Congressman Jim McGovern: ENDING HUNGER

[Sapphire Blue]

~ ~ ~ Please also see this thread for important legislation introduced by Representatives McGovern & Emerson:

***** Tell your US Rep to co-sponsor ***** H.R. 2129, Feeding America’s Families Act *****: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x833025

Ending Hunger


March 27, 2007 - Congressman Jim McGovern's statement on hunger and the FY08 budget resolution (video): http://mcgovern.house.gov/?sectionid=36§iontree=8,36 *


Hunger is a real and growing problem in America. Nearly 36 million Americans do not consistently have enough food to feed themselves or their families. In Massachusetts alone, approximately 175,000 households are food insecure. Without community and federal assistance, many families who go without food would be forced to choose between paying their utility bills, addressing family health care needs, or buying food. A recent study in Massachusetts found that hungry children had lower grades and more behavior problems than their peers.

Around the world, approximately 798 million people experience chronic hunger. However, the problem is not a lack of food; it is a lack of political will. According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, we grow more than enough food to feed every person around the globe every day. We have the tools to solve hunger—around the world and in our own backyard. Now, we need to act.

I believe ending hunger is our moral obligation. As the richest nation in the world, we have no excuse for allowing hunger to continue its hold on millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of people around the world. In order to combat hunger in this country, I have introduced legislation, including The Hunger-Free Communities Act and The Hunger Relief Trucking Tax Credit Act. I am also committed to reducing hunger and poverty in the developing world, and one effective vehicle for doing that is the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, which has reduced hunger in the developing world among school-aged children since 2002. Certainly, hunger also exists in my Congressional District, which is why I have worked in partnership with local community groups and public leaders to organize a “Community Forum on Hunger” and to create a hunger-free local network.


http://mcgovern.house.gov/?sectionid=36§iontree=8,36 *


(* Scroll down & click on the on the right of McGovern's Home Page)

[nam78_two]

1. ...

:kick:

[Sapphire Blue]

2. ..

:hug:

[dropkickpa]

3. Contacted my rep! kick!

:kick:

[Sapphire Blue]

5. Thank you, dropkickpa!

:hug:

[BlooInBloo]

4. Contacting my congresscritter would be superfluous in the extreme. :)

[acmavm]

6. Calling mine is too. But I do it anyway. Just to piss him off and let him know

that he's not fooling anybody. It's Lee Terry Jr. and he's just boot licking bush** bot, one of the worst.

[BlooInBloo]

7. self-delete. (oopsy)

[Sapphire Blue]

8. Back ^ to the top.

:kick:

[dave_p]

9. It's a band-aid for impending catastrophe

I'm sure the Congressman wants to end hunger in America. That's easily within available US resources.

But globally? (and I notice the aim here is only to "reduce" hunger)

I'm sorry, but anyone who doesn't mention at least one of the words "meat" or "livestock" isn't serious about this. There's more than enough food to feed the planet, but a third of the grain goes into livestock while those 800 million people go hungry.

And global demand for animal feed's going to grow far faster than population as countries like China and now even India develop a taste for intensively-produced meat. Anybody who isn't prepared to confront the sector's growth can't claim to be "ending hunger".

This is a disaster that we're going to see unfolding in the next few decades, as poor farmers turn to feed crops and staple food prices rise beyond the reach of ever more of the world's poor.

Yes, "the problem is not a lack of food; it is a lack of political will". So where's the Congressman's political will? And that of his colleagues?

[Sapphire Blue]

10. If you have questions for Rep. McGovern, his contact info is available @

http://mcgovern.house.gov/?sectionid=29§iontree=8,29

Since you have the solution to world hunger, you might want to share it w/him. Edited to add: You should also contact the World Food Programme (http://www.wfp.org/english/) and offer them your assistance & vast knowledge.

[dave_p]

11. Really?

I don't need to ask him any questions: he's made his statement, I've explained why I consider it inadequate.

WFP's an emergency relief operation. I'm not talking about emergency relief. I'm talking about long-term consumption and utilization trends. I rely on FAO data. That's the intergovernmental agency concerned with the matter, not the WFP.

But thank you for your ever-so-informative response.