Food for Peace
Food for Peace is a U.S. government program initiated in the 1950s as part of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act, aimed at addressing agricultural surpluses while providing humanitarian aid. Following World War II, the U.S. faced a significant imbalance between food production and demand, leading to the establishment of initiatives to alleviate hunger and foster economic development in foreign countries. The program primarily operates through three titles, allowing surplus agricultural products to be sold to foreign governments with low-interest loans, facilitating famine relief, and enabling barter arrangements with surplus food.
Food for Peace has played a substantial role in U.S. agricultural exports, particularly during the 1950s, and is credited with helping reduce hunger and malnutrition in developing nations. However, it has faced criticism regarding its impact on local agricultural markets and competition with U.S. allies, such as Canada. Over the years, Food for Peace has undergone various amendments to adapt to changing economic conditions, continually providing aid to over one hundred countries. The program represents a blend of humanitarian assistance and U.S. foreign policy objectives, reflecting the complexities of international food aid and agricultural economics.
Food for Peace
Identification Agricultural surplus program created under Public Law 480
Date Signed into law on July 10, 1954
Food for Peace created markets for large postwar farm surpluses, while providing food to nations in need.
During World War II, U.S. agricultural policies were designed to achieve maximum food production for Americans, their soldiers, and many of the war-torn countries around the world. When the war ended, farming was resumed throughout the world, and, as a result, the U.S. produced huge quantities of agricultural commodities for which the demand was woefully inadequate.
The specter of drastically deflated farm prices generated policy responses during the late 1940’s and early 1950’s that sought to restore the supply-and-demand balance through government supply controls and price supports. However, Section 416 of the Agricultural Act of 1949 provided that food could be purchased by the U.S. government and given to foreign countries through humanitarian organizations. This demand-side approach to agricultural surpluses was included and expanded in Public Law 480, the Agricultural Trade Developmental and Assistance Act of 1954, which came to be called “Food for Peace.”
The main objectives of the Food for Peace program were to establish markets for U.S. agricultural surpluses to foster economic development and to alleviate hunger in foreign countries. Another important objective was to further U.S. interests in the Cold War by mitigating the appeal of communism in recipient nations. These objectives were to be met through the provisions of the program’s three main sections. Title I of Public Law 480 provided that surplus agricultural products could be bought by foreign governments with low-interest, long-term loans that were to be repaid with local currency. The uses of this currency had to include creating new markets for U.S. agricultural commodities, promoting economic development, and paying U.S. government expenses in the purchasing country. Titles II and III provided both for famine relief by government agencies and private organizations and for barter arrangements involving surplus food.
Impact
Food for Peace was viewed by many Americans during the 1950’s as an effective mechanism for addressing some important economic and humanitarian concerns. U.S. exports to foreign markets created by Public Law 480 increased continuously during the 1950’s, amounting to tens of millions of tons and representing one-third of the value of all U.S. agricultural exports during that decade. There was also clear evidence that world hunger and malnutrition had been reduced and the progress of development enhanced in developing nations.
However, this program was not without its critics. Some economists claimed that low-cost imports depressed farm prices in importing countries, creating disincentives for increasing domestic production while simultaneously increasing prices for U.S. consumers because of the increase in demand created by the program. Additionally, U.S. allies, including Canada, the world’s second largest grain producer, complained that low-cost Food for Peace exports made it impossible for them to compete effectively with their own exports.
Subsequent Events
Since the 1950’s, there have been numerous amendments to Public Law 480, such as the 1966 requirement that payments must be made in U.S. dollars rather than local currency. In 1996, Public Law 480 was amended, reauthorizing it for seven years with its original objectives essentially intact. Under a new agricultural law passed in 2001, Food for Peace was reauthorized through 2011. Since 1954, the program has provided billions of tons of agricultural commodities to more than one hundred countries.
Bibliography
Hopkins, Raymond F. “Reform in the International Food Aid Regime: The Role of Consensual Knowledge.” International Organization 46, no. 1 (1992): 225-264. A comprehensive discussion of the provisions and objectives of the Public Law 480 food aid program of the 1950’s, and how those original objectives were subsequently questioned and modified because of economic analyses and political dynamics.
Singer, Hans W. The Challenge and the Opportunity. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1987. Summarizes and reviews early food aid programs, including those during the 1950’s, and emphasizes the objectives of using food assistance to foster economic development and avoiding possible negative effects in developing nations.