(Washington) The US government announced on Saturday that it would no longer assess food insecurity in the United States each year, deeming this measure “too politicized” and “useless”.
“After carrying out a continuous examination of economic programs and relationships, the US Ministry of Agriculture (USDA) will end the publication of household food security reports,” the institution wrote in a statement transmitted to AFP.
According to the USDA, this report “has become too politicized and, after examination, is unnecessary for carrying out the work of the ministry”.
The information was first revealed by the Wall Street Journal.
“The 2024 report on household food security will be the last and will be published on October 22, 2025,” said the ministry.
This will concern the last year in power of Democratic President Joe Biden. His republican successor, Donald Trump, found the White House for a second term in January.
Based on a large survey, the report estimates food precariousness, that is to say the number of households which do not have guaranteed access to food in sufficient quantity and quality for all their members.
According to the most recent publication, this concerned 13.5 % of households in 2023 in the United States, the highest proportion since 2014.
The Ministry of Agriculture criticizes the methodology.
“The questions used to collect data is entirely subjective and do not give a faithful image of real food security,” he said on Saturday.
“The data is full of biased inaccuracies in order to create a story that is not representative of what is really going on in the countryside, while we are currently experiencing a drop in poverty rates, an increase in wages and employment growth under the Trump government,” added the USDA.
In the United States, according to official data, growth has slowed in recent months and job creations have been dried up.
Donald Trump chooses to ignore these elements and recently returned the manager of a statistical service.
The president assures that his policies (tax credits, customs duties, deregulation, fight against immigration and priority to American workers) are bearing fruit.
