Who benefits from the World Food Programme - US corporations or the poor? by Robert Vint coordinator@geneticfoodalert.org.uk World food production substantially exceeds the needs of the world's population -so much so that we can feed much of it to farm animals (a highly inefficient method of turning one form of protein into another) and still have so much surplus that many nations in both North and South have to dump or burn vast quantities. Hunger is not caused by underproduction but by unjust distribution of food, land and income. GM food and crops will do nothing to solve this problem - and could well exacerbate it. If the World Food Programme were serious about ending hunger then much of its $1 billion expenditure per year would go to help the world's poorest farmers and landless peasants to obtain their own land and grow their own food. In fact its activities perpetuate hunger and dependence. Food Aid ships travel half way around the world to dump unwanted or unsellable crops on nations where inequality has caused hunger. The WFP money for the aid goes to the grain corporations that have unsellable GM grain to dispose of, whilst the flood of underpriced grain into the markets of recipient nations makes it impossible for local smallholders to sell their own produce at an adequate price. The poorest farmers go bankrupt and stop growing food. Thus the wealthiest US corporations get a $1 billion subsidy from US taxpayers whilst the agricultural economy of the recipient nation is destroyed, inequality is increased and dependency on food aid becomes permanent. A quick look at the World Food Programme's sponsors reveals why it has so fanatically tried to forcefeed the population of southern Africa with unsellable GM corn. The US Government is the main sponsor of the World Food Programme (and the organisation always has an American Director). Nearly all of the corporate funding comes the same US corporations that profit the most from its activities, corporations that are well-known for their strong advocacy of GM crops and that are greatly troubled by their inability to sell them....... The World Food Programme's Corporate Sponsors - from the WFP website: www.wfp.org/aboutwfp/funding/corporations.html * Archer Daniels Midland (U.S): "will provide US$3 million over three years for WFP humanitarian projects. In the first year, US$1 million was provided for Angola Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (vegetable oil and related transportation costs) " * Alcon/Cargill Corporation (U.S.): "US$50,000 for school feeding projects in Santa Cruz Yojoa and Siquatepeque, Honduras * General Mills (U.S.): US$50,000 for Mozambique to assist during the flooding " * Isuzu Motors Limited (Japan): "in-kind contribution of a vehicle for WFP emergency operations in East Timor, Indonesia " * Novartis Farma (Italy): "US$13,759 for Ethiopia to help the drought affected. Employees donated portions of their work day, which was matched by management " * Sasoil Petroleum (Mozambique): "US$5,000 for Mozambique airlift" * Arco Petroleum (Mozambique): "US$5,000 for Mozambique airlift"