US to burn food meant for 1.5mn starving children? Trump admin set to destroy 500 tons of emergency food - Here's what we know

The US President Donald Trump administration is set to destroy nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food, which was kept for starving people around the world. The high-nutrient food has remained untouched since Trump ceased United States Agency for International Development (USAID) operations.

The food, worth $800,000,000, has been getting ruined for months in a warehouse in Dubai, according to a former USAID official.

The food, which will now be obliterated, could have sustained about 1.5 million children for a week. However, according to an Atlantic report, the disposal process will start soon, involving incineration, and is expected to cost an additional $130,000.

Earlier, the agency was supposed to distribute the food to underprivileged children in regions of Africa and the Middle East.

This comes as the US State Department is planning to lay off 1300 employees this week, as it accused the department of excessive spending and fraudulent conduct.

'Government abuse'

Democratic Representative Adam Smith slammed Trump for "waste and government abuse". He stressed that in the coming weeks, the food enough for a million children, will be torched at a cost of $130,000.

“The Trump administration is destroying 500 metric tons of emergency food—and making US taxpayers foot the bill,” Smith said.

“In the coming weeks, high-energy biscuits, enough to feed 1.5 million children, will be torched at a cost of $130,000. This comes after $800,000 in taxpayer funds were already spent to purchase the food. This is the very definition of waste and government abuse."

He stressed the need to restore critical foreign aid programs that save lives, "rather than let vulnerable children starve while we burn the food that could have fed them.”

'Could have been given to Gaza'

A former USAID official, who spoke anonymously, said that before the Trump administration dismantles USAID, the agency's personnel would have kept a record of expiration dates of food. As the dates of expiration came nearer, they could have asked colleagues to send the food aid to those regions where it was needed.

The food could have been sent to places that desperately needed it, like Gaza.

The former official explained that two rations of biscuits a day is enough to stop people from dying. They made “perfect sense” in the catastrophic situation of Gaza, “because there is no clean water, there’s no way to cook, no oil, no fires,” the official told CNN.

“It’s just heartbreaking to see with these biscuits, because they’re the perfect emergency food aid, it’s hard to see them go to waste,” the official added.

Meanwhile, a state department spokesperson has confirmed the obliteration of food aid, since they are unable to use it before it expires. “USAID has had to destroy commodities under previous administrations with similar circumstances – this is not unique,” the spokesperson said.