Addressing nutrition is primarily a public policy issue

As long as we continue to consider nutrition an individual problem of the people and not a state responsibility, we will not advance in the fight against hunger and malnutrition in the world, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said.

“Changing the legal and institutional frameworks is fundamental to change the productive structure and ensure good nutrition for all. We often focus on increasing production, which will need to adapt to climate change and be more sustainable. But we must also focus on changing food systems and in adapting the legal and institutional frameworks that condition them and this is where we are more behind,” the FAO Director-General added.

This requires the adoption of a multisectoral approach that involves not only governments, but also international organizations, civil society, the private sector and citizens in general, Graziano da Silva said, pointing to the value of the CFS as an inclusive platform for a diversity of actors.

The FAO Director-General stressed that, in the last three years, hunger and malnutrition are on the rise again and that we are moving away from the commitments adopted with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Latest estimates show that 821 million people suffer from hunger and, at the same time, we are witnessing an epidemic of overweight and obesity throughout the world. The proportion of obese people in the world has gone up from 11.7 percent in 2012 to 13.3 percent in 2016, reaching 672 million adults.

Hunger is mainly experienced by people living in specific areas, such as those ravaged by conflicts, droughts and extreme poverty; yet obesity is much more widespread and it is increasing all around the world.

The FAO Director-General urged for a focus on “the superstructure that conditions production” of food, including institutions, the academic sector, and research.

Graziano da Silva underscored that collective efforts towards healthy diets must include the creation of norms on labelling and the banning of some harmful ingredients, the introduction of nutrition in the school curriculum and the adoption of methods to avoid food loss and waste. He also emphasized the importance of establishing trade agreements that do not hamper access to locally grown, fresh and nutritious food from family farming.

Original source: FAO
Published on 13 October 2018