Food Security Press

On April 2, 2009, President Barack Obama announced a doubling of assistance for global agricultural productivity and rural development. The announcement tracks provisions of the Global Food Security Act of 2009, authored by Senator Lugar.

On March 31, 2009, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously cleared Senator Lugar's Global Food Security Act of 2009.

At the release of the Global Agricultural Development Project’s report: "Sustainable Foreign Assistance: Helping the World Feed Itself," Senator Lugar called for a deeper understanding of food shortage challenges.

In accepting the 2009 World Affairs Councils of America Lifetime Achievement Award on February 23, 2009, Senator Lugar called global food security one of the four issues on which the U.S. should focus.

Senator Lugar and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Global Food Security Act of 2009 on February 5, 2009. Read Senator Lugar floor statement.

On November 6, 2008, Senator Lugar said "Overcoming hunger should be starting point for U.S. domestic, foreign policy," at a speech at the annual meeting of the Alliance to End Hunger.

On September 2, 2008, in Berlin, Germany, Senator Lugar called on Europeans to to embrace biotechnology in agriculture, saying it is critical to feeding the world.

On July 29, 2008, Senator Lugar said "One of today's big ideas should be the eradication of hunger worldwide" in a statement at the roll-out of the CSIS Global Food Security Task Force.

Purdue University released a report on July 23, 2008, underscoring the complex events that drive the costs of food and fuel.

On July 2, 2008, in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute Senator Lugar said "The current food crisis was produced by a complex web of factors, clearly, increased demand for food from the growing populations in emerging economies that are doing much better; soaring energy prices that drive up costs all along the farm-to-market chain, whether it be fertilizer or transportation of the crops or the farm machinery; and increased demand for biofuels."

In Indianapolis on June 8, 2008, Senator Lugar keynoted the 10th anniversary celebration of Second Helpings, a local organization that rescues prepared and perishable food, re-prepares it into nutritious meals, and distributes those meals to organizations that feed hungry people. At the event, he called for a more constructive debate about biotechnology.

In a May 22, 2008 op-ed in the Indianapolis Star, Senator Lugar wrote "It's unfair to single out ethanol as cause of food crisis."

At a May 14, 2008 Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Senator Lugar discussed the need for ethanol in the context of the world food crisis.