World Food Day is celebrated all over the world on October 16 to remember the date of the founding of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945. This global event is celebrated annually to address the problem of global hunger. It aims for worldwide awareness and collective action to fight the issue of hunger and ensure healthy diets for all. This global event will be organized in around 150 countries across the globe with multiple partners and governments. The theme this year is “Our actions are our future. Better production, better nutrition, better environment and a better life”. The theme is based on appreciating the individuals who have contributed to creating sustainable surroundings where no one is left hungry. Last year’s theme was based on the suffering of millions of people during the coronavirus pandemic.
World Food Day was recognized in November 1979, as suggested by former Hungarian minister of agriculture and food Dr Pal Romany. It gradually became a way to raise awareness about hunger, malnutrition, sustainability and food production.
We are all aware that the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has underlined that there is an urgent need to address the issue of global hunger. The pandemic has made it harder for farmers who are already grappling with climate variability and extremes to sell their harvests. The rising poverty is further pushing an increased number of city residents to use food banks and there are millions of people who require emergency food aid.
The FAO said that today’s agri-food systems are exposing profound inequalities and injustices. At least two billion people don’t have regular access to sufficient amounts of safe, nutritious food, while three billion cannot afford healthy diets and obesity continues to increase worldwide. It further said that vast quantities of food are lost even when millions of people go hungry every day. The food is either spoiled during production or transport or thrown into the waste bins of households, retailers or restaurants. To fix this, collective action is needed so that everyone has enough safe and nutritious food to eat, and the entire food supply chain is more sustainable, resilient and inclusive.
One of the best ways to celebrate World Food Day is by giving food to people who need it the most. Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives us a chance to give joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship.
By Apurva
