Lester Pearson’s Role in the UN & FAO

Canada & the UN > Lester Pearson’s Role in the UN & FAO

A History of the Formation of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) -- Part of United Nations Association in Canada's research paper "Lester B. Pearson's Role in the Formation of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and in Other United Nations Activities" Continued... (Part 2 of 6)

SECTION I: Formation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Setting the Stage

In "The Story of FAO", Gove Hambidge identified five major developments in the early 20th century which created the possibility for and determined the nature of international collaboration on food and agriculture:

the new science of nutrition, developed between 1890 and 1939, which built up an integrated body of knowledge of animal and human nutrition; the identification and role of minerals and vitamins; and the understanding of energy needs of the body for good health.

the great depression of the 1930’s in which a) scientific studies showed not only how many people were poorly fed but also clearly identified the strong correlation between income levels and malnutrition and b) agriculture and farmers suffered, many losing farms despite a food surplus which the hungry population could not afford to buy. The major lesson learned was that maintaining a healthy agriculture was as much of public concern as education.

the League of Nations which a) recognized in a formal resolution that "the relation of nutrition to the health of the people has become a social and economic problem of widely accepted significance and... that this subject has an important bearing on world agricultural problems", and b) in 1937, published "The Relation of Nutrition to Health, Agriculture and Economic Policy" outlining a common front against poverty, ignorance and disease. While the League died as a political organization, it had started a world food movement whose torch was picked up in Hot Springs (see below).

World War II which destroyed resources needed for food production and transport; dislocated the normal channel of trade; and brought about dramatic developments in domestic food and agriculture policies. Each country had to stimulate domestic production; institute a system of food management, including rationing and price control; and face the task of feeding their armed forces.

the widespread want and suffering following World War II.

The Road to Establishing the FAO

The two-year, three-month process which launched the FAO occurred when the world was caught in an incredibly destructive global war, to be marked near its close with the drop of atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Allied nations and public opinion were strongly concerned with ensuring that global peace be gained and maintained. There was a global sense of despair, hope and urgency -- that there would be either one world or none; that nations must and could cooperate to prevent further conflicts; that humanity could achieve global abundance and lasting peace if beneficial science was available to all. And the first issue that the allied nations tackled to meet that end was food and agriculture -- a basic need with largely non-political implications and jurisdictions.

There were three major steps that led to the founding of FAO:

the United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture at Hot Springs, Virginia, USA in May 1943;

the work of the United Nations Interim Commission on Food and Agriculture (1943-45) which formulated a specific plan for the formal establishment of a permanent organization in the field of food and agriculture; and

the First Session of the FAO Conference which officially christened and launched the FAO at Québec City, Canada in October 1945.

Note: the term "United Nations" before 1945 was used to refer to allied nations which worked together in an effort to win World War II. It did not denote the current interpretation which refers to the actual institution, which formally came into existence on October 24, 1945.

a) United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture, Hot Springs, Virginia, USA, May 18 - June 3, 1943

In October 1942, an Australian, Frank L. McDougall wrote a memo entitled "a United Nations programme for freedom from want of food" which emphasized the need for adequate diets in all nations, not just in developed countries. He argued that creating an international organization on food and agriculture would be the first step in creating a world-wide agency for the preservation of peace and the attainment of full employment and raising the standards of living. Eleanor Roosevelt, after having read the memo, arranged for Mr. McDougall and Franklin Roosevelt to meet. As a result of that meeting (albeit after a significant delay), USA President Franklin Roosevelt summoned the United Nations to Hot Springs for a conference on food and agriculture in May 1943.

"It was a significant fact -- an indication of President Roosevelt’s interest in international cooperation in food and agriculture, and his vision and wisdom in planning for peace in the midst of war, when he convened the Hot Springs Conference. This was the first United Nations meeting; and it dealt with one of the basic freedoms for which men were then fighting and dying -- freedom from hunger and deprivation."¹

In the midst of war, delegates from 45 countries went to Virginia to deal with the most basic of biological, social and economic problems. Hoping to contribute something vital to the future of international cooperation, nonetheless, "nobody seemed to know what the conference would actually deal with, or how it would operate."² And, as such, at its start "there was a unanimous feeling at the meeting that the conference was not likely to accomplish much."³Indeed, without any indications that the Conference was to be anything other than a "think-tank" on three main subject areas -- comparing food consumption levels with food requirements, increasing food production to meet consumer needs; and facilitating better food distribution -- many countries did not send diplomats or develop solid positions on future policy.

However, and perhaps in part because the participants were mainly technical experts in nutrition, agricultural sciences, fisheries and statistics rather than diplomats and politicians, a Conference with little advance organization and with no clear expectations or long-term goals became the launching point for the establishment of an international organization on food and agriculture. It was a practical start for international cooperation, focusing on the provision of food for life and health for all as an essential step in gaining and maintaining global peace.

