World Food Day 2022 🍚: Leave NO ONE behind.

Blog by Ghanshyam Bhattarai, TFF Regional Coordinator for South Asia

Food is not just something we eat, it connects, covers and represents all the aspects of individuals, their communities and the whole planet. Ranging from different cultures to territories, food means a lot to every person – and is just more than a fundamental right. Therefore, every year, World Food Day makes a remarkable presence and solidarity with hundreds of events and outreach activities around the world that bring together governments, businesses, the public, and the media to highlight the importance of food and the needed efforts to get sustainable food on everyone’s plate.

It is one of the most celebrated days on the UN calendar. It takes place worldwide on October 16th to honor the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) establishing Day in 1945. Its primary goal is to promote global awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and to highlight the need to ensure safe healthy diets for all.

🍚 What is this year’s World Food Day theme?

This year’s theme is ‘Leave NO ONE behind’. Along with the unavailability of safe, healthy and nutritious food, the ongoing effects of 3Cs: climate change, Covid and conflict have indeed heavily devastated national as well as local food systems. These global challenges are exacerbated by warming, rising prices and international tensions – altogether leading to global food insecurity. People all around the world are suffering the consequences of such problems, and the situation is more critical for children, youths and women who cover the largest groups of the world’s population – putting them at risk of acute hunger.

FAO states: “in 2021, some 193 million people experienced high acute food insecurity, requiring humanitarian assistance for their survival, while over half a million faced Catastrophe conditions, meaning starvation and death.”

Therefore, the theme highlights the building of a sustainable world through the communal efforts of all the actors of the food systems where everyone regardless of their age, gender, region, culture, diversity and circumstances has regular access to enough safe and nutritious food. By targeting better food production, better nutrition, a better living environment and a better life for all, we can transform our local and global agri-food systems and build them better forward by implementing holistic sustainable practices and system-thinking approaches that comprise long-term development, inclusive economic growth and greater resilience.

🔴 Why is this day important?

Almost one in ten people globally are undernourished, and more than 3 billion can’t afford a healthy diet, according to the FAO. More than 200 billion children under 5 are either overweight or underweight. In contrast, ⅓ of total food production is wasted globally, which could be enough to feed 2 billion people.

That’s why World Food Day is pivotal to draw attention to this food crisis, which is also a climate crisis and health crisis – and by doing so, aims to foster the food security and availability of nutritious foods to everyone on the planet. It’s a reminder and hope that hunger can be eradicated. The prevalent scare of healthy diets is the consequence of unknowingly eating the food where it is abundant. If we see the Global Data, around 1.3 billion people are overweight due to consuming excessive foods which constitute mainly sugar and meats. Thus, this day also reminds everyone of us, who are getting food access daily, to respect the food, minimize the waste, and have it mindfully.

🌱 Why should food be safe, healthy and sustainable?

If we are getting to eat food daily, should we also consider whether it is safe and healthy or not? Of course we should! Our diets determine how we want to make our day. Food is the major ground of our health – both physical and mental. The consumption of chemically, microbiologically and physically uncontaminated diets can show its function inside our body. In some contexts, the words ‘safe’ and ‘healthy’ are misinterpreted – healthy diets focuses not only its safety part, but also discourage the amount of fat, sugars, salt etc. which are commonly found in junk and fast foods, and promote its right nutrients which impact our body positively. Such foods also prevent us from several diseases.

The concept of sustainable diets is more inclusive and counts environmental impact factors as well. Therefore, a sustainable diet is one that is generally safe, healthy and has a low impact on the environment and food supply. Plant-based foods and alternative proteins, such as beans and pulses, are considered as sustainable diets which elevate the betterment of people, community and the planet.

🚀 Why is food innovation crucial?

Despite the fact that global challenges have enormously affected the entire food system and no one is left untouched by the consequences, these challenges have also taught us that we can be resilient and have the power to shape our lives. As the problems exists, there are ample opportunities to question the existing practices, to rethink our plans, to explore our creativity so that we remake our roads ahead and reconfigure our whole agrifood systems to feed 10 billion people by 2050. Thus, innovation and new technology now come into play if we are to uproot the status quo.

Involvement of new innovation and technologies across the full agri-value chain, from pre-production and production to supply chains and consumption is an indispensable tool for eradicating hunger, providing better nutrition, ensuring sustainability, promoting socioeconomic growth and offering resilience to future unexpected challenges. After the pandemic, hundreds of innovators have come to the frontline and are working on shaping the future of food with their open mindsets cross-cutting ideas.

Thought For Food is being a pioneer to set up new innovations and technology.

Thought For Food is catering to such change makers and innovators worldwide and providing them the best platform to create, experiment, and succeed with their breakthrough solutions. As seen on TFF’s platform, which contains a rich array of solutions from lab-grown meat, to edible insects, from seaweed to plant-based foods, to digital solutions for food production and agriculture, the next decades will see a considerable shift in what food we put on our plates. This is what the future of food looks like and can be counted as a new food revolution.

💡 How can you celebrate World Food Day?

As food is essential for everyone, celebrating food day is equally important from each side.

Here are few ways that we can celebrate the day.

1. Let’s host or be a part of different movements, rallies, events and activities in our local communities in order to increase the awareness of food and needed action to end the hunger;
2. Let’s visit local farms to show some love and respect towards the food which is keeping us alive, interact with the farmers, and highlight their challenges; increase awareness about sustainable agriculture and new technologies;
3. Let’s post on social media for World Food Day. Photos, data, blogs, articles, and more.