Food Aid
Mission to Ethiopia
Led by Officers of NAMA
CONTACT: Paul
Green, International Trade Consultant
202.484.2200, ext.106
pgreen@namamillers.org
Washington, DC - January 12, 2004. John Gillcrist, North American Millers' Association (NAMA) Chairman and President of Bartlett Milling Company and Guy Shoemaker, NAMA Vice Chair and President of Horizon Milling, LLC led a NAMA team on a mission to Ethiopia. The team visited numerous food aid distribution sites, development projects and missions to gain a better understanding of the use of NAMA member products in food assistance programs. They met with seven relief agencies and consulted on how the delivery of nutrition via these enriched and fortified products can be most effective in improving the quality of life for millions of at-risk individuals in Africa. NAMA directors Craig Fischer, President of ADM Milling Company and Fred Luckey, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Bunge Milling, Inc., and Paul Green of NAMA joined Gillcrist and Shoemaker.
"NAMA wants to demonstrate to our
partners our support for nutrition-based food aid
initiatives," said Gillcrist. "When highly
nutritious foods are used in targeted food assistance
interventions, critical humanitarian need is
met." For example, research has shown that
without the proper level of nutrition, HIV/AIDS
anti-retroviral drugs are ineffective. Blended and
fortified foods are the most cost-effective
intervention to assure these drugs can improve the
quality of life for HIV affected individuals.
Mr. Shoemaker remarked, "NAMA
companies are doing what they do best; in fact,
better than anyone else in the world. We produce the
most cost-effective nutrition delivery foods in the
world. They can be used in programs that create a
stable nutrition base and can provide a foundation
for progress on other development, health and
education issues in the developing world."
The US has faced criticism from trading
partners in the World Trade Organization over food
aid programs. NAMA will use information gained from
the mission to advise Congress, development agencies
and other agriculture interests in devising
defensible, humanitarian food aid programs. "The
more we can demonstrate that well thought-out food
aid programs offer the opportunity for a win-win
between US value-added product interests and
humanitarian need, the easier it will be to defend
those programs. In fact, vital, life sustaining food
aid is only reaching a fraction of those in
need," said Gillcrist.
More than 50,000 metric tons of enriched
wheat flour and more than 100,000 metric tons of
fortified corn soy blend and other blended grain
products went to Ethiopia in fiscal year 2003.
"We saw how our food products can be the
catalyst to very positive change by enabling farmers
to reclaim their land, capture precious water and get
back on their feet. Consistent food aid programming
is America's most significant, most visible and most
respected demonstration of goodwill throughout the
world," concluded Gillcrist.
NAMA has 45 member companies operating 170 wheat, corn, oat and rye mills in 38 states and 150 cities. Its membership represents about 95% of the total U.S. capacity.
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Media Contacts:
For background information, nutritional information, product uses and statistics on food aid products go to http://www.namamillers.org/int_fa.html.
For a bio on John Gillcrist, go to http://www.namamillers.org/cs_bios_chairman.html.
PowerPoint photo album
containing additional photos from the trip http://www.namamillers.org/powerpoint/Ethiopia.ppt
File is 11,534 KB.
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