Press Release of Senator Lugar Lugar to President: Prioritize Global Food Crisis at G8 Tuesday, July 1, 2008 U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar suggested substantive steps the United States and international community should take to address the current global food crisis in a letter to President George W. Bush ahead of next week’s G8 Summit.    “It is expected that the food crisis will endure a number of years and could have lasting effects. A situation of such long duration threatens to reverse any positive trends in the alleviation of poverty and improvements in health,” Lugar wrote.   Lugar will also keynote a conference at the American Enterprise Institute at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 2, 2008. His speech will focus on the concurrent crises of energy, food and climate.  Video of Lugar’s extemporaneous remarks also will be posted at http://lugar.senate.gov/energy on Wednesday afternoon. Event details and registration information are available at http://www.aei.org/events/eventID.1751,filter.all,type.upcoming/event_detail.asp.   Read Lugar’s letter and memo to President Bush at http://lugar.senate.gov/energy   “The cause of the current spike in food prices is a complex web of factors, some that have developed recently – a rapid increase in oil prices, droughts in some key exporting countries, and a weak U.S. dollar. Other factors have long been present – a significant under-investment in agricultural productivity and rural economies in the developing world, increased demand in emerging economies, an irrational avoidance of genetically modified crops that could markedly help poor small scale farmers to increase their yields, and a global trading system that too often inhibits the movement of food and the ability of farmers in poor nations to market their crops globally,” Lugar wrote.   Lugar’s memo, “Global Food Security: An Agenda for the G8 Summit,” further outlines the necessary steps the international community must take to respond to the current food crisis. Highlights from the memo include: Improve the International Response to Crises Reconstitute the Food Aid Convention Create a system of regionally placed supplies of food stocks Commit to Invest in Rural Development and Agricultural Productivity Increase official development assistance for agricultural productivity and rural development Increase funding for research and technology Establish a global network of land grant colleges Facilitate a Trade System that is Efficient, Fair, and Transparent Encourage a conclusion of the Doha Development Round Advocate increased research on genetically modified seeds appropriate to local needs Endorse greater transparency and information sharing in the futures markets Endorse Policies that Stabilize Energy Markets and Promote Alternative Fuel Sources Encourage the opening of global energy markets Commit to increase assistance for renewable energy Endorse a multilateral Clean Technology Fund  ###