The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) designated 16 October as World Food Day (WFD) in 1979. This year WFD will be celebrated in over 150 countries worldwide to create awareness and action for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG2) focusing on food security, improved nutrition, ending hunger, and sustainable agriculture. Governments, businesses, non-government organizations, the media, and the general public bring outreach activities and hundreds of events on that very day. This is all for promoting awareness for the people who are suffering from hunger. The application of all action for the need to ensure healthy diets for all. Every year, a number of events, from marathons and hunger march to exhibitions, cultural performances and contests, are held across the world to celebrate WFD.
Starting in 1981, we celebrated World Food Day by following some themes. These are- Food comes first (1981,1982), Food security (1983), Women in agriculture (1984), Rural poverty (1985), Fishermen and fishing communities (1986), Small farmers (1987), Rural youth (1988), Food and the environment (1989), Food for the future (1990), Trees for life (1991), Food and nutrition (1992), Harvesting nature’s diversity (1993), Water for life (1994), Food for all(1995), Fighting hunger and malnutrition (1996), Investing in food security (1997), Women feed the world (1998), Youth against hunger (1999), A millennium free from hunger (2000), Fight hunger to reduce poverty (2001), Water: source of food security (2002), Working together for an international alliance against hunger (2003), Biodiversity for food security (2004), Agriculture and intercultural dialogue (2005), Investing in agriculture for food security (2006), The right to food (2007), World food security: the challenges of climate change and bioenergy (2008), Achieving food security in times of crisis (2009), United against hunger (2010), Food prices – from crisis to stability (2011), Agricultural cooperatives– key to feeding the world (2012), Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition (2013), Family Farming: “Feeding the world, caring for the earth” (2014), “Social Protection and Agriculture: Breaking the Cycle of Rural Poverty” (2015), Climate change: “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too” (2016), Change the future of migration. Invest in food security and rural development (2017),” Our Actions Are Our Future, Ending World Hunger by 2030 is Possible”(2018), “Our Actions Are Our Future, Healthy Diets for A Zero Hunger World” (2019),” Grow, Nourish, Sustain, Together” (2020). Through the names of the themes, one can get the idea of the need for food and its connection with other things.
Every year has a specific motto to celebrate this occasion. This year’s theme is “Safe food now for a healthy tomorrow” (2021). It stresses that the production and consumption of safe food have immediate and long-term benefits for people, the planet and the economy. In this year’s World Food Day, the world will take important steps to achieve “Zero Hunger”. The country will be celebrating the day when it is making consistent progress towards its goals and still facing enormous threats of malnutrition and food insecurity at the same time.
Moreover, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is flaming the fire. Within these historical hours, the demand for urgent, ethical food and nutritional uptake at the national level has become undeniable. Local farmers should be supported form us and encouraged to agricultural food production in the developing world. Let’s order local food to support our farmers. Donate a meal to someone in need. Happy World Food Day to all! Embrace your inner foodie. Let’s make our meal meaningful.
