“The first essential component of social justice is adequate food for all mankind. Food is the moral right of all who are born into this world.” – Norman Borlaug, “the father of the Green Revolution” and is credited with saving over a billion people worldwide from starvation.

The topic is multifaceted and deeply layered. When deprived of food, the vulnerable only become more vulnerable. Violence increases; social justice is no longer just. Bill Gates says “when stunted children don’t reach their potential, neither do their countries. Malnutrition saps a country’s strength, lowering productivity and keeping the entire nation trapped in poverty.” When we begin with the simple mechanics of nutrition and consider feeding one child, we begin to change the world.

Hunger, of course, isn’t just about food, it also reflects the effects of climate change and resources. Since the 1900s around 75% of crop diversity has been lost from farmers’ fields. At the other end of the spectrum, the Natural Resources Defense Council tell us that in the USA alone, more than 40% of food that can be safely consumed goes to waste.

Part of the solution isn’t just about generating more food, and managing waste more effectively it’s about growing nutritionally, and distributing it fairly. Food isn’t just a way to fill our stomachs, it can fill our hearts – we share it with family and friends and use it to celebrate, connect and show affection. Food can be the ultimate act of love and feel like a refuge of safety.

Food isn’t always the cause of joy and celebration. For many, it presents a puzzling dichotomy. Whilst nearly 1 billion people suffer from obesity-related illnesses, a billion suffer from malnutrition. This paradox presents a major imbalance in society that reflects the global imbalance. It’s not the lack of food causing world hunger, it’s the lack of consistent health and adequate nutrition for everyone.

We know we can feed the entire planet. We just need to make it a daily action.

The problem is that whilst the global population is going up, the overall expertise, agricultural business interest and dedicated and knowledgeable agriculture entrepreneurs are diminishing rapidly. Agriculture is seen as old-fashioned and difficult, thus it’s unattractive to young people. Even traditional farmers’ children, like most other young people, have sought to go into other professions rather than take over their parents’ farming operations. As a result, the traditional practice where knowledge and experience were passed from generation to generation is no longer the case. We have to make agriculture business attractive and viable for young people

• Young people love technology – we must introduce them to modern practices of farming that have a strong technology component
• A novel and holistic approach to developing young successful agricultural entrepreneurs is important.

A report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) said that roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption goes to waste. That’s approximately 1.3 billion tonnes of food. We need to raise awareness among all of finding beneficial use for food that is presently thrown away. It was great to see JCI Manchester using Open Kitchen – a catering social enterprise that only uses food that would otherwise go to waste – to cater for their national event earlier in the year.

FAO is working with countries, other UN agencies and partners in projects based on three-dimensional sustainability. From backing school food legislation in Bolivia (SDGs 1, 2, 3 and 4) to helping to boost Georgia’s export trade in fisheries and to supporting policy-making (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 14, 17) to investing in dairy production in Kenya to improve nutrition, increase income and cut carbon emissions (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 5, 13, 15), FAO’s work goes far beyond SDG2, illustrating the broad impact of food and agriculture and just how interdependent the 2030 Agenda really is. So what can you do to help?

Now what we need is action.

What you can do to create a world with zero hunger: 

Lifestyle Tips:

• Keep your leftover for another meal
• Buy only what you need. Enjoy simple and nourishing food.
• Buy “ugly” or irregular shaped fruits and vegetables
• Turn waste into compost
  Ask for smaller portions
• Practice FIFO – First in, first out. When buying food, rotate your oldest food to the front of your cupboard and put your newly bought food at the back.
• Know the difference between best before and use by dates. If well-stored most non-perishable food is safe to eat after the ‘best before’ date.
• Donate to local projects through organisations such as Global Giving
• Support programmes that rescue leftover food
• Donate to support school lunch programmes
• Clean out your pantry and donate the surplus food

Business Tips

• Know your value chain – partner with local producers and farmers
• Explore creative ways to reduce or donate your wastage
• Partner with your local foodbank
• Provide paid volunteer days
• Support programmes that rescue leftover food
• Donate to support school lunch programmes

Now it’s your turn.

1. Commit to start your decade of action!
2. Tell someone about it. Pick an action from the life section & one to take to your business as a potential project to work on.
3. Share your journey on social media. Tag in JCIUK and use the hashtags #SDGandMe

…and please send us your ideas so we can add them to this list!