THE UN CALLS FOR INCREASED ACTION TO ACHIEVE ZERO HUNGER BY 2030 IN OBSERVANCE OF WORLD FOOD DAY 2018.

In preparation for World Food Day on Oct. 16, agriculture officials are emphasizing the importance of food to the future of society.

The World Food Day theme for 2018 is: “Our Actions are Our Future. A Zero Hunger World by 2030 is Possible.”

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said “zero hunger” means adopting a more sustainable lifestyle to ensure that everyone has access to safe, healthy and nutritious food.

Barry Innocent, Deputy Director for Agricultural Services in the Department of Agriculture, said the 2018 theme underscores the need for food security.

“I like the theme. It is very strategic and very timely,” he said. “Not only are we looking at food availability but also food affordability, the access to food, and food and nutrition. Because if you’re eating and your diet is mainly junk food, or your diet is exceeding in starches and carbohydrates but no protein, you’re not food secure. Or if your diet is high in protein but not vitamins, you’re food insecure. And if you’re eating but not drinking enough water, or you do not have the means to access water, there is still an essence of food insecurity.”

Director of the Roman Catholic Stewardship for Health, Rev. David Popo, said the observance allows for reflection on the importance of food.

“It is a fundamental dimension with implications for health, for growth, for development, and it is a cross-cutting dimension. In every culture, in every society, in every economy, food is at the center of human life,” he said. “World Food Day allows for the opportunity for reflection by governments, policy makers, NGOs, and individual households [that there are people] who are affected by food deprivation or who do not have access to food.”

World Food Day was founded in 1945 to promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger; and with world hunger increasing, over 820 million now suffer from chronic undernourishment, the FAO stated.

The Deputy Director for Agricultural Services said such FAO forums serve as important reminders.

“The three basic necessities of life for any human being are food, clothing and shelter,” Mr. Innocent said. “You can survive without shelter and clothing for some time, but food, you cannot do without or you will die.

“So it is a very important element, and I am happy for these types of forums the FAO has initiated, because it reminds people of the importance of food, and it reminds all the various stakeholders from farmers to hotels owners, that this is a very valuable commodity—more valuable than gold, diamonds, and silver—and you cannot survive without it.”