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Add to Preferred SourcesFAO Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, urged cities around the world to redouble their efforts to promote healthier and more sustainable urban diets and food systems to tackle the increasing levels of overweight and obesity.
“There are already more obese people than hungry people in the world. People are increasingly eating badly, and the main reason is that current food systems encourage the consumption of ultra-processed foods, which are high in salt, sugar, saturated fats and artificial ingredients,” he said, warning of the rising “pandemic” of obesity in the five continents.
This type of food, he said, is cheaper, more accessible and easier to prepare than fresh food, particularly for the population of the suburbs and rural areas.
In general, he said, when resources are scarce, people choose less expensive foods, which are usually “very caloric but not very nutritious”.
Graziano da Silva made these remarks at the launch of the World Sustainable Urban Food Centre (CEMAS), chaired by Her Majesty Queen Letizia of Spain, FAO’s Special Ambassador for Nutrition.
CEMAS is a joint initiative of FAO and the city of Valencia to strengthen, advise and coordinate cities around the world in management and exchange of knowledge on sustainable local food systems.
The new center will also carry out dissemination and public awareness activities on issues related to food, nutrition, the fight against hunger, climate change and food systems.
“There is broad medical consensus,” FAO Director-General warned: obesity is a risk factor for the development of many non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, heart attacks, diabetes and even some types of cancer.
Graziano da Silva called for an “urgent transformation” of food systems to ensure that they offer healthy and nutritious food for all while preserving natural resources and biodiversity.
“We need to integrate actions and create local circuits of production and consumption. There are many issues that condition local production, such as laws, research and academic centers, and we have to approach everything. The transformation must be integral,” he added.
At a time of rapid urbanization, he said, cities are becoming increasingly important agents of change, also in terms of policies and measures aimed at providing access to healthy food.
Original source: FAO
Published on 22 July 2019