Bread for the World
![Picture 004[1]](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5001/5202392650_9eb0947759_m.jpg)
Briefing at the National Press Club
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the Bread for the World Institute released its timely 2011 Hunger Report, with an event Monday at the National Press Club, featuring USAID administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah and recent World Food Prize winner and Bread for the World President David Beckman.
As American families prepare to gather with friends and loved ones to share a large meal this week, the panelists helped to highlight the growing global food crisis, estimating that 925 million people worldwide will go hungry in 2010 due in large part to soaring global food prices.
Fortunately, the US government has recently stepped up its response to hunger and malnutrition, thanks primarily to the new Feed the Future initiative that focuses on “improving the productivity and livelihoods of smallholder farmers.” This initiative isn’t about handing out emergency food aid, but empowering farmers to get the support they need to respond to high food prices. Now, this is a cause that we at ONE can get behind!
(more…)
The Huffington Post just did a great interview with David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World and winner of this year’s World Food Prize.
Mr. Beckmann is truly a modern-day Renaissance man (he’s a Lutheran minister, an economist and author of “Exodus from Hunger“), so it’s great to get to read a bit more about him, particularly about his upbringing and faith. Read the interview if you can — he says some really insightful things about poverty in America and the need for Americans to vote.
Photo courtesy of Bread for the World
![Beckmann book-cover[1]](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1366/5104855629_a561c89b72_m.jpg)
It has been a good October for David Beckmann, head of Bread for the World (and my former boss) personally, and for we anti-hunger advocates generally. Last week, David — anti-hunger activist, Lutheran pastor and president of Bread for the World — received the 2010 World Food Prize (the Nobel Prize equivalent for food and agriculture) at a ceremony in Des Moines, Iowa, earlier this month.
October saw the launch of David’s latest book as well. In the new book, “Exodus from Hunger: We Are Called to Change the Politics of Hunger,” David argues that we can end world hunger in our lifetime. He makes an passionate plea for all ordinary citizens, especially people of faith, around the country and the world, to muster up the political will to end global hunger.
David combines an optimism born from faith and a down-in-the trenches approach to ending hunger. Since he’s a pastor and an economist, his combing of the two comes as no surprise. The pastor sees people moving out of poverty as part of “God moving in our time.” At the same moment, the former World Bank economist sees the economy as crucial. David relates that we “can moderate what the economy is doing to hungry and poor people and set the stage for rapid gains against hunger and poverty once the economy recovers. In fact, I think God is calling us to change the politics of hunger.”
Congratulations to David on the prize and the book. Head over to his website to find out more about the book and get your own copy.
Election raises concerns about suppression of rights – Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, is set to win another term Tuesday in an election marred by killings, a lack of credible political opponents and censorship. Critics are calling the leader the continent’s latest strongman, suppressing human rights to deepen his grip on power. (Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post)
American leadership crucial at MDG Summit – President of Bread for the World, Rev. David Beckmann, argues that by showing leadership on foreign assistance reform at the upcoming Millennium Development Goals Summit, President Obama will “attach actions to his words on development“ and hopefully lead others to empower the world’s poorest people to realize a brighter future. (Huffington Post)
U.S. plan fails to end Africa’s trade isolation – Ten years after the U.S. adopted the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) – a program that boldly proclaimed it would help end Africa’s isolation from world trade – American officials are being candid about its failures, emphasizing its modest results despite “the highest of hopes.” (Alan Beattie, Financial Times)
Sierra Leone taking initiative for maternal health – Health advocate, Mary Robinson, highlights the major steps Sierra Leone has taken in promoting maternal health and gender equality, both for its people and globally as a model of leadership and initiative in this critical area. She calls for other nations to look to Sierra Leone as an example as we move toward review of the Millennium Development Goals.
Rotavirus vaccines save poorest children, say reports – Trials in Asia and Africa show rotavirus vaccines can prevent between 39 to 48 percent of infections among children in some of the poorest countries in the world, with new reports urging governments of developing nations to make the vaccines a priority. (Maggie Fox, Reuters)
Please welcome Nathan Cole, who’s interning with our Policy Team and will be contributing frequently to the ONE Blog:
As you may have read from the blog post last week, two of our partners, David Beckmann of Bread for the World and Jo Luck of Heifer International, were awarded the World Food Prize. We would like to congratulate them once again for their achievements and efforts to fight global hunger.
During the 2010 World Food Prize Laureate Announcement Ceremony, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveiled a new research partnership: the Norman Borlaug Commemorative Research Initiative, named in honor of the dedicated plant scientist who is often called the father of the Green Revolution. This collaborative effort will combine the knowledge and resources of USAID and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to address the pressing needs of the rural poor. It will also work together with U.S. university scientists and their counterparts in developing countries. “We are committed to fight the twin afflictions of hunger and poverty,” said Secretary Clinton. She believes the question is “not whether we can end hunger but whether we will, because we think it truly is a matter of political will and capacity.”
Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator of USAID, highlighted some of the specific features of the initiative. The program will involve a focus on core productivity, a careful prioritization of the best investments, and a “milestones-and-outcomes-based” funding approach. Following Administrator Shah, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack reminded us of the miracles that can happen when we remove our fear of giving to others. “When we remove that fear of sharing,” said Secretary Vilsack, “we are not only helping those who are in need; we are indeed receiving back far more than we are giving.” The full transcript can be found here.
This initiative confirms the administration’s stated commitment to agriculture. We are excited about this initiative and hope that it will result in new agricultural innovations and solutions for farmers around the world. We also look forward to additional details about the governance and scope of the program.
In case you missed it, yesterday was a big day for two of our partners: David Beckmann of Bread for the World and Jo Luck of Heifer International were announced as this year’s World Food Prize winners. This is an enormous honor (some say it’s like winning the Nobel Prize) and we’re excited to congratulate them both.
The World Food Prize has posted some great bios, videos and photos of both winners. Make sure to check them out here.
And we’ve now got some video from yesterday’s ceremony, too. This includes speeches by Secretaries Clinton and Vilsack, along with USAID Administrator Raj Shah who all spoke at the State Department ceremony. The full video is posted below, but here’s a quick excerpt from Secretary Clinton:
After he received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007, Dr. Borlaug [the founder of the World Food Prize] urged our country to increase our stake in the fight against hunger. He said, “World peace will not be built on empty stomachs or human misery. It is within America’s technical and financial power to help end this human tragedy and injustice, if we set our hearts and minds to this task. We have the commitment, we have the technical power, and we intend to make this happen.
Big news this morning! Just moments ago, David Beckmann and Jo Luck were named this year’s winners of the World Food Prize, a huge international award given each year to individuals who have improved the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. As most of you already know, both winners are key partners and friends of ONE: David Beckmann is President of Bread for the World and Jo Luck is President of Heifer International. As the official announcement said:
“David Beckmann and Jo Luck are receiving the World Food Prize for their landmark achievements in building Bread for the World and Heifer International into two of the world’s foremost grassroots organizations leading the charge to end hunger and poverty for millions of people around the globe.”
The announcement was made around noon today in a ceremony at the State Department with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and USAID Administrator Raj Shah. The award will be officially presented October 14, at the state Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa.
For more info on David Beckmann and Jo Lock’s work, click here and here. We’ll be posting more news about the big announcement soon, so stay tuned!
