Food Prices and Hunger in the United States

Making News

EPA Blocks California Bid to Limit Emissions from Cars ()

Yesterday, President Bush signed the energy bill, saying it would help deal with climate change. Hours later, his Environmental Protection Agency refused to allow 17 states to set their own vehicle emission standards to help curb global warming. Today when asked how serious he is about fighting greenhouse gases, the President defended the effectiveness of a national, rather than state, environmental policy. California is the leader among states who want to set their own emission standards. Zachary Coile reports from Washington for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Guests:

• Zachary Coile: Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle

Main Topic

Rising Food Prices: Has Ethanol Backfired? ()

For 30 years, food prices have been declining worldwide, so much that, in western countries, obesity has become a major problem. But it appears that the era of cheap food has come to an end. As prices are rising all over the world, many Americans don’t have enough to eat. The latest report from the Department of Agriculture finds that almost 11% of American households experience "food insecurity" for part of the year. Thirteen million families don't have enough to eat. Food banks that serve hungry people are not getting the donations they need to do their job. The Farm Bill increases money for food stamps and other programs. Will that make up the difference? Will massive support for corn-based ethanol make things better or worse?

Guests:

• Mark Nord: Sociologist, US Department of Agriculture's Food Assistance Branch
• Maura Daly: Vice President of Government Relations, Second Harvest
• Joe Victor: Vice President for Marketing, Allendale
• Eric Pica: Director of Domestic Policy Campaigns, Friend of the Earth
• Bruce Babcock: Director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University

Links:

• The End of Cheap Food, The Economist on
• Food Bank Cupboards Growing Bare, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on
• The Price of Growing Fuel, New York Times on
• Babcock's article on relationship between biofuels and food costs
• Second Harvest on critical shortage at nation's food banks
• Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
• Agriculture Department on 2007 Farm Bill

Reporter's Notebook

Democrats in Congress End Year with a Whimper ()

The first Democratic congress in a dozen years has just gone home after ending the first year of a two-year session, with polls showing a historic low in public esteem. What about all those promises during the 2006 campaign? In the past year, congress passed the first increase in fuel-efficiency standards in a generation and the first minimum-wage increase in a decade. But what about earmarks? What about bipartisanship? What about ending the war in Iraq? Chris Lehman is editor at Congressional Quarterly and Washington correspondent for the New York Observer.

Guests:

• Chris Lehman: Editor, Congressional Quarterly