UN Secretary General amplifies need for investments in food systems

Jul 18, 2021 News

– As millions more face hunger across the globe

Kaieteur News – “Investing in changes in our food systems will support the transformation of our world. It is one of the smartest – and most necessary investments we can make.” This recommendation was made by United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, ahead of this year’s UN Food Systems Summit which is intended to raise global awareness and land global commitments and actions that transform food systems to resolve not only hunger, but to reduce diet-related disease and heal the planet.

António Guterres

Noting that “we are reminded that we are tremendously off track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030,” Guterres noted that new, tragic data “informs us that between 720 and 811 million people in the world faced hunger in 2020 – as many as 161 million more than in 2019.”
According to the UN Secretary General too, high costs, coupled with persistently high levels of poverty and income inequality, continue to keep healthy diets out of reach for around three billion people, in every Region of the world. As a result, hunger has been on the rise for several years and, now, in 2021, “we are failing to provide what is a fundamental right for people around the world,” he added.
In fact, he underscored that COVID-19 has made things worse, and made clear the linkage between inequality, poverty, food and disease. Despite a 300 percent increase in global food production since the mid-1960s, Guterres noted that malnutrition is a leading factor contributing to reduced life expectancy.
Climate change, therefore, is both a driver and a consequence of hunger, he added. “Our war with nature includes a food system that generates one third of all greenhouse gas emissions. The same food system is also responsible for up to 80 percent of biodiversity loss,” Guterres noted even as he stressed, “hunger drives conflict.”
In short, he continued, addressing hunger and malnutrition cannot be done in isolation of other global challenges. “As we recognised through the 2030 Agenda, they are interconnected. It is time to keep our promise. In a world of plenty, we have no excuse for billions of people to lack access to a healthy diet. This is unacceptable,” said Guterres.
Concerned that “we are running out of time to make the urgent shifts we need to limit global temperature rise, Guterres said, “This is why I’m convening a global Food Systems Summit this September. We must come together to urgently make a change. The upcoming Pre-Summit in Rome at the end of this month will help us define the scope of our ambition and work out how we must address hunger, the climate emergency, incredible inequality and conflict, by transforming our food systems.”
Through the process of this “People’s Summit,” he noted, “we have heard thousands of voices around the world and ideas of women, indigenous peoples and the young people that are the future of our food systems.” As a “Solution’s Summit,” he said that all are contributing ideas to support the green transitions needed to promote decent work, improve access to technology and reset our relationship with our planet.
According to Guterres, “Our relationship with food is a fundamental part of all aspects of life on earth. The social, environment and economic dimensions of our food systems are profound. Wherever we are, food brings us together as families and communities while supporting billions of jobs.”
As he reiterated that “changes in our food systems must happen…they will limit the impacts of a pandemic and initiate a shift to a safer, fairer, more sustainable world,” he noted that “our blueprint to recover from this pandemic is the 2030 Agenda.”