June - July 2002

From Hunger to Harvest,
Poverty to Promise

Do We Have the Means to Eradicate Hunger?
If So, Why Don't We?

"What's for dinner?" It's an innocent question. Yet for millions of people around the world, a regular source of nourishment is simply not a daily reality. By and large Americans are blessed with bountiful and affordable food, but 20 to 30 million of us are too poor to make ends meet. Many others eat poorly.

• Poverty is the main cause of hunger. 70 percent of the world's poor are female.
  
  
• 25% of American children under age six live in poverty. One in eight children under age twelve goes to bed hungry every night. American children have just a 50-50 chance of escaping poverty.
  
  
• 30,500 children die from preventable diseases each day. Malnutrition is linked with over half.

The struggle for power and resources underlies the problem of hunger. Inhumane governments can and have starved their own people to consolidate power. These tragedies, while seemingly far away, can reverberate directly back to the American public - at worst in the form of terrorist violence, but more often in lost jobs, increased health risks, higher fuel prices, and growing immigration.

At the March UN conference on poverty and development, President Bush heartened fellow participants by pledging a 14% boost in U.S. foreign aid - the biggest in 30 years. But welcome as it is, is it enough?

Experts assert that we have enough money to end abject poverty in just a few years and enough food to provide everyone with a minimally nutritious diet right now. The problem is not one of resources but of priorities - where and how our money is spent. Is our foreign aid going where it's needed most?

• Middle-income nations like Israel and Egypt receive most U.S. aid. Just 40% goes to poor nations.
  
  
• The U.S. spends over $1 billion a day on defense. 1.2 billion people worldwide live on under $1 a day.
  
  
• The U.S. military response to 9-11 will top $100 billion. The UN says a $40 billion increase in current aid would provide food, clean water, sanitation, health services, and education to everyone on the planet.

To achieve long-term security, we must address the many root causes of global instability - hunger, poverty, support for undemocratic regimes, and unequal access to resources. Humanitarian aid and far-reaching development objectives are key to a safer world. Our safety depends on everyone's security.

World leaders will convene in Rome for the World Food Summit, June 10-13. Behind closed doors a debate is brewing about how to achieve development and security in a rapidly growing world. Yet most Americans remain unaware that this debate is even under way, despite having a major stake in its outcome.

The Mainstream Media Project offers you experts on hunger, food security, and development. Food is the ultimate gut issue. Find out how we can feed those in need and save ourselves in the process.

This Mainstream Media Project campaign is part of the "World Hunger and Sustainable Development: Why Should Americans Care?" project coordinated by Action Against Hunger, an international relief and development organization working to expand public awareness of hunger issues and solutions that exist to solve them. For more information, please visit http://www.aah-usa.org.

In June - July 2002, MMP conducted a major public education campaign on these issues. In all, we scheduled 173 radio, television, print, and internet interviews in 27 states. Of these, 7 were regionally, nationally or globally syndicated. 42 of the radio interviews occurred on commercial radio stations. Some 29 authorities were interviewed.