With the first primaries and caucuses of the 2016 presidential election about to start, voters will be checking out each candidate’s track record. For Hillary Clinton, this includes an award for leadership in the fight against world hunger.
The World Food Program USA, in 2010, awarded Clinton the George McGovern Leadership Award “for her commitment and visionary approach to ending global hunger.” The World Food Program USA supports the work of the UN World Food Programme, the lead agency fighting hunger worldwide.
Clinton, who was Secretary of State at the time, helped create The Feed the Future initiative to help small farmers across the globe. The ability of each nation to produce their own food is the key to ending hunger.
Fighting hunger is a vital element of foreign policy. Clinton, upon receiving the award, stated “We know very well that hunger is a drain on economic development. It is a threat to the stability of governments and it certainly it deprives us of the talents and energy of nearly a billion people worldwide.”
Today, conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Ukraine, South Sudan and the Central African Republic have led to the most hungry refugees since World War II. Droughts in East Africa and Central America are increasing the ranks of the hungry.
For the next president, fighting hunger will need to be a major aspect of foreign policy. It will be for domestic policy as well. Early voting states South Carolina and Nevada have child hunger rates over 25 percent according to Feeding America. Iowa comes in at over 19 percent in terms of child hunger.
Definitely more can be done to fight hunger at home and abroad. Food will certainly need to be a major theme of the campaign season.
Read the full article at Examiner.
Author William Lambers 