Big Int'l NGO Stops Taking US Food Aid Funding

CARE, one of the world's biggest charities, is walking away from about $45 million a year in federal funding, saying American food aid is not only plagued with inefficiencies, but may hurt some of the very poor people it aims to help.

Fascinating story from the International Herald Tribune. This issue is important in Liberia, where local farmers can't hope to compete with US food aid imports. But it's a thin line; Liberia still has no food security, so at what point should food aid stop? The story really gets to the heart of the issue, that of the international NGOs perverse incentive to continue the practice in the interest of their own jobs. And don't get me started about that horrendous US Farm Bill.