U.S. Congress Passes the Global Food Security Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 6, 2016) — World Vision applauds the U.S. Congress’ passage of the Global Food Security Act (GFSA).

“The Global Food Security Act is a major victory for the thousands of grassroots supporters who advocated for the bill and care about empowering people to lift themselves out of poverty,” said Richard Stearns, World Vision US president. “But the real victory is for the children and families like those we serve around the world. As a Christian, child-focused organization that implements agriculture development and food assistance programming in 35 countries around the world, our impact and investments in the thousands of communities where we work will be leveraged by the Global Food Security Act. These families will have access to greater economic opportunities and nutritious foods to energize their minds and bodies.”

President Obama is expected to sign the Global Food Security Act into law.

This legislation is a bipartisan effort that will have a significant impact on efforts to end hunger and malnutrition. It calls for a comprehensive global food and nutrition security strategy that prioritizes agriculture development particularly among smallholder farmers, building on the successes and lessons learned from the Feed the Future initiative.

The law also promotes nutrition programming and recognizes the critical role that women play in agriculture, nutrition and household food security.

“Next year, a new administration will lead the executive branch, making this a critical moment to sign the Global Food Security Act into law, as it will ensure the U.S. government continues to prioritize global food security and nutrition for many years to come,” said Beth Ann Saracco, World Vision’s policy expert for food security. “We learned an important lesson of what can happen when we fail to properly invest in agriculture development programs and food production systems, but by enacting the Global Food Security Act into law, we are reversing this trend and charting a new path forward in our collective efforts to end hunger in our lifetime.”

Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s flagship food security program was launched in response to the rapid rise in global food prices in 2007-2008 that set off a wave of political unrest and food riots throughout the world.

A wide coalition of organizations, including faith-based ones like World Vision, grassroots supporters and elected officials have advocated for the Global Food Security Act to become law for nearly the past three years. In just this year alone, nearly 1,800 World Vision advocates contacted their elected officials to urge their support for the Global Food Security Act which generated over 5,000 emails and nearly 350 calls to Congress. The bill was introduced by Senators John Isakson (R-GA) and Bob Casey (D-PA) in the Senate, and Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Betty McCollum (D-MN). Advocates can join the conversation and thank their elected officials for passing and signing into law the #GlobalFoodSecurityAct.

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About World Vision:
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization conducting relief, development, and advocacy activities in its work with children, families, and their communities in nearly 100 countries to help them reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, please visit www.WorldVision.org/media-center/ or on Twitter @WorldVisionUSA.

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