Hello Kiddies, Parents/Caregivers, and Teachers!
I know this is a few days late, but the advocacy issues around World Food Day are so deserving of being discussed and advocated for, especially this year, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting hunger issues that it has highlighted.
World Food Day like other days sponsored by the United Nations is an international day of observance, celebrated annually on October 16th. It commemorates the date of the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) established October 16, 1945. The first World Food Day was celebrated in 1982 in the United States. This day is widely celebrated by many organizations that raise awareness on the important issues around hunger, food security, and agriculture. The FAO also celebrates 75 years of their work to solve issues around food. In addition, This year the World Food Programme (WFP) also received the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 for their efforts to combat hunger, especially in conflict areas.
The FAO was created in the aftermath of the Second World War, due to a renewed emphasis on an intergovernmental need, to increase dialogue among nations to address food issues especially hunger, malnutrition, and food deprivation.
This year's theme "Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together." addresses the prevailing issues around hunger worldwide, especially in a world of conflict. There are continued and persistent violent conflicts in the world that are connected to food issues, however, the conflict with the most immediacy is the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 has highlighted the fragility of our food systems and our interconnectedness.
COVID-19 has exasperated the issues around food and hunger in the world. Namely food access and food insecurity along with the complications around our food and agricultural systems. In an effort to become more efficient and industrialized, to meet the demands of human consumption, animal feed, and biodiesel needs. Our farming and food systems have forgone quality for quantity. Though the world’s food is mostly produced by small-scale farmers, the unintended consequences and demands of our industrialized food systems; have led to significant food gaps, increases in poverty & hunger, and inequities among worldwide food workers.
Now that COVID-19 has exposed our interconnectedness and vulnerabilities. The theme of World Food Day 2020 aims to narrow those growing food related gaps and accelerate actions towards ending hunger and malnutrition; along with actions that include farming and agriculture, as part of those collective actions. We are finding that a new crop of mission-driven food business models and investments are increasing, in an effort, to answer the need of sustainable & ethical food systems.
Therefore, the theme this year is focused on the worldwide people who produce, plant, harvest, fish, or transport food for the world. The focus will highlight and celebrate all those who make it possible that food is grown, produced, and somehow makes it to our tables. We Grow, We Nourish, We Sustain, and We Can only do it TOGETHER! Happy World Food Day 2020! Thank you to all our Food Heroes! Please check out these resources to learn more about the food issues facing the world:
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) http://www.fao.org/home/en/
OXFAM https://www.oxfamamerica.org/take-action/events/world-food-day
World Food Programme (UN WFP) https://www.wfpusa.org FAO has provided a downloadable .pdf Activity Book for Kiddies (just click on image):
Source: United Nations and FAO
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