Every time we waste a portion of food, we forget that someone somewhere is sleeping with an empty stomach. Starvation is a global phenomenon and wastage of food adds to the injury. About one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year i.e. approximately 1.3 billion tons gets lost or wasted that values US$ 680 billion in industrialized countries and US$ 310 billion in developing countries whereas the UN World Food Programmer’s live Hunger Map indicates 957 million people across 93 countries starve & have no food to eat. To address this food insecurity and unequal access to food, an initiative of "The World Food Day" is marked every year by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Many organizations across the globe come together to commemorate this day and contribute towards fighting hunger; creating harmony in conflict areas and avoiding misusing hunger as a weapon in wars and conflicts.
Safe Food Now for A Healthier Tomorrow
The theme of this year's "World Food Day" is "Safe Food Now for A Healthier Tomorrow" which sends out a strong message to the world, urging each one of us to make sustainable food choices that can bring a positive change in the world, creating adequate, nutritious, and safe foods for everyone at an affordable price. Sustainable eating is a global shift towards a more plant-based, whole-foods diet and involves direct consumer purchasing of locally produced whole foods. The more we choose and be vocal for local, the greater is the accessibility to food raised or produced in the natural season without the use of additional energy, climate modification, or storage. Hence, it's time to venture into localized food supply chains & healthy diets having a greater positive impact on individual health; society; culture; economies; environment, & entire ecosystems.
Here's how India is working towards a Sustainable Food System
India is known for its strong agricultural produce that is multifaceted, with horticulture and animal husbandry contributing to over 60% of India's agricultural GDP. India alone ranks 2nd in the world in agriculture production. An initiative to leverage our strong agricultural hold can help us create a transition towards sustainable, nutritious, resilient, and inclusive food systems with suitable government policies. Hence India is taking efforts towards achieving sustainable agri-food systems and their targets set out in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Here's how!
● Crop Diversification - Indian policy regime is immensely focused on 2 big staples- rice and wheat incurring the opportunity cost of many nutritious and climate-resilient crops. Hence an all-inclusive policy involving subsidies & safety net programs encouraging the production of diversified crops by giving incentives to the farmers is an eminent start towards sustainable food systems. Haryana recently announced a financial incentive of Rs 7,000 per acre to those farmers who would be diversifying from the water-guzzling paddy to millets, pulses, vegetables, maize, cotton, etc.
Check out the complete article at Hexagon Nutrition .