Remarks byDeputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan at the 12th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment
Responding to the challenge, global leaders attending the G-8 Summit in Italy in 2009 committed to “act with the scale and urgency needed to achieve sustainable global food security.” They pledged $22 billion over three years in new investments in agricultural development.
The G-20 Ministerial that Secretary Vilsack attended last summer reinforced this effort by increasing market information and transparency … strengthening research collaboration … and reaffirming the importance of trade to address food insecurity.
For our part, President Obama supported this multinational effort by calling for a major shift in the U.S. approach to food security.
While chronic hunger threatens those suffering directly from food shortages, the problems associated with hunger are broader. They affect governments, countries and communities. The big-picture goal of Feed the Future—the President’s initiative to attack the root causes of global hunger—is to advance global food security that, in turn, advances global stability.
“The true sign of success,” the President has said, “is not whether we’re the source of perpetual aid that helps people scrape by. It’s whether we are partners in building the capacity for transformational change.”