Written by Yaseen Summad
When you think of sustainability, ending world hunger probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind. The UN defines sustainability as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".
Applying this definition to the world production and distribution of food highlights how unsustainable our current agricultural processes are. As of 2017, 821 million people, approximately 11.5% of the world's population, worldwide were undernourished, and with the total population expected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050, this number will likely continue to rise if significant changes aren't made to the way the world feeds itself.
"Food wealth" is highly concentrated in developed western nations such as the UK and the US, while 12.9% of those from developing countries are currently undernourished. It's fair to say then that our current production methods don't even meet the needs of our generation let alone those of future ones.
The issue isn't that we aren't producing enough; the UK alone let 4.5 million tons of edible food go to waste in 2018. Instead, the problem is that currently, food is still too expensive for the poorest of us to afford. Furthermore, those of us who are lucky enough to have regular access to food often eat a diet filled with meat and dairy products. Such diets contribute significantly to the emission of harmful greenhouse gases and CO2, while also requiring vast amounts of deforestation to make space for the farming and feeding of these animals. It is estimated that animal farming alone is responsible for more pollution than that of the transportation industry worldwide.
Sadly, those who will be hardest hit by climate change are often the same groups struggling to put food on the table. A general increase in global temperatures, and increased frequency of extreme weather events threaten to devastate crop yields, increase the likelihood of famines and send the price of food skyrocketing.
To summarise then, our current methods of farming leave the poorest in society undernourished and contributes significantly to deforestation and climate change. This all sounds pretty bleak, right? Certainly unsustainable. Reading statements such as these may make you believe there's little hope for us and our small planet. However, there are changes you and I can make to our everyday lives, which can help turn the tide on farming-related climate change and world hunger.
Consider reducing meat and dairy consumption - No-one is asking you to go vegan or cut meat out entirely, but even small reductions in the amount of meat we eat can make a massive difference in the long term.
Consider reducing meat and dairy consumption - no-one is asking you to go vegan or cut meat out entirely, but even small reductions in the amount of meat we eat can make a massive difference in the long term
Educate ourselves – education is our most powerful weapon against world hunger. Having a better understanding of the issues surrounding world hunger better equips us to tackle them
Pressure governments to provide aid and support for those most in need – we can all use our position of privilege to pressure the UK government to support not only the domestic goals for zero hunger but international goals as well. Only recently, Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford successfully pressured the UK government into providing free school meals for school children during the summer holidays 2020. A brilliant achievement. However, there is still more to be done.
Clearly, the issue of world hunger is not one that will be easily solved and certainly not overnight. However, we at Plan-It Change look forward to playing our part in tackling all sustainability-related issues over the coming months, and I look forward to updating you all on our efforts to do our part in making sure no-one goes hungry.
This blog post is in line with Global Goal 2: Zero Hunger, one that Plan-It Change is focused on working towards. To find out more about this goal, click here. To learn more about the Global Goals we support, click here.
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