Inter Press Service: Zero Hunger: Our Actions Today Are Our Future Tomorrow
José Graziano da Silva, director general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N.

“…This year, World Food Day … aims to remind the international community of its fundamental political commitment to humanity — the eradication of all forms of malnutrition — and raise awareness that achieving a Zero Hunger world by 2030 … is still possible. … However, world leaders have to bear in mind that the concept of Zero Hunger is broader and not limited to the fight against undernourishment. … Zero Hunger encompasses the eradication of all forms of malnutrition. So it is not just about feeding people but nourishing people as well. … Food systems must be transformed in a way so that all people can consume healthy and nutritious food. We need to address obesity as a public issue, not as an individual problem. This requires the adoption of a multi-sectoral approach … It must be a collective effort towards healthy diets that include, for instance, the creation of norms such as labeling and the banning of some harmful ingredients, the introduction of nutrition in the school curriculum, the adoption of methods to avoid food loss and waste, and the establishment of trade agreements that do not hamper access to locally grown, fresh, and nutritious food from family farming. … It is time to renew our commitment and, even more important, the political support towards a sustainable world free from hunger and all forms of malnutrition” (10/15).

The Telegraph: Malnutrition is a staggering global burden — we must give new meaning to the food we eat
David Nabarro, curator of the Food Systems Dialogues and professor at Imperial College, London, and Lawrence Haddad, executive director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition; both 2018 World Food Prize Laureates

“…The burden of malnutrition carried by the planet is staggering. Together, high body weight, poor diets, and child and maternal malnutrition account for half of all the world’s combined mortality and morbidity. … We need to give new meaning to the food we eat. It is not about fueling the body but about nourishing it. We also need to repurpose our food systems: from commerce that is indifferent to the health of people and the planet, to commerce that seeks to enhance financial returns through caring for those very same goals. … Food systems, which shape the journeys of foods from farms, forests, and oceans, will not respond to silver bullets. They need to be viewed and shaped from multiple perspectives. They require people and organizations from all walks of society to come together in food systems alliances to identify ways to move forward on multiple fronts at several levels: local, national, and global. Dialogue is essential to this, as is leadership. … Malnutrition is not inevitable; it is a choice. … Sustainable Development Goal number two challenges us to end malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. We believe that goal is not a platitude, rather a commitment that rallies us all and brings us together” (10/16).