The Mercy Corps Blog

Blog Post Posted July 2, 2009, 9:33 am by Alison Granito

Petition to fight world hunger

Crossposted from:

More than one billion people went to bed hungry last night. Chances are they will go to bed hungry tonight as well — even though the world produces enough food to feed every man, woman and child in the world.

With U.S. leadership, we have the chance to make sure things are different a few years from now. But we all need to play a part to make that happen.

Sign One Table's petition and thank President Obama for making the fight against world hunger a real priority and urge him to make sure it stays on his agenda. Then tell him how you intend to join him in his efforts.

Almost 70 percent of the world's farmers are women. Photo: Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

The Obama Administration has consistently supported policies that will help break the cycle of hunger and poverty for many of the one billion who go to bed hungry each night.

The White House budget request supports programs that will help pregnant women get proper nutrition so their babies can start life off healthy and strong; sustainable agriculture and help for the world's small farmers, who grow food to feed their own families and communities; and critical assistance that bolsters education and economic development around the world.

And, top emissaries of the Administration have pledged sincere effort to make sure we do everything we can to bring an end to world hunger, not only because it’s smart foreign policy but because it is the right thing to do.

"We have the resources to give every person in the world the tools they need to feed themselves and their children. So the question is not whether we can end hunger. It's whether we will,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote in a recent Huffington Post blog entry on the need to attack hunger at its roots. Sustainable agriculture will play a key role in the Obama Administration’s plans to reduce hunger around the world.

But, it’s going to take more than Obama and more than Hillary to make it happen. Some members of Congress are trying to block the President’s recommendation to increase aid to small farmers, almost 70 percent of which are women.

In the world’s most desperate places, they often bear sole responsibility for growing, gathering and cooking what little food there is. They usually eat last and the least. They are also the least likely to benefit from programs that help train farmers in better techniques.

Visit Mercy Corps’ Action Center to End World Hunger and take action on behalf of the world’s small farmers today. Ask your member of Congress to support the White House budget request to expand international sustainable agriculture programs.