HAPPY WORLD FOOD DAY! LET'S STOP FOOD HUNGER! LET'S STOP FOOD WASTE! LET'S STOP WORLD POVERTY!

HAPPY WORLD FOOD DAY! LET'S STOP FOOD HUNGER! LET'S STOP FOOD WASTE! LET'STOP WORLD POVERTY!!

"World Food Day?is an?international day?celebrated every year worldwide on October 16th to commemorate the date of the founding of the?United Nations?Food and Agriculture Organization?in 1945. The day is celebrated widely by many other organizations concerned with hunger and?food security, including the?World Food Programme, the?World Health Organization?and the?International Fund for Agricultural Development. WFP received the?Nobel Prize in Peace?for 2020 for their efforts to combat hunger, contribute to peace in conflict areas, and for playing a leading role in stopping the use of hunger in the form of a weapon for war and conflict."

Text source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Food_Day

====

"Worldwide, tonnes of edible food are lost or wasted every day. Between harvest and retail alone, around 14 percent of all food produced globally is lost. Huge quantities of food are also wasted in retail or at the consumer level. ?ElRoi/shutterstock.com

For many people in the world, food waste has become a habit: buying more food than we need at markets, letting fruits and vegetables spoil at home or taking larger portions than we can eat.

These habits put extra strain on our natural resources and damage our environment. When we waste food, we waste the labour, effort, investment and precious resources (like water, seeds, feed, etc.) that go into producing it, not to mention the resources that go into transporting and processing it. In short, wasting food increases greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to climate change.

Here are some easy actions you can take to re-connect to food and what it stands for:

1. Adopt a healthier, more sustainable diet

Life is fast-paced and preparing nutritious meals can be a challenge, but healthy meals don't have to be elaborate. The internet is full of quick healthy recipes that you can share with your family and friends

2. Buy only what you need

Plan your meals. Make a shopping list and stick to it, and avoid impulse buys. Not only will you waste less food, you’ll also save money!

3. Pick ugly fruit and vegetables

Don’t judge food by its appearance! Oddly-shaped or bruised fruits and vegetables are often thrown away because they don’t meet arbitrary cosmetic standards. Don’t worry - they taste the same! Use mature fruit for smoothies, juices and desserts.

4. Store food wisely

Move older products to the front of your cupboard or fridge and new ones to the back. Use airtight containers to keep open food fresh in the fridge and ensure packets are closed to stop insects from getting in.

5. Understand food labelling

There’s a big difference between “best before” and “use-by” dates. Sometimes food is still safe to eat after the “best before” date, whereas it’s the “use-by” date that tells you when it is no longer safe to eat. Check food labels for unhealthy ingredients such as trans fats and preservatives and avoid foods with added sugar or salt.

6. Start small

Take smaller portions at home or share large dishes at restaurants.

7. Love your leftovers

If you don’t eat everything you make, freeze it for later or use the leftovers as an ingredient in another meal.

8. Put your food waste to use

Instead of throwing away your food scraps, compost them. This way you are giving nutrients back to the soil and reducing your carbon footprint.

9. Respect food

Food connects us all. Re-connect with food by knowing the process that goes into making it. Read about food production and get to know your farmers.

10. Support local food producers

By buying local produce, you support family farmers and small businesses in your community. You also help fight pollution by reducing delivery distances for trucks and other vehicles.

11. Keep fish populations afloat

Eat fish species that are more abundant, such as mackerel or herring, rather than those that are at risk of being overfished, like cod or tuna. Buy fish that has been caught or farmed sustainably, such as eco-labelled or certified fish.

12. Use less water

We can’t produce food without water! While it’s important that farmers use less water to grow food, reducing food waste also saves all the water resources that went into producing it. Reduce your water intake in other ways too: fixing leaks or turning off the water while brushing your teeth!

13. Keep our soils and water clean

Some household waste is potentially hazardous and should never be thrown in a regular rubbish bin. Items such as batteries, paints, mobile phones, medicine, chemicals, fertilizers, tires, ink cartridges, etc. can seep into our soils and water supply, damaging the natural resources that produce our food.

14. Eat more pulses and veggies

Once a week, try eating a meal based on pulses or ‘ancient’ grains like quinoa.

15. Sharing is caring

Donate food that would otherwise be wasted. For example, Apps can connect neighbours with each other and with local businesses so surplus food can be shared, not thrown away"

Read full article here: https://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1309609/

=====

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 "Zero hunger"

The world is not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 2 "Zero Hunger" by 2030!

"After decades of steady decline, the number of people who suffer from hunger – as measured by the prevalence of undernourishment – began to slowly increase again in 2015. Current estimates show that?nearly 690 million people are hungry, or 8.9 percent of the world population?– up by 10 million people in one year and by nearly 60 million in five years.

The world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030. If recent trends continue, the number of people affected by hunger would surpass 840 million by 2030.

According to the World Food Programme,?135 million suffer from acute hunger?largely due to man-made conflicts, climate change and economic downturns. The COVID-19 pandemic could now double that number, putting an additional 130 million people at risk of suffering acute hunger by the end of 2020.

With more than?a quarter of a billion people potentially at the brink of starvation, swift action needs to be taken to provide food and humanitarian relief to the most at-risk regions.

At the same time,?a profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed if we are to nourish the more than 690 million people who are hungry today – and the?additional 2 billion people?the world will have by 2050. Increasing agricultural productivity and sustainable food production are crucial to help alleviate the perils of hunger."