Part of the Canadian delegation, Pearson attended Hot Springs as Minister-Counselor of the Canadian Legation in Washington. "I attended that Conference and, in doing so, began my international career, in a discussion of a subject on which, to say the least, I was no expert."⁴With minimal background experience in the issues, Pearson’s role at and input into the Conference was mainly two-fold: his unique abilities as mediator, and his exceptional ability to approach topics with a long-term, forward-thinking view.

Despite the largely non-political nature of the issues discussed, there were a few conflicting views, mainly in the area of economics -- the protection of producers versus the protection of consumers, for example. As well, there were conflicting views as to what the Conference was trying to establish -- the USA proposed an interim commission to "continue" the work the conference had not completed, whereas the UK produced "a very advanced and far reaching document"⁵ looking towards international control in food and agriculture.

Pearson became a mediator between conflicting expectations as to what the Hot Springs Conference was trying to accomplish. He developed and advocated compromises, and he was heavily involved in designing the ultimate products of Hot Springs. Instead of supporting either the USA or UK suggestions and outlook, he envisaged and advocated a long-term approach which would affect not only future negotiations around food and agriculture, but would set a precedent for future UN conferences.

In a personal initiative, Pearson proposed "that the conference should issue a short, non-technical, but inspirational declaration on the determination of the United Nations to deal with the problems of hunger and malnutrition once the war was over; something that would be valuable not only now in the political warfare that was being waged..., but might help also to convince opinion in all countries that international cooperation and action would not fail after victory was won. I was punished for such initiative by being invited to draft the declaration; it was published two weeks later."⁶

The conference ended with a strong sense of accomplishment and enthusiasm and it laid a foundation for future UN conferences. Twenty-five years later, Pearson recalled the experience, noting that "We came out strongly in favour of the welfare - instead of warfare - approach to progress, security and the good life... We repudiated the shabby doctrine of economic stability and progress through scarcity. We deplored a world condition where there was ample food and comfort for a minority, while two-thirds of the world’s people lived in hunger and want. More important, to convert our fine ideas into action, we agreed to set up an Interim Commission with representatives of the governments who were at Hot Springs."⁷

After two weeks of meetings, discussions and drafting, the Hot Springs Conference produced a Final Act containing 33 recommendations, 3 reports on production, consumption and distribution, and 1 resolution. "As in all such conferences, no recommendation was binding; a recommendation has a certain moral force, but only one resolution emerged that bound the participating governments. This was to make a further study of the problem and, more specifically, to prepare plans for a permanent international organization concerned with food and agriculture."⁸ To that end, Hot Springs set up an Interim Commission on Food and Agriculture to prepare a specific plan for the permanent organization which was to commence its work in Washington (the established headquarters of allied war policy and planning) by July 15, 1943.

Pearson’s accomplishments at Hot Springs were applauded by other delegates. "...Pearson, young, modest, responsive, intelligent, and possessed of a quick sense of humour and a flair for working out effective compromises between opposing viewpoints, made an excellent impression at the Hot Springs Conference..."⁹

More concretely, in recognition of his mediation talents (and acknowledging Canada’s importance as an agricultural state) and despite his minimal experience in food and agriculture, upon returning to his duties in Washington after Hot Springs, Pearson was asked by the Americans to chair the Interim Commission. As Chairman, he was charged with creating the institutional framework for carrying out the tasks laid out at Hot Springs. His acceptance of the position reflected his hope to create an international body that would help in feeding a hungry world, and his success as Chairman established the base for his continuing accomplishments in politics, both at the United Nations and as a Canadian politician.

Images and Quotes

References

¹ Canada's Department of Agriculture, Lester Pearson's written contribution to Canada and FAO commemorating the 25th Anniversary of FAO, Information Canada, 1971, Ottawa, p 85 [Back]

² Lester Pearson, Mike: The Memoirs of the Rt. Hon. Lester B. Pearson, Volume I, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1972, p 246 [Back]

³ Lester Pearson, ibid. - Mike, Vol. I, p 246 [Back]

⁴ Canada's Department of Agriculture, op.cit. - Canada and FAO, p 85 [Back]

⁵ John English, Shadow of Heaven - The Life of Lester Pearson, Volume I, Lester & Orpen Dennys Publishers, Toronto, 1989, p 276 [Back]

⁶ Lester Pearson, op.cit. - Mike, Vol. I, p 248 [Back]

⁷ Canada's Department of Agriculture, op.cit., p 85 [Back]

⁸ Gove Hambidge, The Story of FAO, D. Van Nostrand Company Inc., New York, p 51 [Back]

⁹ Gove Hambidge, ibid., p 51 [Back]

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