WORLD FOOD DAY

16 Oct WORLD FOOD DAY

Today October 16, World Food Day, a day to raise awareness that everyone is not lucky enough to put anything or very little in their mouths.

World Food Day was promoted by the UN in 1979. The objective is clear, to eradicate hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition in the world. They have a set goal, to achieve zero hunger by the year 2030 * Note, for the UN zero hunger is to reach 600 million people suffering from hunger. In any case, it is a challenge that is expected to be unattainable since in recent years it has not only increased, but with the effects of the pandemic produced by Covid-19, the number of cases has increased exponentially, going from 615 million of people in 2017 between 720 to 811 million during 2020, according to the report carried out by the UN.

The increase varies by region, in Africa the number of people with malnutrition problems increased by 21%, while in Latin America-Caribbean and Asia it grew by 9.1 and 9% respectively. If we speak in number of cases, the region where there is the most famine is in Asia with 418 million people, more than half of the undernourished population. In second place, Africa follows with 282 million and 60 million in the Latin American and Caribbean area.

There are many causes that cause food shortages. The most frequent cause is poverty, people do not have enough money or resources to buy basic products that provide them with a healthy and balanced diet, conforming to eating one feed a day or, sometimes, not even that. Other reasons are armed conflicts, climate change, market instability, extreme economic slowdowns, food and waste shortages… etc.

What actions does the UN have planned to eradicate hunger? The report details several lines to work on such as consolidating peace in war zones, considerably reducing climate change, reducing the economic adversities of the most vulnerable, fewer intermediaries to lower the price of food, face poverty and modify behaviors food to acquire healthier patterns.

It is clear that it is the governments that have to take the necessary measures so that the whole world lives with the needs covered, which could be achieved willingly, but they give the feeling that there is not much interest by them in solving the situation.

Solidarity dish

What can we do individually? In Abrassame we do our bit, how? Recycling, not wasting water, we encourage the use of public transport, we buy products from Km0 … are some examples to reduce the impact of climate change, we also do not waste food, buying daily, we offer balanced dishes and menus. In addition, this month we have incorporated into our daily menu a solidarity dish, the crispy broccoli with spark, cumin and lime, a dish with a supplement of € 2 that goes entirely to the NGO Acción Contra el Hambre. 100% of the income collected will go to help and improve nutrition for people of social exclusion. Because as the NGO says:

“In a world with food for all, it is unacceptable that more than 800 million people continue to live with hunger”