Commission calls for more action against hunger on World Food Day

Marking World Food Day, today Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, is attending events at the Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome, where he is delivering a speech at a high-level panel session on the challenges faced in achieving zero hunger. Even though in the last decades we have seen a decline in global hunger, the latest annual report on the state of food security and nutrition in the world, warns that global hunger is on the rise again, and many countries are still on the brink of famine.

Ongoing conflict, climate change and instability are the main culprits behind this worrying situation. In his speech, Commissioner Mimica stresses the need to keep pursuing the aim in Agenda 2030 of making hunger history: “If we don't act now, many of our hard-won gains will be reversed. If we don't act now, we will never reach our goal of zero hunger. So today's World Food Day is a call for action – a call for a different future. The European Union is committed to play its part in this endeavour.” Vytenis Andriukaitis, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety also stressed in a statement published on the occasion that: "In a world where over 800 million people go hungry, it is unacceptable that in Europe, 88 million tonnes of food amounting to 143 billion euro are wasted every year. Food waste is an unethical misuse of valuable natural and economic resources. I have made the fight against food waste one of my priorities and put in place several initiatives to work towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals aim to halve food waste by 2030 and channel the resources available to those who need them most."