Just to let everyone know, today is World Food Day! This ties in so well with our Food Issues Month here at Global Issues SIG, you would think we had almost planned it! Actually, we only found out about this when we were reminded by fellow SIG member Bill Templer. You can check out the World Food Day website from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization here. The theme this year is Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition. They have a couple of events too, a Hunger Run and a Poster competition. Maybe you and your class would be interested in the latter?
I would like to add the following text here as well, courtesy of Bill Templer
Hunger and malnutrition in a world of plenty
On the occasion of World Food Day, October 16, 2013, and the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Oct 17, the chairman of the party Die Linke, Katja Kipping, has issued this statement:
Every three seconds a person dies of hunger and malnutrition. Overall, 870 million people suffer from hunger across the globe. By contrast, 1.3 billion tons of food are lost annually or disposed of as waste — that’s a third of the world’s annual food production. Only 0.24% of the gross domestic product of the world’s rich countries would suffice to eradicate hunger across our planet.
Germany, the strongest economy in Europe, gives only a mere 0.4% of its gross domestic product for development aid. The country intends by 2015 to increase development assistance to 0.7% of gross domestic product. If the rulers in Germany and the other rich countries were to act, it would be possible to eliminate the worst consequences of poverty — hunger and misery. If the poor countries and people in the developing countries were given back their right to food sovereignty — instead of exploiting them and trying to reduce them in a competitive race for profit — these countries and their citizens could develop their own sustainable economies and live healthily. They would not be forced to risk their lives as migrants — either in the Mediterranean or elsewhere.
Original: http://goo.gl/0UvOYg