While we share Mr. Buffett's goal of feeding the world's hungry, his post completely mischaract
erizes the Coalition's position. For the benefit of his readers, we offer the full statement that was provided to Bloomberg for its July 28 story, and we ask that Mr. Buffett retract his false characterizations of our organization:
“The United States’ in-kind international food aid programs are a proven and effective approach to getting food to the world’s hungry, sustaining long-term development programs, and helping to drive the American economy here at home.
“The Food for Peace program has achieved what few programs can: it has provided food aid to 3 billion people globally and is now the fastest provider of food assistance according to USAID, secures jobs for 44,000 Americans annually, and supports a national defense sealift infrastructure that saves our country’s military more than $65 billion in capital and infrastructure costs.
“As food prices continue to rise and a growing number of countries work to overcome hunger and regional instability, we welcome opportunities to work together on improvements to these essential programs.”
The Coalition has long been a supporter of continued food aid funding, which has seen continual and disproportionate funding cuts since 2008. More information about the Coalition's position on food aid funding can be found at http://www.usamaritime.org/funding.php
...from comments section of Howard Buffet's Huffington Post article
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August 16, 2011
Howard Buffet mischaracterizes our position on food aid: USA Maritime
Categories agribusiness, aid, drought, food security
