The World Food Prize: Recognizing Heroes or Promoting Agribusiness Interests?
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Published by Food and Water Watch
The World Food Prize touts a lofty mission to reward those who have contributed to “combating hunger by increasing the quality, quantity and availability of food around the world.” Behind this rhetoric, however, are millions of dollars in financial support from agribusiness and prize recipients whose contributions to agriculture have done little or nothing to reduce hunger.
The World Food Prize touts a lofty mission to reward those who have contributed to “combating hunger by increasing the quality, quantity and availability of food around the world.” Behind this rhetoric, however, are millions of dollars in financial support from agribusiness and prize recipients whose contributions to agriculture have done little or nothing to reduce hunger.
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The World Food Prize:
Recognizing Heroes or Promoting Agribusiness Interests?
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This poin was perhaps never more salien han when he2013 award was given o Monsano’s Vice-Presiden RoberFraley or his work in agriculural bioechnology — includ-ing he developmen o geneically engineered (GE) RoundupReady crops used widely in U.S. corn, soy and coton produc-ion.
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Trumpeing he “widespread accessibiliy o [GE seedso] armers across he globe,” he World Food Prize ails oacknowledge ha mos developing counries do no grow GEood crops, and many, including mos Arican naions, remainiercely resisan o GE crops.
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The World Food Prize was creaed by Norman Borlaug —Iowa naive, aher o he Green Revoluion and long-imesupporer o he mechanizaion o agriculure — so i is nosurprise ha his $250,000 prize is given o promoers o in-dusrial agriculure ha ocus on increasing yields, includinghrough he use o GE crops.
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I’s also no surprise ha cor-porae agribusiness donaes millions o dollars o he “NobelPrize or Food and Agriculure” and may even be involved inchoosing prize recipiens, since members o he World FoodPrize’s selecion commitee remain anonymous.
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Industry Involvement
The World Food Prize Foundaion relies on a sponsor basecomprising pro-GE oundaions, corporae agribusinesses andarm groups like he Iowa Corn Promoion Board, he UniedSoybean Board, he Iowa Pork Foundaion and he IowaFarm Bureau. One analysis o sponsors ound ha beween2009 and 2011, 28 percen o he World Food Prize’s majorconribuions, amouning o millions o dollars, came romagribusinesses and afiliaes.
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A more in-deph analysis o donors rom 1999 o 2011 shows millions more coming romhese donors.
Monsanto
Monsano conribued $380,000 o World Food Prize annualprograms beween 1999 and 2011.
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The company also pledgedan addiional $5 million in 2008 or convering a hisoric Des
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he World Food Prize — a non-proi organizaion based in Des Moines,Iowa — ous a lofy mission o reward hose who have conribued o“combaing hunger by increasing he qualiy, quaniy and availabiliy o oodaround he world.”
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Behind his rheoric, however, are millions o dollars ininancial suppor rom agribusiness and prize recipiens whose conribuionso agriculure have done litle or nohing o reduce hunger.
Moines Public Library ino he Norman E. Borlaug Hall o Laureaes — a museum and venue or he World Food Prize’sannual symposium, he Borlaug Dialogue.
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In 2013, hishighly publicized even in Iowa will give Monsano an oppor-uniy o promoe is producs beore an audience o globalagriculural sakeholders.
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DuPont Pioneer
DuPon subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred Inernaional conribuedmore han $1.5 million beween 1999 and 2011 o World FoodPrize annual programs and pledged $1 million or buildingrenovaions in 2008.
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Addiional donaions o $195,000 camerom he Iowa-based company’s Presiden Paul Schickler,pas CFO and Senior Vice-Presiden Jerry Chicoine and pasDirecors Fred Weiz and Owen Newlin.
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John Deere
John Deere conribued $640,000 o he World Food Prizebeween 1999 and 2011.
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As a manuacurer o he equipmenused in indusrial agriculure, John Deere has a vesed iner-es in promoing high-ech, expensive machinery designedor vas monoculures o corn in Iowa, no small and diversearms in he developing world.
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One o he larges sponsors o he World Food Prize is heAmerican axpayer. Donaions rom ederal and sae govern-men agencies accouned or more han $10.6 million beween1999 and 2011.
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More han $8 million came rom he sae governmen, in-cluding conribuions rom he Sae Hisorical Sociey, IowaSae Universiy and he Iowa Deparmen o Public Healh.
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The Iowa Economic Developmen Auhoriy gave more han$1.9 million.
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Iowa Senaors Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley unneled$750,000 o axpayers’ money ino he World Food Prize in2010 hrough he ederal appropriaions process.
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Oherederal money includes $238,000 rom he U.S. Naional ParkService and more han $460,000 rom he U.S. Deparmen o Agriculure.
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The Insiue o Museum and Library Services, aederal eniy charged wih ensuring public access o librariesand museums, gave more han $1.9 million.
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Governmen suppor is also apparen a World Food Prizeaward ceremonies, which have been hosed by he U.S. SaeDeparmen or he las decade and which emphasize he role
* More than 70 percent of the FBL Financial Group is currently owned by the Iowa Farm Bureau.
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** DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto pledged an additional $1 million and $5 million, respectively, for World Food Prize building renovations.
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*** The Rockefeller and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations — advocates for GE food crops — contributed more than $2.2 million.
