Hillary Clinton is the most qualified candidate running for President. One of the reasons why is her experience with a critical issue that impacts every nation: hunger and malnutrition.
As Secretary of State Clinton showed leadership in fighting hunger, which is a major foreign policy objective of the United States. She helped start the Feed the Future initiative, which supports small farmers globally.
As Clinton said, "We know very well that hunger is a drain on economic development. It is a threat to the stability of governments and it certainly it deprives us of the talents and energy of nearly a billion people worldwide."
The International Food Policy Research Institute said Clinton, as Secretary, showed an "unwavering commitment to raising the profile of hunger and poverty in the developing world as well as in the United States."
Hillary Clinton has demonstrated great leadership in fighting hunger, and can further this effort as the next president. (photo courtesy of hillaryclinton.com)
The World Food Program USA awarded Clinton the George McGovern Leadership prize in 2010 "for her commitment and visionary approach to ending global hunger." Clinton will surely continue to follow McGovern's example of feeding the hungry at home and abroad.
It is critical for our commander in chief to lead in fighting hunger, especially with more refugees than anytime since World War II.
There are millions of war victims in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, South Sudan, Yemen and other countries who need food to survive and to rebuild their communities.
As former Army Chief and Secretary of State George Marshall said, "Hunger and insecurity are the worst enemies of peace." We need a president who understands this and implements policies that will fight hunger across the globe.
As we learned from our experiences in World War I and II, food aid is vital to winning the peace. After World War II ended a famine almost claimed hundreds of millions of lives in Europe and Asia. American leadership prevented that tragedy because we were focused on fighting hunger.
Today, we cannot secure peace if people are starving or cannot grow food. Hungry people become desperate and vulnerable to recruitment by terrorist groups like ISIS or Boko Haram.
Clinton understands this and can work with Republicans on implementing food for peace strategies that feed refugees. Food can help build long term stability for regions in distress.
Feed the Future is one of those plans that we must continue to grow. The program helps to boost food production in developing countries by giving the small farmer a helping hand with seeds, technology or education. That can lead a country out of hunger and toward self-sufficiency in producing their own food.
We need to ensure that children get nutrition in the critical first 1000 days of life to prevent the physical and mental damage from malnutrition. Every child in the world should receive school meals so they can reach their potential.
Fighting hunger is an integral part of our foreign policy. It is an area Hillary Clinton excels, and another reason why she is the best choice for President.