Shaughnessy outlines the issue of global poverty from an American perspective, emphasizing moral obligation as justification for United States involvement in overcoming world hunger. He identifies global hunger as a non-military threat to national security and stresses the shared economic interests of the U.S. and developing nations in assuring larger and more stable world food supplies. As an important member of the world's interdependent food system, he believes the U.S. must commit to addressing global hunger.