Message to the Congress Transmitting Annual Report on the Food for Freedom Program.

To the Congress of the United States:

I am pleased to transmit to the Congress the 1967 report on the Food for Freedom program.

The bounty of America's farms have long given hope to the human family.

For the pioneers, who first plowed our fertile fields, their harvest brought liberation from the age-old bondage of hunger and want.

For the victims of two world wars, our food nourished the strength to rebuild with purpose and dignity.

For millions in the developing nations, our food continues to rescue the lives of the starving and revive the spirit of the hopeless.

We share our bounty because it is right. But we know too that the hungry child and the desperate parent are easy prey to tyranny. We know that a grain of wheat is a potent weapon in the arsenal of freedom.

Compassion and wisdom thus guided the Congress when it enacted Public Law 480 in 1954. Since then, the productivity of the American farmer and the generosity of the American people have combined to write an epic chapter in the annals of man's humanity to man.

In 1966, I recommended that Congress alter Public Law 480 to reflect new conditions both at home and abroad. The Congress accepted my major recommendations, and added provisions of its own to strengthen the Act. I am proud to report that in 1967 we successfully fulfilled the letter and spirit of these new provisions.

Congress directed that the Food for Freedom program should encourage international trade.

--In 1967 world trade in agricultural products reached an all-time high of $33.9 billion, nearly 20 percent higher than in 1966.

Congress directed that the Food for Freedom program should encourage an expansion of export markets for our own agricultural commodities.

--In the past two years, this nation has enjoyed unparalleled prosperity in agricultural exports. Since 1960 our agricultural exports have grown from $3.2 billion to $5.2 billion--a gain of 62 percent.

Congress directed that we should continue to use our abundance to wage an unrelenting war on hunger and malnutrition.

--During 1967 we dispatched more than 15 million metric tons of food to wage the war on hunger--the equivalent of 10 pounds of food for every member of the human race.

Congress determined that our Food for Freedom program should encourage general economic progress in the developing countries.

--Our food aid has helped Israel, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Korea build a solid record of economic achievement. With our help, these nations have now moved into the commercial market, just as Japan, Italy, Spain and others before them.

Congress determined that our food aid should help first and foremost those countries that help themselves.

--Every one of our 39 food aid agreements in 1967 committed the receiving country to a far-reaching program of agricultural self-help. Many of these programs are already bringing record results. Congress directed that we should move as rapidly as possible from sales for foreign currency to sales for dollars.

--Of the 22 countries participating in the Food for Freedom program in 1967, only four had no dollar payment provision. Last year, six countries moved to payments in dollars or convertible local currencies. Congress directed that we should use Food for Freedom to promote the foreign policy of the United States.

Statistics alone cannot measure how Food for Freedom has furthered America's goals in the world. Its real victories lie in the minds of millions who now know that America cares. Hope is alive. Food for Freedom gives men an alternative to despair.

Last year was a record year in world farm output. With reasonable weather, 1968 can be even better. New agricultural technology is spreading rapidly in the developed countries. New cereal varieties are bringing unexpectedly high yields in the developing lands. An agricultural revolution is in the making.

This report shows clearly how much we have contributed to that revolution in the past year. But the breakthrough is only beginning. The pride in accomplishments today will seem small beside the progress we can make tomorrow.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON

The White House

April 3, 1968