2017 Blog

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Climate change, food and agriculture

Our everyday actions, decisions and behavior all have an impact on the climate. Climate change is affecting the health of our planet and changing our world. It is causing more natural disasters and environmental problems, which make it harder for us to grow food. Growing food is part of the problem too, as we have been taking shortcuts and harming our planet, to produce what we need. In order to feed a growing population, set to reach 9.6 billion by the year 2050, we will have to learn to grow what we need in a way that doesn’t continue to destroy the planet.

Adapting to Climate Change:

Adapting to climate change means changing how we grow food to make sure that our planet remains healthy and able to produce the food we will need in the future. It also means helping the poorest people, affected most by climate change, by preparing them for natural disasters such as drought and increasing their ability to recover faster from disasters that can’t be avoided. We need to adapt food and agriculture to climate change in a sustainable way. Sustainability is all about the future – it’s about building and maintaining a healthy planet that can feed our growing population and the generations to come.

We are the Zero Hunger Generation:

Did you know that around 1 in 9 people go to bed hungry every night? That’s a total of around 800 million people. We already produce enough food in the world to feed everyone so why are there still hungry people? Hunger exists for many reasons: poor people may not have the money to buy food, war can prevent people having access to food, natural disasters can cause hunger, and too much food is wasted. The good news is that leaders around the world want to end hunger. Last year, 193 countries committed to 17 Sustainable Development goals, with the overall aim being to end hunger by 2030. But leaders can’t to this alone. They need the help of international organizations, farmers, schools, universities, companies and you. We can become the first generation to cancel hunger from the planet - Zero Hunger Generation – if we work together. Ending hunger is everyone’s responsibility and all of us have a role to play, even through changing our simple day-to-day actions and decisions.

Seven Areas for Change:
World Food Day 2016 looks at seven different areas related to food and agriculture where change needs to happen, if we want to deal with climate change. This is the only way that we can end world hunger.

These Areas are:

Forestry.
Agriculture.
Livestock management.
Food waste.
Natural resources.
Fisheries.
Food systems.

Climate Actions to Change our World
1) Preserve the Earth’s Precious Natural Resources:

Don’t waste water.
Try to eat an all-veggie meal, by replacing meat with pulses at least once a week.
Reduce arbitrary fishing.
Reduce energy consumption by using energy-efficient appliances.
Organic agriculture.
Keep soils and water clean.
Use solar panels or other green energy systems.

2) Waste Less:

Buy only what your family need.
Limit your plastic.
Recycle.
Store leftover food wisely.

3) Other Ways to Be Climate Smart:

Reduce carbon pollution, for example, instead of driving your car, walk or cycle to places close by.
Encourage making cities greener.
Reduce paper waste.
Keep up to date on climate change.