[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 121 (Friday, September 5, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          MISSOURI RICE MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JO ANN EMERSON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 4, 2003

  Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize September as 
Missouri Rice Month and to urge all Americans to enjoy rice as part of 
a healthy, balanced diet.
  Rice is the staple grain for more than 4 billion men, women, and 
children worldwide. Eight out of ten people depend on rice for 40 
percent of their energy needs.
  As a $2 billion cash crop, rice is the fifth most valuable food crop 
in America. Rice is vital to the economic stability of agricultural 
producers across the nation. Moreover, America exports rice to more 
than 100 foreign countries, providing nearly 15 percent of the rice in 
the global market.
  With 1.2 billion of the world's population living in poverty and 800 
million undernourished, there is no more serious issue than hunger 
relief Here in America, we have the rice supply to alleviate much of 
this suffering - and no continent in the world has been affected more 
by hunger than Africa.
  In July, three rice farmers from Stoddard County, Missouri, 
accompanied me to Rome to learn more about how to get our Missouri 
products to African communities that desperately need food aid. 
Internationally, the World Food Programme and the Food and Agricultural 
Organizations of the United Nations are working to implement 
commonsense programs to educate Africans on American agricultural 
products, to increase American exports and food aid to Africa, and to 
initiate school feeding programs.
  By enabling America's thriving rice producers to meet the food needs 
of the starving and malnourished around the world, we can overcome 
hunger. But first we must raise awareness of America's quality 
agricultural exports. As more nations accept our food products for 
their own hunger relief, the demand for our rice will continue to grow. 
The satisfaction of improving and saving lives is the only reward 
America needs.
  Missouri Rice Month will help us meet our humanitarian goals, and 
Missouri Rice Farmers will keep growing the grain that feeds the world.

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