Text source: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/

=====

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12: "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns"

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12, titled "responsible consumption and production", is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The official wording of SDG 12 is "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns"

Worldwide consumption and production — a driving force of the global economy — rest on the use of the natural environment and resources in a way that continues to have destructive impacts on the planet.?

Economic and social progress over the last century has been accompanied by environmental degradation that is endangering the very systems on which our future development — indeed, our very survival — depends.?

A few?facts and figures:

Each year, an estimated one third of all food produced – equivalent to 1.3 billion tonnes worth around $1 trillion – ends up rotting in the bins of consumers and retailers, or spoiling due to poor transportation and harvesting practices.

If people worldwide switched to energy efficient light bulbs the world would save US$120 billion annually.

Should the global population reach 9.6 billion by 2050, the equivalent of almost three planets could be required to provide the natural resources needed to sustain current lifestyles.

The COVID-19 pandemic offers countries an opportunity to build recovery plans that will reverse current trends and change our consumption and production patterns towards a more sustainable future.

Sustainable consumption and production?is about doing more and better with less. It is also about decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation, increasing resource efficiency and promoting sustainable lifestyles.

Sustainable consumption and production can also contribute substantially to poverty alleviation and the transition towards low-carbon and green economies."

Text source: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-consumption-production/

====

Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

"2019 was the?second warmest year on record?and the end of the warmest decade (2010- 2019) ever recorded.??

Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and other?greenhouse gases in the atmosphere?rose to new records in 2019.?

Climate change is affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives. Weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, and weather events are becoming more extreme.

Although greenhouse gas emissions are projected to drop about 6 per cent in 2020 due to travel bans and economic slowdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, this improvement is only temporary.

?Climate change is not on pause!!!

?Once the global economy begins to recover from the pandemic, emissions are expected to return to higher levels.

Saving lives and livelihoods requires urgent action to address both the pandemic and the climate emergency.

The?Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015,?aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The agreement also aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change, through appropriate financial flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity building framework.

As countries move toward rebuilding their economies after COVID-19, recovery plans can shape the 21st century economy in ways that are clean, green, healthy, safe and more resilient.?The current crisis is an opportunity for a profound,?systemic shift to a more sustainable economy?that works for both people and the planet.

The UN Secretary-General has proposed??six climate-positive actions?for governments to take once they go about building back their economies and societies:

Green transition:?Investments must accelerate the decarbonization of all aspects of our economy.

Green jobs?and sustainable and inclusive growth

Green economy: making societies and people more resilient through a transition that is fair to all and leaves no one behind.

Invest in sustainable solutions:?fossil fuel subsidies must end and polluters must pay for their pollution.

Confront all climate risks

Cooperation –?no country can succeed alone.

To address the climate emergency, post-pandemic recovery plans need to trigger?long-term systemic shifts?that will change the trajectory of CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

Governments around the world have spent considerable time and effort in recent years to develop plans to chart a safer and more sustainable future for their citizens. Taking these on board now as part of recovery planning can help the world?build back better?from the current crisis."

Text source: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change/

====

George Florin Staicu

Global Sustainability Ambassador;

International Finance Corporation - Grow Learn Connect Directory of Training Professionals; USAID banking scholarship recipient; Green Forum member; Independent banking, microfinance, SME lending, ESG, UN SDGs, EU Green Deal, Fintech promoter, Public-Private Partnership promoter, circular economy, green - blue inclusive sustainable development & finance, blended finance, gender equality, social performance, learning & development, strategic planning, risk management, team leader, senior project manager, consultant, trainer and business coach

Member of the International Finance Corporation - Grow Learn Connect "Directory of Training Professionals" (https://lnkd.in/dwPhDdqF)

Signatory of the International Finance Corporation - GLC Principles for Learning (https://lnkd.in/e7rkAn6)

Global Ambassador of Sustainability - initiative - partnership UNESCO, UN Habitat and American University of Dubai - https://lnkd.in/dxaSfHaY

Member of the Green Forum managed by the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership led by the Global Green Growth Institute, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, UN Environment Programme, United Nations Industrial Organization and The World Bank Group. - https://lnkd.in/dnecxuDb

Expert and Mentor at the "Anticorruption Solutions Through Emerging Technologies" (ASET) Tech Sprint project (June 10 - 24, 2022) a partnership between the Alliance for Innovative Regulation, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes - https://lnkd.in/d5hWtNpD

Member of UpLink, the open innovation platform of the World Economic Forum - https://lnkd.in/dPCP4iaK

Post-graduate (March-May, 2022) of the Siena International School on Sustainable Development sponsored by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN), the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS); Santa Chiara Lab – University of Siena; Enel Foundation; the Italian University Network for Sustainable Development (RUS) and the SDSN Europe - https://lnkd.in/eMcHGuNG

Writer on the International Finance Corporation's Grow Learn Connect Blog - https://lnkd.in/ewYTAm4N

Owner, creator and administrator of the LinkedIn group "Best practices in UN SDGs, EU GD, ESG, circular economy green blue sustainable development finance" https://lnkd.in/evunwuN4

Owner, creator and administrator of the LinkedIn group "Microfinance Best Practices" https://lnkd.in/eV4ZbihH

Member of the Social Performance Task Force standards projects - responsible finance - https://lnkd.in/eWZgrY8k

Member of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Group (https://lnkd.in/eRvCzun7)

and

Member of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) DGROUPS - https://lnkd.in/eWGP_NSR