October 16, 2003…U.S. soybean growers are recognizing World Food Day and communicating the value of soy in fighting hunger by participating in the World Food Prize International Symposium on October 16-17 in Des Moines, Iowa. Soybean growers helped launch the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) that is cooperating with the Iowa Soybean Board to sponsor a breakfast and take part in other activities at the prestigious World Food Prize event.

WISHH's mission is in keeping with the World Food Day, held annually on October 16. "As I sit in my combine and harvest my crop this month, I am particularly aware that soybeans can play an important role in feeding the 800 million people-including 200 million children under age 5--who go to bed hungry each night," said Iowa soybean grower and United Soybean Board Director Roy Bardole. "It is gratifying that our new high-protein soy products, like textured soy protein and soy flour, are taking a greater role in the battle against hunger through the WISHH program that soybean farmers created. WISHH plays an important humanitarian role, and at the same time, it assists developing countries that are emerging markets for U.S. soy."

The annual presentation of the World Food Prize in Des Moines is known as the "Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture." "Our aim is to have the most significant observance of World Food Day anywhere in the world," said Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn who serves as the President of the World Food Prize Foundation. "We are pleased to have WISHH and the Iowa Soybean Board supporting our efforts."

The second reason that WISHH is taking an active role in this year's World Food Prize is to join in honoring the winner Catherine Bertini, who is the former Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). WISHH often collaborates with WFP, which is the world's largest humanitarian relief organization. During 1992-2002 when Bertini led the agency, WFP delivered food aid to more than 700 million people and is credited with saving the lives of 50 million who faced starvation. U.S. soybean products played a foundational role in meeting the nutritional needs of many of those people.

Soy can play an even greater role in the future of food assistance thanks to a new generation of soy products that offer high-quality protein that can be incorporated into sustainable nutrition programs along with foods that are locally available. "Protein is often the missing ingredient in the diets of many hungry people in developing countries where greater meat consumption is difficult because livestock production is challenged by lack of water and more," said WISHH Program Director Jim Hershey. "We are taking this message to the hunger fighters from around the globe who will be in Des Moines to participate in the World Food Prize activities as well as meetings of the United Nations Millennium Development Project Hunger Task Force."

Three years ago at the turn of the Century, global leaders committed themselves to a set of targets, including halving the number of people living on less than one dollar a day by 2015, and halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other major diseases. The Millennium Development Task Force will meet in Iowa on October 14-15 to discuss progress and strategies toward accomplishing their goals. They will then report on their work during the World Food Prize Symposium on October 16-17.

U.S. soybean growers are contributing toward at least six of the eight Millennium Development Goals.

Numerous state soybean organizations support WISHH along with the ASA and the United Soybean Board. Soybean growers launched the WISHH program in 2000 to help America's soybean growers build more bridges between America's bounty and sustainable nutrition programs in countries where rapidly growing populations of all income levels can benefit from soy in their diets.