OPINION: Which Is Better: Feast or Famine?

Frank Gayaldo

3 days ago

Categories: FeatureHighlightOpinion

OPINION: Which Is Better: Feast or Famine?

Childhood starvation is a preventable disaster. With the aid of modern farming and irrigation techniques, it is inexcusable for hunger to persist anywhere in the world. That said, I can confirm from both good and bad personal experiences the first rule of farming is it must be profitable and firmly rooted in sound business principles. That’s not always easy. For the first time in 50 years, I will be forced to pull out my small Lodi, California vineyard with no immediate plans of replanting. But I digress.

I have been examining President Trump’s decision to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). As is often the case, the more you delve into a subject, the more you realize just how complex it really is.

Regardless of one’s political leanings, to say that there were and are systemic problems within that agency is a substantial understatement. Admitting that childhood and elderly hunger is a problem is an even more substantial understatement.

I do not claim to have the wisdom to solve today’s most pressing problems. As of the last couple years, I do not even know how to farm twenty acres of grapes successfully, something I have been immersed in since I was eight years old.

What I do know is that as I am getting older, weaker and slower, I am caring less about fighting and more about solutions when it comes to saving children’s lives.

Once upon a time, not that many years ago, two elderly former senators, one a Republican and the other a Democrat (imagine that) created a global school feeding program that resulted in billions of daily meals being served in 48 countries. Like any government program, in its twenty plus years of service the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program wasn’t without its critics. Could it have been implemented in a more effective way? I’m sure it could as every program on earth, including even my own micro philanthropic projects, can be improved.

When billions of tax dollars are being spent, partisan politics and corruption always finds a way to creep in. Delivering effective humanitarian relief, no matter the size, or the method, is never an easy task. “Government transparency and program accountability” have to be more than just catchy buzz words; they must be a foundational cornerstone of any effective mission to maintain bipartisan support.

I consider myself a “staunch political conservative”, but that label means different things to different people. While I certainly don’t pretend to have all the answers, my personal view of “America First” is this:

It is economically advantageous and within the United States of America’s long term national security interests to feed innocent children both at home and around the globe as opposed to letting them suffer. Global food security should not be falsely viewed as a zero sum game, but rather as a top priority of any adminstration’s national security plan.

Although giving food away is expensive, it is still far cheaper than war and famine. But even if it wasn’t, the right thing to do is, well, always the right thing to do.

Knowing that government corruption, both falsely perceived and very real, will always attempt to undermines these noble efforts. That is not a valid reason to stop trying. Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives must come together immediately to once again find solutions on how best to feed all our children as there simply is no time to wait.

-The author grows winegrapes in California and coconuts on the shores of the West Philippine Sea. He currently is exploring how to create fertilizer, pesticide and plastic out of seaweed. He can be reached at frank@tuktukinnbythesea.com.

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Frank Gayaldo

Sporadically for over twenty years and with much greater focus and determination since 2019, Frank Gayaldo has done humanitarian work primarily focused on a remote fishing village located in the Northern Philippines.

Calay-ab, Santo Domingo, Ilocos Sur is the ancestral village of his wife, Edythe.Frank and Edythe’s main joint project, the philanthropic “Tuk Tuk Inn by the Sea”, is only seconds away from the politically and environmentally sensitive West Philippine Sea and minutes away from the UNESCO World Heritage City of Vigan.

Frank met Edythe over twenty years ago at a Stockton, California jail while she worked as a Registered Nurse and he as a sheriff correctional training officer.At that time, Frank, an ex-bounty hunter and San Quentin State Prison guard that had worked with some of the most dangerous criminals on the entire planet, had zero idea how such a stunningly beautiful Filipina American wouldtotally change the trajectory of his life.

Since retiring from a twenty-year career in law enforcement (city, county, state, federal and self-employed) in 2004, Frank has helped raise global awareness and profitability for several US based agricultural producers. Frank worked as a passionate promoter of value-added US agricultural exports.Frank’s motivation came from growing up on his family’s vineyard in Lodi, California that he still farms today.