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CargillIowa Corn Growers Associationand Promotion BoardBill & Melinda GatesFoundation***FBL Financial Group*Monsanto**Iowa Pork Foundation John DeereDuPont Pioneer**Archer Daniels MidlandUnited Soybean BoardRockefeller Foundation***
o public-privae parnerships in addressing global hunger.
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The Sae Deparmen works acively on behal o Americanagribusiness ineress like Monsano o promoe bioechnol-ogy in emerging global economies, and he World Food Prize iseeding ino hese efors by awarding he same corporaions.
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I appears ha he World Food Prize sees agriculural develop-men and hunger alleviaion in Green Revoluion erms — ocus-ing on ood producion insead o access o ood — and awardshe prize accordingly. The 1998 prize recipien was recognized ordeveloping he privae seed indusry in India and ounding hehybrid seed company Mahyco.
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Monsano acquired 26 perceno Mahyco he same year, and he companies ormed he joinvenure Mahyco Monsano Bioech in India, which has beencriicized or alleged monopolisic pracices.
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The 2006 World Food Prize recipiens were recognized orconvering a large area o unproducive land in Brazil inoindusrial soy and catle operaions, mosly or expor o de-veloped counries, which raised criicism ha he World FoodPrize was rewarding large landowners in Brazil.
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Many prizes have been given or achievemens ha ignorehe underlying problem o ood access. Such a narrow ocuson producion — oen rewarding privaizaion — overlookshe realiy o hunger. The world’s armers produce enough oeed everyone; however, povery and lack o access mean hamany o he world’s poor sill go hungry.
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Even i increasing producion was he soluion, he 2013award or GE crops misses he mark. GE seeds do no in-crease yields, despie arden public relaions campaigns romindusry groups and bioechnology supporers.
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The seedsare grown wih expensive erilizers, pesicides and mechani-zaion, which keep hese echnologies ou o reach or resul indebs ha cripple small armers.
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John Deere’s racors andMonsano’s cosly GE seeds and chemicals will no li up heworld’s hungry.There appears o be inernaional consensus on his poin.The Inernaional Assessmen o Agriculural Knowledge,Science and Technology or Developmen, an inernaionalprojec o he Unied Naions and he World Bank, consuledhundreds o expers around he world and, in 2009, concludedha he high coss o GE seeds and chemicals, uncerainyields and he poenial o undermine local ood securiymake GE a poor choice or he developing world.
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Conclusions and Recommendations
Hunger is a real problem ha needs real soluions. A disin-guished award ha carries a $250,000 bonus is one way oincenivize such innovaions.
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Indeed, some pas recipiensseem in line wih he World Food Prize’s saed mission omeaningully address hunger issues — providing microloanso subsisence armers, encouraging cooperaive producionand esablishing sorage and ransporaion aciliies.
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Buoher imes he prize appears o operae as a
quid pro quo
orindusry sponsors whose agriculural innovaions are de-signed o make money, no eed people or help small armersaround he world.Beore being considered a legiimae award or alleviainghunger, Food & Waer Wach recommends ha:
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The World Food Prize should no ocus he award onincreases in agriculural yields, because his does nocorrelae wih reduced global hunger.
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The World Food Prize should no award laureaes haare afiliaed wih corporae sponsors.
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The World Food Prize should increase ransparency byrevealing he secre selecion commitee o ensure noindusry ies.
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The ederal and sae governmen should no give pub-lic money o he World Food Prize while i coninues oreward privae corporaions.
Endnotes
1 The World Food Prize. “Report to the Joint Economic Develop-ment Appropriations Sub-Committee of the Iowa State Legis-lature: Regarding the Operations, Programs & Expenditures of The World Food Prize Foundation for CY 2009.” December 31,2009 at 3; World Food Prize Foundation. IRS 990-PF. 1999-2011at Schedule B.2 The World Food Prize. [Press Release]. “Three biotechnologyscientists awarded 2013 World Food Prize.” June 19, 2013; TheWorld Food Prize. Background document on 2013 Laureates.Available at http://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/laureates/2013_
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13, 2013; U.S. Department of Agriculture. Economic ResearchService. “Adoption of genetically engineered crops in the U.S.From corn, soybean and cotton spreadsheets. Available athttp://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetical-ly-engineered-crops-in-the-us.aspx#.UgufSmRNalh. AccessedAugust 14, 2013. Updated July 8, 2013.3 The World Food Prize. Background document on 2013 Laure-ates. Available at http://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/laure-
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Accessed August 13, 2013; James, Clive. “Global Status of Com-mercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2012.
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications Brief
, no. 44. 2012 at
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Fellows Distinguished Lecture Series. “Seeds of a perfect storm:
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October 17, 2008.4 The World Food Prize. [Press Release]. “Amb. Kenneth M.Quinn’s remarks from the World Food Prize laureate announce-ment.” June 19, 2013.5 The World Food Prize. “Report to the Joint Economic Develop-ment Appropriations Sub-Committee of the Iowa State Legis-lature: Regarding the Operations, Programs & Expenditures of The World Food Prize Foundation for CY 2009.” December 31,2009 at 3. The World Food Prize. 2013 laureate announcementceremony program. October 16–19, 2013. Des Moines, Iowa.6 Park, Alex. “The World Food Prize, brought to you by Monsanto.”
Mother Jones
. June 19, 2013. Based on donations above $5,000.
