In the face of growing global and U.S. hunger, our faith in God and efforts to work cooperatively to care for each other are essential to saving lives and alleviating suffering. As exemplified by King David when he prayed for his son and successor, Solomon, leaders have a responsibility to care for those in their charge: “He will rescue the poor who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper. He will have pity on the poor and helpless and save the lives of the poor. He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious in his sight” (Psalm 72:12-14).
Bread for the World believes that every human being is created in the image of God, and thus, has the right to enough nutritious food for good health. We therefore advocate to elected officials to establish effective systems, structures, and policies that affirm equality and advance equity to alleviate hunger and poverty.
Among these structures and systems, a sustainable and equitable food system is essential to provide access to enough nutritious food. Such food systems include activities and resources necessary to bringing food from its source—farms, ranches, oceans—to people’s forks.
Because billions of people work in various parts of U.S. and global food systems, such as farming, processing food, and cooking, it is essential for these systems to function effectively to protect people and practice good stewardship of our planet.
The weaknesses of our current global food system are laid bare by the high and rising numbers of people living with hunger. Yet we know there is hope. Farmers are working to produce enough food under difficult conditions, parents are working to serve their children nutritious meals, and researchers are working to find new ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. Bread for the World supports the following principles essential to equitable and sustainable food systems:
Nutrition
Food systems should prioritize sufficient supplies of nutritious food for all. Nourishing people should be the primary function of a food system. Actions to support nutritious food for all include:
Equity
The global community should move food systems toward equitable outcomes for all people. All societies have structures and systems that discriminate against people because of their race, gender, religion, ethnicity, or other identity traits, and food systems are no different. Current food systems often produce unequal impacts for historically marginalized communities related to hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. Equitable policies will:
Climate
Food systems must make rapid progress toward environmental sustainability by taking the necessary actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural activities already seen. Sustainable food systems meet people’s needs today without undermining the food security of future generations.
A food system strategy that is smart on climate will:
We urge our nation’s leaders to enact policies and make investments that embody these key principles to improve the U.S. and global food systems and end hunger and malnutrition.
Afghanistan would be considered likely to have high rates of hunger because at least two of the major causes of global hunger affect it—armed conflict and fragile governmental institutions.
Malnutrition is responsible for nearly half of all preventable deaths among children under 5. Every year, the world loses hundreds of thousands of young children and babies to hunger-related causes.
Bread for the World is calling on the Biden-Harris administration and Congress to build a better 1,000-Days infrastructure in the United States.
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in faith.” These words from Colossians 2:6 remind us of the faith that is active in love for our neighbors.
The Bible on...
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is designed to respond to changes in need, making it well suited to respond to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bread for the World and its partners are asking Congress to provide $200 million for global nutrition.
In 2017, 11.8 percent of households in the U.S.—40 million people—were food-insecure, meaning that they were unsure at some point during the year about how they would provide for their next meal.