World Food Day:because food safety is also a social and environmental issue

World Food Day 2024 aims to raise awareness on the issue of the right to food which is not yet guaranteed to everyone, despite the fact that large resources are wasted to produce it.

• World Food Day, established by FAO to raise awareness of the right to food, is celebrated on 16 October.
• Around the world, 733 million people suffer from hunger, while 2.8 billion do not have access to a healthy diet.
• Food security must be addressed from an economic, but also a social and environmental perspective.

The “Right to food for a better life and future”:this is the theme of the 2024 edition of World Food Day which was established by FAO in 1979 and which is celebrated every year on October 16th with the aim of raising public awareness of the need to guarantee everyone an equitable and sustainable access to food.

World Food Day 2024:food is not yet a right for everyone

FAO highlights the need to transform global food systems so as to make them more inclusive, resilient and sustainable:733 million people worldwide still suffer from it hunger, while i climate changes, i armed conflicts, the economic crises and the inequalities continue to aggravate the problem.Furthermore, 2.8 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet, understood as a diversified diet, balanced in energy intake, suitable for satisfying the need for nutritional substances and with a reduced consumption of unhealthy foods, the average cost of which, in 2022, is approximately $3.96 (3.64 euros) per person per day at purchasing power parity.

In the European Union, the number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet is increasing

As reported a document from the European Parliament, in the European Union, while the availability of food is guaranteed, the problem is theeconomic accessibility to food.Inflated consumer food prices have increased the cost of a healthy diet today 39 million people cannot afford a meal with meat, chicken, fish or a vegetarian equivalent every two days. According to data from ActionAid, this material food deprivation concerns the8.4 percent of Italians, or 4.9 million people over 16 years old.

Between 2019 and 2023, the number of those receiving food aid Fead (European aid fund for the most deprived) through third sector bodies located throughout Italy increased by 40 percent, going from 2.08 million to almost 2.91 million beneficiaries. ActionAid also highlights how factors such as restrictive access criteria, social stigma and logistical barriers can lead to a underestimate the real need.Confirming this, for example, in 2022 9.6 percent of the population lived in absolute poverty, but only 4.9 percent received food aid.

Food poverty, not just an economic issue

“Although food aid has increased, especially as a result of the pandemic, it remains a necessary but insufficient response,” he said Roberto Sensi, head of the ActionAid Italia food poverty program.“This is because, despite addressing emergencies, they fail to resolve the structural causes of food poverty.For this reason, it is urgent to renew the contrast policies, combining material aid with new intervention strategies.It is essential to implement systematic monitoring at a local level that is not limited to the economic dimension of access to food, but also considers aspects such as sociality, relationships and the physical and emotional well-being of people".

Food safety:also an environmental issue

On the occasion of World Food Day, the Wwf wanted to underline how global the food system is "illogical" since he is responsible for the exploitation of huge natural resources and of deforestation, but despite this it is not able to feed the world population.

According to the WWF, food production uses the 40 percent of the Earth's surface ice-free, consume the 70 percent fresh waterAnd, is the main cause of loss of biodiversity and is among the main sectors responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.Furthermore, almost 90 percent of deforestation, especially in tropical and subtropical areas rich in biodiversity, is caused by our consumption:“The European Union is the second largest 'importer' of tropical deforestation in the world after China and, tAmong EU countries, Italy is the second largest consumer of raw materials at risk of destroying nature.With imports of soybeans, palm oil and beef, orEvery Italian is responsible for the deforestation of 6 square meters per year.".

Wwf:“The law against deforestation must not be postponed”

The WWF appeals not to postpone it by one year, i.e. to December 2025, theentry into force of the European law against deforestation, since rsending twelve months means losing (if the trend remained the same as recent years) another 3 million hectares, or 8 football fields of virgin tropical forest every minute.

“While waiting for the EU to lay down rules to guarantee that what we consume does not in turn eat up the forests”, say the WWF, “we can prefer a diet based on plant foods, little meat and few animal derivatives, ensuring that come from farms that respect animal welfare and nature, such as organic farming and extensive/free farming".Proceeding in this direction on a global level, according to the WWF, the results will be a more sustainable food system and vital forests capable of contributing to the fight against climate change, the conservation of biodiversity, guaranteeing food safety.