Minister Charlie McConalogue has marked World Food Day 2021 today by reiterating Ireland’s commitment to fighting global hunger.
Commenting on the theme of World Food Day 2021, the Minister said: “Our actions are our future –better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life.
“Food insecurity continues to rise with the impact of COVID-19 taking hunger and malnutrition to unprecedented levels across the world. Ireland, by supporting the work of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), has taken a lead in advocating for global food systems transformation, to make food systems more environmentally sustainable, providing decent livelihoods for farmers and food producers, and delivering sustainable, healthy diets for all.”
In recent months, Minister McConalogue presented Ireland’s pioneering food strategy Food Vision 2030 at the UN Food Pre-Summit in Rome and has also met the UN FAO Director General Qu Dongyu to discuss how Ireland will continue to play a leadership role in tackling food poverty.
The Minister also said, “Our new Food Vision 2030 Strategy was developed by Irish agri-food stakeholders, including our farmers, fishers and food businesses, using a food system approach. This aligns with Ireland’s strong engagement with the recent UN Food Systems Summit.
“Ireland produces the highest-quality food & drink and our farmers, fishers and food businesses contribute at local, national and international level in achieving the ambitions of World Food Day for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, and in contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”