World Food Day
Mahatma Gandhi says “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” Yes! For a hungry man food itself is God.
Around the world, more than enough food is produced to feed the global population – but as many as 811 million people still go hungry. After steadily declining for a decade, world hunger is on the rise, affecting 9.9 percent of people globally. From 2019 to 2020, the number of undernourished people grew by as many as 161 million, a crisis-driven largely by conflict, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Celebration of World Food Day has a great significance in this hour.
‘World Food Day is celebrated to mark the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations every year. World Food Day is celebrated across the globe on October 16. This day aims at tackling global hunger and strives to eradicate hunger across the world. FAO was founded in 1945 but World Food Day was established only in November 1979 when former Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Pal Romany suggested the same. It is celebrated by more than 150 countries around the world.
Every year there is a new theme revolving around agriculture, food, and investments to increase the production of food products. In 2019 the theme was ‘Zero Hunger’ with the aim of making sustainable and healthy diets affordable and available to all. In 2020, the theme was ‘Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together. Our actions are our future’. In 2021 the theme is ‘Our actions are our future – Better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life.
According to sources, India has slipped to the 101st position among 116 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 from its 2020 ranking (94), to be placed behind its neighboring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Swami Vivekananda says, “So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them.” It’s true to every word. This is a time of crisis and let’s stand together to help this world fight hunger. Let’s not waste food. Let’s store Food for the future. Let’s share Food. Let’s Feed the Needy.
REFERENCE:
https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html
