WHO: There are Twice as Many Overweight People as there are Hungry People, and a Third of all Food is Thrown Away

Day Figure

Author: Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council.

World Food Day has been celebrated across the globe on October 16 for almost 40 years now (since 1979), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations turned 70 last year.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a report showing that, in today’s world, around 1 billion people are either hungry or underfed. At the same time, 2 billion people are overweight, and one third of all the food produced in the world is thrown away.

The number of starving people has increased by 100–150 million since the start of the century, and the number of obese people has been growing at the same pace. Therefore, it appears that humanity has been using its food resources less rationally.

Experts forecast that the negative food security trend will accelerate in the foreseeable future due to planetary climate changes. Since the 1980s, global warming has brought about a significant reduction in yields of basic crops – wheat (down by 3.8 per cent) and corn (down by 5.5 per cent).

A grave food crisis is just a matter of time, unless immediate comprehensive measures are taken to create an effective global food management system.

Data

— The World Health Organization

— Foodtank

— Climate Change in Sub Sahara Africa