Frank’s eclectic experience has given him an extensive network of government, media and business connections that literally spans the globe. In May of 2006, he organized an international wine tasting event that resulted in Costa Rican President and former Nobel Peace Prize winner, Oscar Arias, serving three boutique wines from Lodi, California at his presidential inauguration. Frank has been an organizer of several inbound and outbound trade missions to China that have resulted in the purchase of multiple container loads of various California agricultural products, including wine and tree nuts.

Over the years, Frank has personally hosted numerous high ranking foreign dignitaries from China, Costa Rica, Japan and Russia at his vineyard home in the spirit of friendship and promoting California agriculture. Frank’s international successes have received coverage in the Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Central Valley Business Times, Honolulu Star Advertiser, Sacramento Bee, Stockton Record, AM Costa Rica, El Financero, Russian Observer, Jing Daily, China Wine News, China Daily and World Journal.

In 2012, Frank was awarded the “Tourism Advocate of the Year” for his work in promoting international opportunities for his hometown. Frank has served as the very first Director of International Business Development for the Lodi District Chamber of Commerce, the past Chairman of the Board of the Visit Lodi Tourism bureau, and as the Executive Director of the Galt District Chamber of Commerce.

Frank was a previous guest columnist
for the Lodi News Sentinel and has served as a Senior Investigator Reporter for 209 Times where his investigative journalism efforts led to the capture of a serial killer, prevented a school mass shooting and assisted in curtailing various other acts of extreme violence.

In 2018 Frank wrote a children’s book called “Rosa and Guapple” designed to help Filipino children learn English and provide Filipino grape growers a unique way to promote agricultural tourism.

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Frank Gayaldo: Sporadically for over twenty years and with much greater focus and determination since 2019, Frank Gayaldo has done humanitarian work primarily focused on a remote fishing village located in the Northern Philippines. Calay-ab, Santo Domingo, Ilocos Sur is the ancestral village of his wife, Edythe. Frank and Edythe’s main joint project, the philanthropic “Tuk Tuk Inn by the Sea”, is only seconds away from the politically and environmentally sensitive West Philippine Sea and minutes away from the UNESCO World Heritage City of Vigan. Frank met Edythe over twenty years ago at a Stockton, California jail while she worked as a Registered Nurse and he as a sheriff correctional training officer. At that time, Frank, an ex-bounty hunter and San Quentin State Prison guard that had worked with some of the most dangerous criminals on the entire planet, had zero idea how such a stunningly beautiful Filipina American would totally change the trajectory of his life. Since retiring from a twenty-year career in law enforcement (city, county, state, federal and self-employed) in 2004, Frank has helped raise global awareness and profitability for several US based agricultural producers. Frank worked as a passionate promoter of value-added US agricultural exports. Frank’s motivation came from growing up on his family’s vineyard in Lodi, California that he still farms today. Frank’s eclectic experience has given him an extensive network of government, media and business connections that literally spans the globe. In May of 2006, he organized an international wine tasting event that resulted in Costa Rican President and former Nobel Peace Prize winner, Oscar Arias, serving three boutique wines from Lodi, California at his presidential inauguration. Frank has been an organizer of several inbound and outbound trade missions to China that have resulted in the purchase of multiple container loads of various California agricultural products, including wine and tree nuts. Over the years, Frank has personally hosted numerous high ranking foreign dignitaries from China, Costa Rica, Japan and Russia at his vineyard home in the spirit of friendship and promoting California agriculture. Frank’s international successes have received coverage in the Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Central Valley Business Times, Honolulu Star Advertiser, Sacramento Bee, Stockton Record, AM Costa Rica, El Financero, Russian Observer, Jing Daily, China Wine News, China Daily and World Journal. In 2012, Frank was awarded the “Tourism Advocate of the Year” for his work in promoting international opportunities for his hometown. Frank has served as the very first Director of International Business Development for the Lodi District Chamber of Commerce, the past Chairman of the Board of the Visit Lodi Tourism bureau, and as the Executive Director of the Galt District Chamber of Commerce. Frank was a previous guest columnist for the Lodi News Sentinel and has served as a Senior Investigator Reporter for 209 Times where his investigative journalism efforts led to the capture of a serial killer, prevented a school mass shooting and assisted in curtailing various other acts of extreme violence. In 2018 Frank wrote a children’s book called “Rosa and Guapple” designed to help Filipino children learn English and provide Filipino grape growers a unique way to promote agricultural tourism.

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