20
NATIONAL HISTORY DAY 2016
pregnancy.7 The idea for such a program arose during a
all the living former presidents.12 Senator Dole, as Republican
successful, helping more than 50 percent of infants in the
NAFTA because they feared that jobs for U.S. workers would
White House conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health in
1969. In 1972 WIC was created as an amendment to the
8
Child Nutrition Act of 1966. The program continues to be
United States.
9
Leader, also supported NAFTA because he believed that
the agreement would increase the number of jobs for U.S.
workers. However, American labor organizations opposed
be sent to Mexico.13
Years after the passage of WIC, Senator McGovern recalled
The exchange of agricultural products has been a contingent
Throughout the length of his Senate career, Dole advocated
agricultural products are signed between nations. The trade
how he and Dole dominated the legislative field related
to nutrition during the 1970s. In 1974 they pushed WIC
through the Agriculture Committee and to the Senate floor.10
for WIC each time it came up for reauthorization.
T
International Food Exchange
he exchange of food goes beyond America’s domestic
borders. Food is traded across political borders and
economies across the globe. Senator Dole, like many others,
recognized that U.S. agricultural surpluses could be used on
a global scale.
T
North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement
he North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a
trade agreement between the governments of Mexico,
Canada, and the United States. Signed during the Clinton
administration, the agreement went into effect on January
1, 1994. NAFTA eliminated trade barriers such as tariffs,
increased profits for businesses, and reduced prices for
consumers. It created the world’s largest free-trade area,
linking 450 million people and producing $17 trillion worth
of goods and services, including food.11
First negotiated by President George H.W. Bush, NAFTA
received strong support from President Bill Clinton as well as
issue within NAFTA from the beginning. Unlike with trading
initiatives on other commodities, which are signed by
all three countries together, agreements on the trade of
agreement between Canada and the United States applies
restrictions and tariff quota on products such as sugar,
poultry, and dairy. The Mexico–U.S. agreement allows for
fewer regulations, but has included phase-out periods within
the agreement.
As the effects of NAFTA are evaluated, more than 20 years
since its implementation doubts exist about the agreement’s
benefit to Mexico. Of significant concern is the import of lowpriced U.S. governmental subsidies, which has forced many
small-scale Mexican farmers to sell their land and go out of
business. Despite lower costs of U.S. food imports, the price
of food in Mexico has risen; many there lack access to basic
food and suffer from malnutrition. Some also argue that,
post-NAFTA, food insecurity in Mexico has contributed to
the influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico to the
United States.14, 15
P
Food for Peace
resident Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Food for
Peace Program (originally the Agricultural Trade
Development Assistance Act) into law in 1954. The act was
created in response to U.S. agricultural surpluses, and costs
Oliveira, Victor, et al, The WIC Program Background, Trends, and Issues (Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Services, 2002),
www.ers.usda.gov/media/327957/fanrr27_1_.pdf.
8
White House Conference of Food, Nurtition, and Health: Final Report. (Washington, D.C.: White House, 1969), 1-16, www.nns.nih.gov/1969/full_report/White_House_Report2_S1a.pdf.
9
“Women, Infants and Children (WIC),” United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services.
10
Jake H. Thompson, Bob Dole: The Republicans’ Man For All Seasons (New York: Donald I. Fine, 1994).
11
“North American Free Trade Agreement,” Office of the United State Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President, modified 2013, accessed November 10, 2014,
www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/north-american-free-trade-agreement-nafta.
12
Thompson, Bob Dole.
13
Ibid.
14
“The Failures of NAFTA,” Washington Report on the Hemisphere, 2012, 1-3. www.coha.org/the-failures-of-nafta/.
15
Carlsen, Laura. “Under Nafta, Mexico Suffered, and the United States Felt Its Pain,” New York Times, November 24, 2013. www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/11/24/whatweve-learned-from-nafta/under-