Food aid insufficient answer

The federal government is working at cross purposes. On the one hand, President Bush wants to take a strong stand against world hunger by providing an additional $770 million in international food and development aid. This comes as one-quarter of the nation's corn crop has been diverted to the production of biofuel, and amid an increased demand for food worldwide, high energy prices, smaller increases in crop yields in recent years and bad weather, which has contributed to poor production in some of the world's top exporting nations.

It's a perfect storm for escalating food prices and hunger so severe that it has led to rioting in dozens of nations in recent months. The World Bank has warned of a global food emergency.

The Bush administration cannot control the weather. Nor does it manage the emerging economies of China or India. But it should not shape an energy policy that contributes to food shortages or significantly increases food prices. Some experts say biofuel production is a fools' errand because fossil fuel is required for its cultivation and harvest. The production of ethanol requires huge amounts of energy — most of it coming from coal.

While Americans will experience at least a 5 percent increase in their food bills this year, food prices worldwide have jumped 45 percent over the past nine months. Not only is less corn available for human consumption, there is a smaller amount available for animal feed. The increased cost of animal feed eventually is passed on to consumers.

President Bush is correct that more must be done to encourage food production in developing nations. That way, they can become less vulnerable to worldwide market issues and reduce the carbon footprint involved in shipping food grown elsewhere.

Congress could help ensure immediate and long-term development goals are met by fine-tuning the agriculture bill. There is no rationalization for providing sizable subsidies to wealthy landowners who do not farm, or to encourage the production of crops not intended for food or animal feed.

Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, has recommended that the United States provide even more food aid than Bush has proposed and work toward a comprehensive, ongoing strategy to bolster food production around the world. "America has the opportunity here to ... restore its moral leadership in the world," Biden said.

He's right. The United States shouldn't squander the opportunity.

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