1634 



U.S. POLICY NEED OF FACTS ABOUT FOOD AND POPULATIONS 



On both sides of the food/people equation, U.S. diplomacy has a 

 concern related to world peace and stability. Accordingly, the report 

 suggests, ". . . It would seem to be advantageous for U.S. long- 

 range policy to search out and exploit every available opportunitj'^ to 

 establish a solid and scientific, factual base of information about 

 this equation for individual nations, for the regions of the world, and 

 worldwide." ^^^ 



In relating diplomacy and national policy to the food/people equa- 

 tion, it is important to recognize that the United States has a profound 

 long-range interest in the achievement of balance, but has a powerful 

 influence on only the food side of the equation. As the w^orld's largest 

 producer of food, and possessing the most advanced technology of 

 "agribusiness," the United States is in a strong position to export 

 both food and food technology. Leverage on the other term of the 

 equation was for long limited to the capability of exporting technology 

 and managerial skill — without, however, any certainty that either of 

 these intellectual exports would be compatible with the cultures and 

 political structures of the nations facing the severest population pres- 

 sures. The possibility that the United States might use the leverage 

 of food surpluses in a compelling way to motivate population policy 

 decisions was not considered. Even the provision of U.S. assistance 

 to voluntary population control programs was not a factor before the 

 mid-1960s. Legislation in 1966 authorized the use of U.S.-owned or 

 U.S. -controlled foreign currencies to assist voluntary family planning 

 programs in countries requesting such assistance. Then, the "Foreign 

 Aid Act of 1967 not only put the stamp of approval on U.S. assistance 

 to family planning programs in the LDCs; it also earmarked funds, 

 for the first time, for this specific purpose. The amount so designated 

 in 1967 was $35 million. Thereafter the amount was to increase 

 annually." In 1968 the legislation renewing Public Lp^w 480 (Public 

 Law 90-436) also earmarked funds for population-related programs. ^^* 



It is possible to foresee a time in the future at which demands for 

 food exports from the United States will far outstrip the Nation's 

 capacity to deliver. At such a time, what policies will govern the 

 allocation of food to the needy? Will relevant priorities include best 

 effort on the part of claimants to expand their o\vn production of 

 food, or to stabilize their own populations? 



Role of Congress 



In 1954 the Congress moved in a major way into the problem of 

 global food supply with passage of the Agricultural Trade and 

 Developmental Act of 1954, better known as "Public Law 480." 

 This act established the policy of Congress "to make maximum effi- 

 cient use of surplus agricultural commodities in furtherance of the 

 foreign policy of the United States." Although the main emphasis of 

 the program established under this act was the liquidation of surpluses, 



i«3 Ibid., pp. 861-862. 

 it*. Ibid., pp. 842-843. 



