Today We Honour The Food We Eat
World Food Day (WFD) is celebrated every year across the world on 16th October. It’s an annual celebration in the honor of the founding date of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)launched by the United Nations in the year 1945.
THE HISTORY OF WORLD FOOD DAY
WFD was established by the member countries of FAO in November 1979, at the organization’s 20th General Conference. Dr. Pal Romany, the Hungarian Delegation led by the then Minister of Hungary for Agriculture and Food, played a significant role at the 20th General Conference of the FAO and proposed the idea of launching the WFD worldwide. Since then, the WFD is been observed in more than 150 countries every year; raising consciousness and knowledge of the problems and reasons behind hunger and poverty.
WHY WORLD FOOD DAY IS CELEBRATED
The principal reason behind launching and celebrating world food day is to secure and advance the food security across the world, particularly in days of the crisis. The commencement of FAO by the United Nations has played a significant role in making this possible and accomplishing the goal.
HOW WORLD FOOD DAY IS MARKED IN INDIA
In India, World Food Day is the occasion, through which several non-voluntary organizations highlight the importance of eating healthy food and avoiding fast food in urban India. But while we may seem to be having enough food to eat, there are millions across the world who still remain to be hungry. India is ranked 103rd in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) this year, out of 119 countries, according to a report prepared by Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide. The report said that India is among the 45 countries that have “serious levels of hunger”.
The key factors taken into consideration to prepare the GHI are- the proportion of the undernourished in the country, the proportion of children under five suffering from wasting and stunting and the mortality rate of these children.
India is actually ranked below many neighbouring countries in the GHI, including China (25), Nepal (72), Myanmar (68), Sri Lanka (67) and Bangladesh (86).
Notwithstanding our foodgrain surpluses, we clearly face a complex challenge of nutritional security. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recent publication, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2018 estimates that about 15 per cent of the Indian population is undernourished. More than 38 per cent of Indian children aged below five years are stunted and 21 per cent suffer from wasting. Several factors ranging from poor diet, unsafe drinking water, poor hygiene and sanitation, low levels of immunisation and education (especially that of women), contribute to this dismal situation. But latest innovations in biotechnology that fortify major staples with micro nutrients like vitamin A, zinc and iron can be game changers.
But innovation in biofortified food can alleviate malnutrition only when they are scaled up with supporting policies. This would require increasing expenditure on agri-R&D and incentivising farmers by linking their produce to lucrative markets. Can the authorities do it? Only time can tell.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
While we cannot possibly get into the science of solving child-wasting and child-stunting, what we can do at our end is look after the first bit — undernourishment. So, what India’s kids basically need is not just food; they need good food that packed with nutrition. That is where you come in.
1. There’s a difference between giving and giving-away: Giving your help and her family food that has been lying in your fridge for three days is not exactly helping her; it’s probably doing her more harm than good. Don’t give them anything you yourself won’t eat, that’s the one basic rule of giving.
2. The left-overs from your party do not belong in the dustbin: There are enough organisations in most cities that can come to your house and collect your left-over party food and feed those who need it. Feeding India is one such organisation, which you can call at the end of any party of wedding, and “Hunger Heroes” will come and collect the food from you. They operate 24X7.
3. Restaurants waste food on a daily basis; change that: Know someone who owns or runs a restaurant? Get them in touch with the Robinhood Army. It’s basically a volunteer-run organisation that picks up surplus food from restaurants in cities all across India, and some cities of Pakistan, Indonesia and Philippines, and distributes it among the needy. The best part is, you can join the Robinhood Army too, by just volunteering over the weekends, or whenever convenient.
4. Be a thoughtful shopper: Now that you’re getting ready to shop for Diwali, buy a few extra packs of juice or snacks to give away at every red light where you see children begging. Make this a regular practice instead of just waiting for the festive season each year to do it.
Watch this Mint video below on India’s ongoing hunger crisis
Ketto & The Fight Against Hunger
Since its inception, Ketto has been a strong advocate of hunger alleviation in India, and working towards making surefood reaches where it is needed, especially in times of civil strife and natural disasters. Click on the links below to view crowdfunding projects it has been involved with for related causes. If you feel inspired, you can start your own project with us as well.
Ketto Blog remains committed to inspiring and compelling social change to India’s most pressing problems through the power of great stories and engaging our audiences to take meaningful action.
