Written By: Poluk Sharma
Date: July 2021
“Zero Hunger:” two words that seem simple enough, but express a change that is anything but. As the United Nations’ second sustainable developement goal for 2030 and the leading cause of death around the world, hunger remains one of the most important issues to tackle. “Zero Hunger” means nobody living undernourished, malnourished (either underweight or overweight), or without food security. It means productive, sustainable agricultural practices that support the genetic diversity of crops. It means investing time and money in rural infrastructure and trade, as well as maintaining stable pricing for the nutritious foods that people need to stay healthy and the world needs to support its rapidly growing population. Zero Hunger means being able to count on having something to eat every day, for everyone, everywhere, and the sooner we get there, the more lives we can save.
Importance of Zero Hunger
Contrary to popular misconception, ensuring that the whole world is well nourished would be profitable in the long run. According to the World Health Organization, “a global switch to healthy diets…would allow the health costs associated with unhealthy diets, estimated to reach US$ 1.3 trillion a year in 2030, to be almost entirely offset; while the diet-related social cost of greenhouse gas emissions, estimated at US$ 1.7 trillion, could be cut by up to three-quarters,” not to mention its valuable impact on other global goals such as access to education, reduced poverty, and reduced inequality. By eliminating poverty, we can step closer to a world of opportunities for us all.
Hunger Today
Are we on track to reaching this crucial goal? Well, it’s...complicated. For decades, we were slowly but surely making progress. The population living without healthy diets was decreasing annually. That is, until 2014, the year before the Global Goals were formed. Ever since then, the numbers have been rising. The pandemic has complicated the path to Zero Hunger even further. According to the World Health Organization, in 2020 alone, the level of global food security decreased as much as the past 5 years’ decline combined, with over 30% of the planet not receiving enough food to eat. Malnutrition, particularly in children, saw a dramatic rise, as well as gender inequality in terms of access to healthy diets.
It will certainly be difficult, but with strategic actions from the world’s governments and united efforts from world citizens, we can still turn the downward trend around.
How To Help
Nobody is too young or too old; no action is too small to make a difference. There’s many ways to join the fight against hunger. Here are just a few to get started with.
Decrease your food waste:
Store leftovers; use overripe bananas in smoothies; compost food scraps instead of tossing them out. It all makes a difference.
Don’t judge an ugly fruit by its shape:
Imperfect fruits often get left behind in grocery stores and left to rot, despite being perfectly usable and delicious! Help decrease food waste by trying some!
Volunteer!
Take a few minutes to look up some opportunities! You could volunteer at a local soup kitchen or join an initiative like Kids Against Hunger to be directly involved in food distribution in your community!
Be part of the solution. Try out just one of these tips, or live by them all. You could change millions of lives.
Bibliography
“Are We on Track to Achieve Zero Hunger by 2030?” Concern Worldwide, www.concernusa.org/story/zero-hunger-2030/.
“As More Go Hungry and Malnutrition Persists, Achieving Zero Hunger by 2030 in Doubt, UN Report Warns.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/news/item/13-07-2020-as-more-go-hungry-and-malnutrition-persists-achieving-zero-hunger-by-2030-in-doubt-un-report-warns.
“Goal 2: Zero Hunger - SDG Tracker.” Our World in Data, sdg-tracker.org/zero-hunger#:~:text=UN definition: By 2030, end,lactating women and older persons.
“Goal 2: Zero Hunger.” The Global Goals, www.globalgoals.org/2-zero-hunger.
“Home.” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, www.fao.org/home/en.
“UN Report: Pandemic Year Marked by Spike in World Hunger.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/news/item/12-07-2021-un-report-pandemic-year-marked-by-spike-in-world-hunger.
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