Efficient, well-managed and sustainable food systems are essential to end hunger and malnutrition as well as protect the environment, United Nations officials stressed on October 16, marking World Food Day.
“The key to better nutrition, and ultimately to ensuring each person’s right to food, lies in better food systems – smarter approaches, policies and investments encompassing the environment, people, institutions and processes by which agricultural products are produced, processed and brought to consumers in a sustainable manner,” said Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
“Every day, more than 840 million people go hungry in a world of plenty. This fact alone should be cause for moral outrage and concerted action,” he said in his message for the day.
“Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition” is the theme for this year's observance of World Food Day, which is celebrated annually on 16 October, the day when FAO was established in 1945.
A food system is made up of the environment, people, institutions and processes by which agricultural products are produced, processed and brought to consumers. Every aspect of the food system has an effect on the final availability and accessibility of diverse, nutritious foods – and therefore on consumers’ ability to choose healthy diets. However, policies and interventions on food systems are rarely designed with nutrition as their primary objective.
“On this World Food Day, we have a simple but important message that can underpin our efforts to end hunger: Healthy people depend on healthy food systems. Efficient, well-managed sustainable food systems provide the diverse and nutritious diet we need to end hunger and malnutrition. At the same time, they protect our natural resources, ” FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said in a message on the World Food Day
The World Food Programme (WFP) stressed that understanding food systems and ending malnutrition can transform individuals, societies and economies, and is central to all development efforts. “Prioritizing nutrition today is an investment in our collective global future. The investment must involve food, agriculture, health and education systems,” said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin.
In addition to the 840 million people suffering from chronic hunger, there are some 2 billion people who lack the vitamins and minerals needed to live healthy lives. Poor nutrition also means some 1.4 billion people are overweight, with about one-third obese and at risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes or other health problems.
WFP noted that if the global community invested 1.2 billion USD per year for five years on reducing micronutrient deficiencies, the benefits in better health, fewer child deaths and increased future earnings would generate gains worth 15.3 billion USD.-VNA
“The key to better nutrition, and ultimately to ensuring each person’s right to food, lies in better food systems – smarter approaches, policies and investments encompassing the environment, people, institutions and processes by which agricultural products are produced, processed and brought to consumers in a sustainable manner,” said Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
“Every day, more than 840 million people go hungry in a world of plenty. This fact alone should be cause for moral outrage and concerted action,” he said in his message for the day.
“Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition” is the theme for this year's observance of World Food Day, which is celebrated annually on 16 October, the day when FAO was established in 1945.
A food system is made up of the environment, people, institutions and processes by which agricultural products are produced, processed and brought to consumers. Every aspect of the food system has an effect on the final availability and accessibility of diverse, nutritious foods – and therefore on consumers’ ability to choose healthy diets. However, policies and interventions on food systems are rarely designed with nutrition as their primary objective.
“On this World Food Day, we have a simple but important message that can underpin our efforts to end hunger: Healthy people depend on healthy food systems. Efficient, well-managed sustainable food systems provide the diverse and nutritious diet we need to end hunger and malnutrition. At the same time, they protect our natural resources, ” FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said in a message on the World Food Day
The World Food Programme (WFP) stressed that understanding food systems and ending malnutrition can transform individuals, societies and economies, and is central to all development efforts. “Prioritizing nutrition today is an investment in our collective global future. The investment must involve food, agriculture, health and education systems,” said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin.
In addition to the 840 million people suffering from chronic hunger, there are some 2 billion people who lack the vitamins and minerals needed to live healthy lives. Poor nutrition also means some 1.4 billion people are overweight, with about one-third obese and at risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes or other health problems.
WFP noted that if the global community invested 1.2 billion USD per year for five years on reducing micronutrient deficiencies, the benefits in better health, fewer child deaths and increased future earnings would generate gains worth 15.3 billion USD.-VNA
