The State of the Union

Ok, so I will admit, I did not watch the State of the Union last night. I stopped watching it about 3 years ago because I just could not handle it. I did however start browsing the transcript this morning. The usual, "Really?" response to a bunch of it, but then I came across this:

"America is leading the fight against global hunger. Today, more than half the world's food aid comes from the United States."

I immediately got in an uproar because the fact that so much food aid comes from the US is one of the problems in the developing world. US Food Aid is required by statute to be bought from US producers. This helps our agriculture but undercuts the agriculture in the developing world as well as increases costs of transportation; not to mention the burning of fossil fuels.

So I should read further because after the (APPLAUSE) text break on Washingtonpost.com I read:

"And tonight, I ask Congress to support an innovative proposal to provide food assistance by purchasing crops directly from farmers in the developing world, so we can build up local agriculture and help break the cycle of famine."

OMG! Something I agree with Bush on! Now if it does happen, lets just hope they don't screw it up by adding on requirements like; 1. Buying Ford Tractors 2. Buying American Chemical Fertilizers 3. Growing crops that aren't really meant for your climate. Lets makes sure we really help the developing world develop a sustainable agriculture. Let them grow indiginous foods. Teach them about crop rotation (which they probably forgot about because we made them buy our fertilizers). Sustainable agriculture is the basis for any meaningful economic development to occur.