Tomorrow, Saturday, October 16, 2010, is World Food Day, a worldwide event designed to spur action to fight hunger and increase awareness and understanding of poverty's root causes. Nearly a billion people worldwide will go to bed hungry tonight. And by increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as floods, drought, and storms that destroy crops, livestock, and livelihoods, climate change is set to make things much, much worse. Women are especially struggling to grow their crops and provide for their families. But they are fighting back, and we must help them. On this day especially, we must stand in solidarity with them and sow the seed for change. We must sow the seed and help farmers pull themselves out of poverty. We must support communities around the world in their efforts to feed their families.
Today on World Food Day, take a second to ask your senators to pass the Global Food Security Act. This act will help strengthen US commitment to fighting hunger throughout the world. Specifically, it will:
- Focus greater US development assistance on comprehensive efforts to address food insecurity abroad
- Fund-long term investments in food security, agriculture, social safety nets and interventions to improve maternal and child nutrition
- Bolster support for higher education institutions researching agricultural issues that matter to poor farmers
- Improve US emergency response capacity to address food emergencies
