We’re supporting World Food Day, this Sunday 16 October 2016, coordinated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.

At present, almost 800 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. That’s about one in nine people. About 21,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, about one person every four seconds, most of whom are children.

Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too
Last year 193 countries pledged to end hunger in the next 15 years. The global goal for achieving Zero Hunger is 2030.

One of the biggest issues related to climate change is food security. The world’s poorest – many of whom are farmers, fishers and pastoralists – are being hit hardest by higher temperatures and an increasing frequency in weather-related disasters.

At the same time, the global population is growing steadily and is expected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050. To meet such a heavy demand, agriculture and food systems will need to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change and become more resilient, productive and sustainable. This is the only way that we can ensure the wellbeing of ecosystems and rural populations and reduce emissions.

Growing food in a sustainable way means adopting practices that produce more with less in the same area of land and use natural resources wisely. It also means reducing food losses before the final product or retail stage through a number of initiatives including better harvesting, storage, packing, transport, infrastructure, market mechanisms, as well as institutional and legal frameworks.

This is why the global message for World Food Day 2016 is “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too.”

More information and what we can do

This brochure has more information about the campaign.
This page has information that can be downloaded about tackling world hunger, including activity books for children.

Everyone has a role to play in mitigating the effects of climate change. Countries need to invest in sustainably increase food production, but there are also a number of actions that we can take to help. Find out more ideas here.