World Food Day, celebrated annually on October 16, was proclaimed in 1979 at a conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
The main goal of this Day — is to increase public awareness of the food problem existing in the world. And today's date — is a reason to think about what has been done and what remains to be done to solve the global problem of — ridding humanity of hunger, malnutrition and poverty.
The date chosen for the Day was the formation of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on October 16, 1945.
For the first time, countries around the world have officially declared one of the most important tasks to be the eradication of hunger on the planet and the creation of conditions for the development of sustainable agriculture that would be able to feed the world's population.
Hunger and malnutrition have been found to undermine the gene pool of entire continents. In 45% of cases, infant mortality in the world is associated with malnutrition. Children in «third world countries» are born and grow up frail and lag behind in mental development. They are unable to concentrate on lessons at school.
According to FAO, 821 million people in the world still suffer from hunger, despite the fact that enough food is produced to feed everyone. At the same time, 1.9 billion people are overweight, with 672 million suffering from obesity, and adult obesity rates are rising at an accelerated pace.
In addition, global food security is negatively impacted by the ongoing pandemic, conflicts, ongoing climate warming, rising prices, inequality and international tensions.
On this day, various charity events are held, which are of great importance for alleviating the plight of third world countries«. Active members of society take part in various congresses and conferences on this day.
The holiday is also of great educational significance and helps citizens learn about the difficult food situation in some countries. On this day, various peacekeeping organizations deliver aid to areas affected by natural disasters and natural disasters.
Since 1981, World Food Day has been accompanied by a specific theme, different for each year. This was done in order to highlight problems that require immediate solutions and focus society on solving priority problems. Thus, the topics of the Day over the years were the words: «Youth against hunger», «Millennium of liberation from hunger», «International Alliance against Hunger», «Agriculture and intercultural dialogue», «Right to food», «Achieving food security during a crisis», «Unity in the fight against hunger», «Agricultural cooperatives feed the world», «Family farms: feed the world — save the planet», «Social protection and agriculture: breaking the vicious circle of rural poverty», «The climate is changing, and with it food and agriculture are changing», «Let's change the future of migration flows. Investing in food security and rural development», «Healthy nutrition for a world without hunger», «No one should be left without attention» and others.