World Food Day is observed on Oct. 16 annually to commemorate the birth anniversary of the United Nations Food And Agriculture Organization (FAO) which came into being in 1945. The global event seeks to create a world without hunger, poverty, and malnutrition and raise funds to meet the lapses in the overall food supply chain system.

World Food Day this year brings a fresh lease of life for countries reeling under a food crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic that threw economies out of order. Amid crop yields tumbling to record lows and food prices skyrocketing, the day comes with the promise of building a far more sustainable world where no one stays hungry.

Significance of the day:

Global statistical data indicate that hundreds of thousands of people suffer from malnutrition every year due to food shortages and poverty. The scenario is further aggravated by the waves of global crises like pandemics or wars. To make sure no one misses out on nutrition due to poverty or their marginalized status, FAO worked at length to boost food production and promote many agricultural startups on the global stage.

World Food Day is committed to bringing more cost-saving methods for the farmers for the betterment of agriculture, thus making sure every person gets his proper share of nutrition.

Theme of the day:

The theme of World Food Day for this year is "Leave NO ONE behind," one that very well resonates with the need of the hour to fight hunger and step up efforts of food grain production. To bring down the level of mortality rates due to malnutrition, the FAO proposes to stop food wastage.

Here are some quotes about food wastage that serve as a wake-up call that food shortage is the most pressing issue our planet is reeling under right now.

  • "The human crisis is always a crisis of understanding: what we genuinely understand we can do."- Raymond Williams
  • "The crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow."- HG Wells
  • "Did you know that the worldwide food shortage that threatens up to five hundred million children could be alleviated at the cost of only one day, only one day, of modern warfare."- Peter Ustinov
  • "The high food value of field beans and the shortage of supply due to the light yields of 1915 and 1916 render them of great importance in the regions to which they are adapted."- David F. Houston
World Food Day
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