World Food Day 2019: Significance, history, date and theme - Hindustan Times
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World Food Day 2019: Significance, history, date and theme

Hindustan Times, Delhi | ByNeharika Prakash
Oct 16, 2019 11:34 AM IST

World Food Day 2019: The United Nation Organisation’s Food and Agriculture Association (FAO) was established on 16th October in 1945. To commemorate this day, World Food Day is celebrated every year with a new theme.

Bored? Go for an ice cream. Sad? Have chocolate. Happy? Pizza? With extra cheese I guess.

World Food Day 2019: Malnourished children eat at Apanalaya, Mumbai, an organisation working for the betterment of slum children.(AP)
World Food Day 2019: Malnourished children eat at Apanalaya, Mumbai, an organisation working for the betterment of slum children.(AP)

Well, food is an emotion for many. We all have distinct dishes attached with different moods. Food which is meant to provide nutriments to us has many roles to play.

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16th October is World Food Day. But, before you start thinking that the UN announced this day to acknowledge the struggle your taste buds face while trying to make peace with the healthy yet insipid food you have to gulp down your throat everyday, we would like to tell you that there is more to food than you think.

ALSO READ: On World Food Day, 2018, pledge to healthy eating, sustainable living and zero hunger

The United Nation Organisation’s Food and Agriculture Association (FAO) was established on 16th October in 1945. To commemorate this day, World Food Day is celebrated every year with a new theme. The objective is to create awareness about the existing problems of obesity and malnutrition due to hunger. All the 150 member states participate in the celebration by organising activities and events in an effort to end hunger and promote a healthy lifestyle. Thousands of outreach activities held on this day bring together businesses, governments, the media, NGOs and general public to help those who cannot afford even one meal a day.

Here are certain eye-opening facts which will force you to reduce food wastage and think of optimal consumption.

1. There is enough food produced in the world to feed the entire population yet 820 million (82 crore) people worldwide go to bed hungry every night.

2. Fishermen, small farmers and herders produce about 70 percent of the global food supply, yet, they are vulnerable to food insecurity.

3.The UN estimated in 2018 that 489 million of 815 million undernourished people and 122 million of 155 million stunted children live in countries affected by conflicts like civil war.

4. An estimated 17 million children under the age of 5 worldwide suffer from severe acute malnutrition, also known as severe wasting, yet only 20 percent of severely malnourished children have access to lifesaving treatment

5. Poverty and hunger are acute among rural populations.

Obesity and malnutrition are ironically two sides of the same coin. While hunger and malnutrition claim several deaths every year, obesity too is on the rise and has become a major cause of concern.

1. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with at least 2.8 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese.

2. 41 million preschool children were obese

3. Narau and American Samoa are the countries with the most obese people in the world.

4. More than 603 million adults and 107 million children out of a global population of around 7.5 billion are

obese.

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