now supplied include: enlist cooperation of other advanced nations; direct food aid where it is most needed; avoid piling up unpayable debts for food; encourage expanded production, especially of food grains, in the United States; and maintain reserves of strategic foods.