Our Actions Are Our Future!!!

This was the theme of the World Food Day 2018 which was celebrated on Tuesday October 16. This is a day designated by the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), a United Nations (UN) group, to bring attention to how governments and individuals can help combat world hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity.

On 16 October 1945, representatives from 42 countries gathered in Quebec, Canada, to create the FAO. World Food Day commemorates the group's founding, celebrates the progress that has been made and highlights the need to do much more to fight hunger-related issues including malnutrition and food insecurity.

The United Nations has set a goal of achieving Zero Hunger worldwide by 2030, and on World Food Day, the FAO asks governments, farmers, organizations and individuals to get involved in working toward a world where everyone has reliable access to enough nutritious food — i.e. food security (availability, adequacy, sufficiency, and affordability).

Everyone eats food…daily. We may not all be involved in producing the food or even know how/where the food comes from but when it comes to consumption, we are all involved. But while some of us are surrounded by an array of delicious foods, millions of others are daily going hungry and malnourished and dying. The theme therefore, calls on us to take the right actions to secure a Zero Hunger future for all of us.

So, this question goes to all of us. What can we do to ensure that food is Available? Adequate? Sufficient? Affordable?

We can achieve Zero Hunger, the second objective of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), when everyone can have sufficient quantity of food, of appropriate quality, at an affordable cost, on a consistent basis. Food availability is determined by food production and food trade (FAO, 2008) and I will add food aid.

Food Production: Food availability, adequacy, sufficiency and affordability begins with the food production system. Chris Martin, Founder of Impactfood describes food production system as “all the processes and infrastructure involved in feeding a population: growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, quality assurance and disposal of food and food-related items. It also includes the inputs needed and outputs generated at each of these steps”. When the food production system is efficiently and effectively coordinated, the Zero Hunger campaign will be successful.

Food Trade: Food trade, as described by Economy Watch, “is the activity of buying, selling, or exchanging commodities, at either wholesale or retail, between people, firms, or countries”. When trade is unhampered by poor infrastructure and other trade barriers, then food can get to all and sundry.

Food Aid: According to Safeopedia, food aid refers to “the provision of food or cash to purchase food in times of emergency or to provide longer-term solutions in areas where food shortages exist. Food aid can also be targeted at creating food security – a situation in which people need not be vulnerable to hunger and starvation”. Disaster, human and natural, occurs regularly in various parts of the world and affect the lives and livelihood of millions of people who consequently lack, among other things, basic necessities like food. Donating or providing food or access to food at such times will bring us closer to achieving Zero Hunger.

What do all of these tell us…every single one of us can participate in any of these areas in food provision and be part of the Zero Hunger campaign and bring succour to millions of people, all over the world, suffering from hunger, malnutrition and starvation.

Megan O. Steintrager lists out about five simple ways we can support the cause of ending world hunger;

1. Donate food: Individuals and businesses can help their local communities by donating food to food banks and community organizations. The anti-hunger organization, such as ‘Feeding America’, allows people to search by zip code for local food banks.

2. Volunteer time: According to ‘Feeding America’, 51 percent of all food programs rely entirely on volunteers, so giving time is a great way to help bolster food security.

3. Raise awareness: The FAO encourages people to talk to friends, family and co-workers about the Zero Hunger goal. Spreading the word can start with something as simple as tagging social media posts with #ZeroHunger.

4. Waste less food: Wasting less food is one of the keys to creating a world without hunger, according to the FAO. Only buying what is needed, eating leftovers and using scraps are three possible ways to waste less.

5. Give money: While donating food and time are great ways to help on the local level, giving money is probably the most efficient way to help fight hunger globally. The UN's World Food Programme and Action Against Hunger are two large organizations fighting world hunger.

We can beat this scourge. No one, child or adult, should have to go hungry with so much food in the world. In our schools, careers and businesses, we must find a way to contribute to ending global hunger. The decision we make today and the actions we take today will bring about the future we envisage. Happy (though belated) World Food Day!!!