At the UN summit, UN officials and world leaders issued an urgent warning about the future of the global food system, pledging to work together to ensure it remains sustainable and equitable for future generations.
Kyiv. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – September 24, 2021 – Forums and Conferences
Speaking at the 2021 UN World Food Systems Summit, Amina Mohamed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, said our food systems are a “failure”.
The summit, which Arab News is attending, takes place at the same time as the United Nations General Assembly and is designed to launch a global effort “to harness the power of food systems to drive our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and get us back on track to achieve all 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2020. 2030.”
“Let’s think that more than 800 million people suffer from hunger every day,” Mohammed said. Or millions of children are starving, while nearly a third of the food produced is lost or wasted. And that waste, today, is worth more than a trillion dollars. ”
She added: “Three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. At the same time, 2 billion men, women, and children are overweight or obese. Our current consumption patterns are expected to generate over another trillion dollars in diet-related health costs.”
Simply put, our food systems fail to provide what we need for our people and the impact they are having on the planet.
However, Mohamed said, “Through sustainable food production systems, it is possible to feed a growing global population while protecting our planet. But that can only happen when we work together.”
According to a World Bank report released earlier this year, agriculture contributes 19 to 29 percent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore an urgent reform of this system, which produces food at the expense of the planet, is urgently needed.
World leaders and officials from international organizations threw their weight behind the goals of the Food Systems Summit.
“Creating sustainable food systems that achieve food security for our societies should be a priority for all of us in light of the current challenges,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi told the event.
He also highlighted a number of achievements Egypt has made in advancing the UN agenda, including providing students with healthy food by joining the Global School Meals Alliance and his country’s participation in African talks aimed at forging a continent-wide response to food. security issues.
Al-Sisi also appealed to countries to commit to concrete measures: “The success of the United Nations Food Systems Summit depends on our ability to reach real results that contribute to the formulation of an ambitious and feasible system according to the priorities of countries, and without imposing a specific vision.”
Addressing the summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan committed Turkey to provide a “more just, inhabitable and peaceful world for our children”.
Samantha Power, president of U.S. International Development, also spoke Thursday. “Feeds have a duty to take care of the hunger of others,” she said.
“We will review our global food security strategy to make sure the money benefits the world, and focus more on inclusive agricultural growth that uplifts women, girls, and marginalized communities,” she added.
Power also promised that the US would make sure it “doubles up on climate-smart investments, such as drought-resistant seeds and soil carbon storage, so the world can increase crop yields while cutting emissions.”
The World Food Systems Summit will end late Friday, with dozens of world leaders addressing the event. Abdul Rahman Al-Fadhli, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, will deliver a speech on Friday.
Source: Ukrgate
Read also: Mass Protests to Protect the Environment Took Place in the Serbian Capital
