A recent poll of U.S. consumers found that nearly 72 percent were concerned for food availability during the early days of COVID, another 42 percent have since shifted to buying lower cost brands, or worse yet making do with less food. This should not be the case in America.
In Europe the average family currently pays slightly more, 13 percent of their income to feed themselves – with people in some nations there paying as high as 26 percent. Yet, in response to the climate, COVID, and conflict crises, the EU is rolling out initiatives which may in fact worsen this situation. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, the EU’s so-called Green Deal and Farm to Fork initiative could cause food prices to rise upwards of 17 percent. And again, those who can least afford it will be impacted the most.
Our strength as a nation requires continued access to resources to meet our own and others’ needs. We need a strategy that reinforces America’s position as the preferred partner for local and global food security. This comes at a time where our success and privilege have contributed to the United States losing its focus and national security approach to food.
