[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 42 (Monday, October 25, 1993)]
[Pages 2091-2092]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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Proclamation 6613--World Food Day, 1993 and 1994

 October 16, 1993

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Arising from poverty, homelessness, civil strife or famine, hunger 
burdens the lives of nearly 800 million people throughout the world. 
Women and children suffer the most. Studies suggest that in developing 
countries, some 36 percent of children under 6 years of age are 
moderately or severely undernourished.
    On this World Food Day, let us commit ourselves to bringing change 
to the lives of those who suffer from hunger and to preserving the 
resources we will need in the years ahead.
    Failure to protect our environment now and in the future will 
clearly affect the ability of countries to produce food and fiber for 
growing populations. The United Nations has indicated that the world may 
not be able to feed itself by sometime early in the next century if we 
continue to abuse productive soil. If world food production is to be 
maintained and enhanced, we must learn to safeguard the biological 
diversity that underpins our agricultural system. Today, the biological 
foundation is imperiled. Traditional crop varieties and animal breeds 
are becoming endangered. Many are already extinct. When we lose a 
traditional wheat or rice variety, we lose its unique characteristics 
and its potential pest and disease resistance, drought tolerance, or 
nutritional benefits. Nature's diversity is a precious inheritance. We 
cannot live on this earth without it. Through sound agricultural 
practices and intelligent shepherding of our natural resources, we can 
nourish and protect our land, forests, rivers, and streams.
    The almost constant threat of famine in Africa and the continuing 
food problems in Asia should remind us all of our global vulnerability, 
especially as the population continues to grow. Raising the global 
community's awareness of the hunger that afflicts the young, the infirm, 
the poor, and the elderly--and considering the needs of others each 
day--can bring change and help ensure our food supply for the future.
    The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 218, has designated October 
16, 1993, and October 16, 1994, as ``World Food Day'' and has authorized 
and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of 
these days.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim October 16, 1993, and October 16, 
1994, as World Food Day. I call on all Americans to observe these days 
with appropriate programs and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day 
of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and eighteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:59 p.m., October 18, 
1993]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on October 
20.

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