The United Nations Organization (UNO) has declared the 16th of October as “World Food Day” which coincides with Foundation day of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and celebrated every year throughout the world by the Member Nations. The main objective of this observance is to create public awareness of the plight of the world’s hungry and malnourished and to encourage people world-wide to take action against hunger. More than 150 countries observe this event every year. First World Food Day was observed in 1981, and each year World Food Day highlights a particular theme on which to focus activities. Thus some of the recent years – theme are:
2000 - A Millennium Free from Hunger
2001 - Fight Hunger to Reduce Poverty
2002 - WATER: Source of Food Security
2003 - International Alliance against Hunger
2004 - Biodiversity for Food Security
2005 – Agriculture and Intercultural Dialogue
2006 – Investing in Agriculture for Food Security
2007 – Right to Food
2008 – World Food Security: Challenges of Climate Change and
Bio-energy
2009 – Achieving Food Security in Times of Crisis
2010 – United Against Hunger
The Theme for this year is the “Food Prices – from Crisis to Stability”. It is an appropriate theme and chosen for the right time. In a short span of three years, global food prices have scaled new heights twice. Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nations mentions June saw its food price index ending close to the record level of February 2008. Cereal production could be little more this year but the increasing demand for food grain could reduce the marginal rise. The food situation is increasingly becoming a matter of great concern. It was, however, heartening to note that G-20 held a special meeting to discuss the issue of continuing high prices of food articles. This may lead to initiate continuing debate on the problem of food prices toward stability.
The theme 2007 was “Right ti Food.”It is the inherent human right of every woman, man, girls and boy, wherever they live on this planet. It is also right of every person to have regular access to sufficient nutritious food for an active and healthy life. Therefore, the Right to Food is a universal right. It means that every person, woman, man and child must have access to food at all times. The Universal Declaration of Human rights of 1948 first recognized the right to food as a human right. It is now incorporated in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights (Article 11) of the UNO. The right to food is now increasingly being integrated into national constitutions and legislation.
Here we need to understand that hunger and malnutrition are caused not just by a lack of available food, but also by poverty, income disparities, and lack of access to health care, education, clean water, and sanitary living conditions. The principle that all human rights are interrelated and interdependent is needed to be acknowledged. The right to food cannot be implemented in isolation from human rights i.e. right to education, right to work, right to health, freedom of assembly and association.
There are one thousand million undernourished in the world today and more than one thousand million go to bed hungry every night. About 24,000 people die from the effect of hunger each day i.e. one person every 3.5 seconds. One child dies every 7 seconds from hunger and related cause. According to another release reported that over 36 million die of starvation and related causes every year (FAO, 2007). Defeating the hunger does not depend simply on producing more food. The only sustainable way to achieve Food Security for the poor is by increasing their access to food. This can be done by making appropriate agricultural technologies based on importance of religions and values towards a universal civilization for humanity.
With the celebration of World Food Day 2011, let us ensure that the right of every person to have regular access to sufficient, nutritionally adequate and culturally acceptable for an active and healthy life. The most significance of the observance of this day is to emphasize the sensing need for national security and international solidarity in the struggle of mankind to meet the challenges of hunger, malnutrition and poverty. It is also to remind the whole world once again, about the existing untold suffering and food insecurity to a large section of the global population. The seriousness about the present scenario hence, is availability of food and growing population.
Therefore, this day should remind the entire scientific mind to accelerate the pace of development in all spheres of activities, which are related to produce surplus food to feed the population of the world. As the saying goes a hungry man is an angry man, therefore, peace in the world is next to impossible if there is no sufficient food to feed the millions of hungry mouth. In other words, the human development which is pre-requisite for all other developments, need to have proper nourishment through wholesome food. The peace, prosperity and human civilization has direct link with food security.
2000 - A Millennium Free from Hunger
2001 - Fight Hunger to Reduce Poverty
2002 - WATER: Source of Food Security
2003 - International Alliance against Hunger
2004 - Biodiversity for Food Security
2005 – Agriculture and Intercultural Dialogue
2006 – Investing in Agriculture for Food Security
2007 – Right to Food
2008 – World Food Security: Challenges of Climate Change and
Bio-energy
2009 – Achieving Food Security in Times of Crisis
2010 – United Against Hunger
The Theme for this year is the “Food Prices – from Crisis to Stability”. It is an appropriate theme and chosen for the right time. In a short span of three years, global food prices have scaled new heights twice. Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nations mentions June saw its food price index ending close to the record level of February 2008. Cereal production could be little more this year but the increasing demand for food grain could reduce the marginal rise. The food situation is increasingly becoming a matter of great concern. It was, however, heartening to note that G-20 held a special meeting to discuss the issue of continuing high prices of food articles. This may lead to initiate continuing debate on the problem of food prices toward stability.
The theme 2007 was “Right ti Food.”It is the inherent human right of every woman, man, girls and boy, wherever they live on this planet. It is also right of every person to have regular access to sufficient nutritious food for an active and healthy life. Therefore, the Right to Food is a universal right. It means that every person, woman, man and child must have access to food at all times. The Universal Declaration of Human rights of 1948 first recognized the right to food as a human right. It is now incorporated in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights (Article 11) of the UNO. The right to food is now increasingly being integrated into national constitutions and legislation.
Here we need to understand that hunger and malnutrition are caused not just by a lack of available food, but also by poverty, income disparities, and lack of access to health care, education, clean water, and sanitary living conditions. The principle that all human rights are interrelated and interdependent is needed to be acknowledged. The right to food cannot be implemented in isolation from human rights i.e. right to education, right to work, right to health, freedom of assembly and association.
There are one thousand million undernourished in the world today and more than one thousand million go to bed hungry every night. About 24,000 people die from the effect of hunger each day i.e. one person every 3.5 seconds. One child dies every 7 seconds from hunger and related cause. According to another release reported that over 36 million die of starvation and related causes every year (FAO, 2007). Defeating the hunger does not depend simply on producing more food. The only sustainable way to achieve Food Security for the poor is by increasing their access to food. This can be done by making appropriate agricultural technologies based on importance of religions and values towards a universal civilization for humanity.
With the celebration of World Food Day 2011, let us ensure that the right of every person to have regular access to sufficient, nutritionally adequate and culturally acceptable for an active and healthy life. The most significance of the observance of this day is to emphasize the sensing need for national security and international solidarity in the struggle of mankind to meet the challenges of hunger, malnutrition and poverty. It is also to remind the whole world once again, about the existing untold suffering and food insecurity to a large section of the global population. The seriousness about the present scenario hence, is availability of food and growing population.
Therefore, this day should remind the entire scientific mind to accelerate the pace of development in all spheres of activities, which are related to produce surplus food to feed the population of the world. As the saying goes a hungry man is an angry man, therefore, peace in the world is next to impossible if there is no sufficient food to feed the millions of hungry mouth. In other words, the human development which is pre-requisite for all other developments, need to have proper nourishment through wholesome food. The peace, prosperity and human civilization has direct link with food security.
