World Food Week 10-16 October 2016
WORLD FOOD DAY
FAO celebrates World Food Day each year on 16 October to commemorate the founding of the Organization in 1945. Events are organized in over 150 countries across the world, making it one of the most celebrated days of the UN calendar. These events promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and for the need to ensure food security and nutritious diets for all. The theme for World Food Day 2016 is “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too.”
CLIMATE IS CHANGING. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE MUST TOO.
Climate change is affecting the health of our planet and changing our world. It is causing more natural disasters and environmental problems, which make it harder for us to grow food. Growing food is part of the problem too, as we have been taking shortcuts and harming our planet, with the aim of producing what we need. In order to feed a growing population set to reach 9.6 billion by the year 2050, we will have to learn to grow what we need in a sustainable way - a way that doesn’t continue to destroy our planet.
Codex on World Food Day
The world aims to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030; climate change is a challenge that must be addressed in order to continue the fight against hunger and achieve this goal. FAO is helping countries to improve the global food system and achieve this goal.
It is in this global food system that the work of Codex is most closely felt. For more than 50 years the member countries of Codex have agreed on global standards for foods traded internationally. These standards have led to improvements in consumer safety and public health across the world, while simultaneously reducing unnecessary trade barriers between countries. Such is the success of this joint FAO/WHO programme that today, it is virtually impossible to buy any food product whose safety and quality is not aligned with Codex standards.
Food is a commodity like no other and the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission is intrisically linked to the goals and aims of World Food Day.
Codex Secretary Tom Heilandt