Each 16 October is celebrated as United Nations (UN) World Food Day.
The Thammasat University Library collection includes several books about different aspects of food production and management.
The UN website explains:
Right to foods for a better life and a better future
The world’s farmers produce enough food to feed more than the global population, yet hunger persists. Around 733 million people are facing hunger in the world due to repeated weather shocks, conflicts, economic downturns, inequality, and the pandemic. This impacts the poor and vulnerable most severely, many of whom are agricultural households, reflecting widening inequalities across and within countries.
Food is the third most basic human need after air and water – everyone should have the right to adequate food. Human rights such as the right to food, life and liberty, work and education are recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and two legally binding international covenants.
‘Foods’ stands for diversity, nutrition, affordability, accessibility and safety. A greater diversity of nutritious foods should be available in our fields, fishing nets, markets, and on our tables, for the benefit of all.
Over 2.8 billion people in the world are unable to afford a healthy diet. Unhealthy diets are the leading cause of all forms of malnutrition – undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity, which now exist in most countries, cutting across socio-economic classes. Yet today, too many people suffer from hunger and are unable to afford healthy diets. More vulnerable people are often forced to rely on staple foods or less expensive foods that can be unhealthy, while others suffer from the unavailability of fresh or varied foods, lack the information they need to choose a healthy diet, or simply opt for convenience.
Hunger and malnutrition are further exacerbated by protracted or prolonged crises that are driven by a combination of conflict, extreme weather events and economic shocks. Agrifood systems, as a whole, are vulnerable to disasters and crises, particularly the impacts of climate change but at the same time, they are generating pollution, degrading soil, water and air, and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity loss. By transforming agrifood systems, there is great potential to mitigate climate change and support peaceful, resilient and inclusive livelihoods for all.
What does FAO do?
FAO provides countries with technical assistance on policy and legislation, strengthens governance and monitoring mechanisms, develops capacities and promotes multistakeholder policy dialogue to transform agrifood systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all. We also provide humanitarian and resilience building assistance to the most vulnerable, crisis-hit people and their communities, providing time-critical agricultural support to almost 57 million people in 2023.
A food secure and nutritious world for all requires massive investment, innovation, science, technology and wide collaboration between a range of actors including governments, the private sector, academic and research institutions and civil society.
What can you do?
Only when everyone enjoys the human right to adequate food will we be able to achieve other human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a blueprint for a more equal and just future for all people everywhere. And we all have a role to play. As consumers, we can exercise rights and call on governments to tackle inequality and poverty, make healthy food choices to increase their availability, reduce food waste and protect the environment.
What can academia do?
Ensuring the right to food for all requires joint efforts to tackle hunger and poverty by focusing on the production and consumption of diverse, safe and nutritious foods, and building resilience to shocks, vulnerabilities and stresses. The academic community has an important role to play. In fact, research, data, technology, and innovation can be powerful tools for enhancing food safety and food security, as well as for transforming agrifood systems for a better future and a better life for all.
Evidence-based methods and new technologies are fundamental to shaping agrifood systems that are both sustainable and resilient. The academic community can share research, data and analysis and collaborate with policymakers to help design strategies that offer support to people impacted by crises.
The academic community needs to facilitate the transfer of technology and knowledge from research institutions to the field and develop extension services and partnerships with agricultural organizations to ensure that farmers have access to the latest advancements. Agriculture universities and facilities can promote participatory extension and training models such as Farmer Field and Business Schools (FFBS) and community-based modalities.
It’s important to share knowledge and provide training to people on how to make agrifood systems more sustainable and resilient to be able to withstand global shocks and challenges. The academic community can share ideas and information through think tanks that translate academic research for policy makers or invest in capacity-building initiatives, while also enabling access to technology and data for all.
Disseminate your knowledge and advocate for access to diverse, safe and nutritious foods for all. If you are a scientist or a researcher, you can combine your expertise with the latest data and evidence to speak about inequalities, promote healthy diets, food safety, reduce food loss and waste and protect natural resources.
To promote well-being and address threats to health and ecosystems, we need integrated and holistic solutions. One such example is the One Health approach, which plays a key role in this regard as it acknowledges the interdependence of health between people, animals, plants, and the environment. Researchers can adopt this holistic approach by working together with various fields and communities to find ways to manage all the components of ecosystems sustainably.
FAO collaborates with academia and research institutions to share knowledge, strengthen capacities, and provide evidence-based solutions to policy processes. Collaborate with FAO to gain access to information and knowledge resources, participate in policy dialogue and engage with stakeholders to scale-up experiences and best practices. For more information on how to collaborate with FAO, consult the dedicated webpage or contact Academic-Partnerships@fao.org.
What do we mean by healthy diets?
Healthy diets are diverse, balanced in energy intake, adequate to meet nutrient needs, and moderate in the consumption of unhealthy foods. Agrifood systems can and must enable all people to consume healthy diets now and in the future for the health of people and the planet. But greater commitment, investment, and innovation approaches area needed to realize this ambition.
20 years of the Right to Food Guidelines
In 2024, the international community celebrates an important milestone in the human right to adequate food, the 20th anniversary of the “Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security”.
The Right to Food Guidelines provide practical guidance for States on how to realize the right to adequate food through the development of strategies, programmes, policies and legislation. The 20th anniversary is a call to governments for enhanced global commitment to the right to adequate food for all, including through sustainable, fair and transformed agrifood systems.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)