The Climate Change Commission (CCC) on Sunday called for improved access to healthy, affordable, and sustainable food amid the era of a global pandemic.
The CCC issued the call as the global community observes World Food Day, with the theme: “Our actions are our future.”
Celebrated every year around the world on October 16 in honor of the date of the founding of the FAO in 1945, World Food Day aims to tackle global hunger and eradicate it across the world. It also aims to bring awareness on the important global issues, such as poverty, conflict and climate change that impact the world’s food supply and distribution.
The CCC noted that as per the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), more than 3 billion people, or almost 40 pecent of the world’s population cannot afford a healthy diet, while almost 2 billion people are overweight or obese due to poor diet and sedentary lifestyle.
Moreover, about 14 percent of the world’s food is lost due to inadequate harvesting, handling, storage, and transit, and 17 percent is wasted at the consumer level, and in turn, emits greenhouse gas.
With Covid-19, intensifying impacts of climate change, and unsustainable management of food, nutrition, and food security are expected to worsen, and the vulnerable and marginalized sectors like smallholder farmers and indigenous peoples will be severely affected, CCC said.
With this, the CCC urges all sectors—national and governments, businesses, civil society groups, academe, the youth, and individuals—to unite and play more positive roles to end hunger by raising awareness and by adopting a more sustainable food system that shall ensure the production and availability of affordable and nutritious food for every Filipino. These must be done while changing consumption behaviors.
The CCC said existing good practices like the “Plant, Plant, Plant” and the Adaptation and Mitigation Initiatives in Agriculture (AMIA) programs of the Department of Agriculture should continue and be strengthened; the Gulayan sa Paaralan of the Department of Education should be supported at the local level; and climate-resilient farming practices should be scaled up to keep a steady supply of healthy food within communities.
The agency also points to the harmful effects of food waste, and presented easy steps to avoid it:
- Shop smart by making a list and sticking to it;
- Get only what you can eat;
- Bring home leftovers;
- Store your food correctly;
- Save your seeds and either plant or share; and
- Compost as much as you can.
“The food we produce, purchase, cook, eat, and store impacts the entire food cycle. It is crucial to be mindful of our actions to secure brighter future of the environment and human beings,” CCC said.