World Food Day

“Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition”

World Food Day is annually held on October 16 to commemorate the founding of the United Nations’ (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Each year has a different theme.
World Food Day helps raise people’s awareness of problems in food supply and distribution.

What do people do?

Many events are organized on and around World Food Day. On and around October 16, a wide-ranging program is organized at the FAO’s headquarters in Rome, Italy. The program is aimed at leaders of political and non-political organizations at all levels and at increasing press attention on topical issues around food supply. Other UN organizations and universities around the world organize symposia, conferences, workshops and presentations of particular issues around food production, distribution and security. In addition, special initiatives, such as the “International Year of Rice” in 2004 and the “International Year of the Potato” in 2008 were launched.

Across the globe, many different events are organized to raise awareness of problems in food supply and distribution and to raise money to support projects to aid in the cultivation of food plants and the distribution of food. An example of this is TeleFood, which funds micro projects to help small-scale farmers at the grassroots level. The projects aim to help farmers be more productive and improve both local communities’ access to food and farmers’ cash income. Fundraising events include sponsored sports events, charity auctions, concerts, and marches.

Origins

In November 1979, World Food Day (WFD) was launched by FAO’s Member Countries on its 20th General Conference. The Hungarian Delegation, headed by the former Hungarian Minister of Agriculture and Food, Dr. Pal Romany had been instrumental at the 20th Session of the FAO Conference and floated the idea of celebrating the WFD across the world. Since then this day has been observed every year in more than 150 countries, highlighting awareness of the issues behind poverty and hunger.

Objectives

• Encourage attention to agricultural food production and to stimulate national, bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental efforts to this end.
• Encourage economic and technical cooperation among developing countries.
• Encourage the participation of rural people, particularly women and the least privileged categories, in decisions and activities influencing their living conditions.
• Heighten public awareness of the problem of hunger in the world.
• Promote the transfer of technologies to the developing world.
• Strengthen international and national solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty and draw attention to achievements in food and agricultural development.

The official World Food Day theme – announced at the start of every year by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) – gives focus to World Food Day observances and helps increase understanding of problems and solutions in the drive to end hunger.

Today almost 870 million people worldwide are chronically undernourished. Unsustainable models of development are degrading the natural environment, threatening ecosystems and biodiversity that will be needed for our future food supply.

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. What is more, policies and interventions on food systems are rarely designed with nutrition as their primary objective.

Addressing malnutrition requires integrated action and complementary interventions in agriculture and the food system, in natural resource management, in public health and education, and in broader policy domains.

What would a sustainable food system look like? Is it possible to get from here to there? What would need to change to move us in that direction? World Food Day 2013 is an opportunity to explore these and other questions, and help bring about the future we want.