WORLD FOOD DAY

Today, 16 October, we are celebrating the 75th World Food Day within the framework of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Despite the developed world and technologically advanced ways of growing food, more than 2 billion people face a shortage of safe, healthy, and nutritious food every day. On this day, I was most surprised by the publication of the NIJZ (National Institute For Public Health), which in its publication on this day, published a picture where there is no meat, no fish, eggs, or dairy products.

For as long as I can remember, there has always been talking in school about how we, in the developed world, throw food away so we don’t appreciate it enough. I even remember how a household teacher showed us a post about how children in poorer countries have to browse the trash for food. And unfortunately, it is still so. Despite the many charities that are working daily to keep those 2 billion down rather than increasing.

On the website of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, I found worrying data on the deteriorating situation due to this year's COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to last year, 10 million more people are hungry this year. Due to the economic situation, this number could increase tenfold.

Not to mention just one extreme, while many people are malnourished and do not consume sufficient amounts of food and all macronutrients, on the other hand, there are people who are overweight and obese whose diet is also inadequate.

Today, only nine plant species account for 66% of the crop. However, there are at least 300,000 different species that could be used to grow food. (1)

Despite constant research for progress, the system still has shortcomings. From the growth of the crop, all the way to the final product, which we take in the store from the shelves, about 14% of the food is lost annually. Of course, the amount of food we throw away still needs to be considered. The percentage of food loss also depends on the technological development of the country.

For example, in sub-Saharan Africa, 83% of food is lost during production, storage, and handling, and only 5% by consumers. (2) By introducing technology and teaching local farmers in the underdeveloped world, there would be less food loss.

What about the attitude towards food? I remember how we had to be on duty in the kitchen for the last two years of elementary school and tidying up the leftovers of students who ate lunch at school. I will probably never forget this, as the amounts of food discarded were enormous. This probably means that the attitude towards food is learned at home. It is not my intention to brag and preach, I also probably left lunch because I did not like it, I was full or. I probably stank someday too. But I ate later. And such an attitude towards food has been maintained to this day. I am very reluctant to throw food away. But if I don't sing, someone else does. I think we should be grateful for the food. It is true that we often take it for granted, but such thinking is wrong. What we remember is the panic that arose in early March, when the stores ran out of yeast and it was completely looted. It was only then that people thought that food just wasn't that self-evident. But it is also true that this instinctive instinct quickly lifted our ego and so everyone wanted to buy everything in stock and didn’t even think to leave anything for others. Yes, in moments of panic a person becomes unrecognizable.

Now, however, I would like to touch on a topic that is almost always silenced and never presented. I, on the other hand, would like this to be talked about. Even the NIJZ (National Institute For Public Heath) today indicated what a healthy and appropriate diet is that would prevent further outbreaks of pandemics. We often hear that it is not possible to produce enough food to feed the whole world. In David Attenborough’s latest documentary, A Life on Our Planet, one of the solutions to halting global warming is to restore the area intended for livestock production to its original role - the return of natural habitat to animals that lived here before the earth began. exploited for livestock and food production for it. If we were to eat only plant-based food, we would only need half of the territory we are currently exploiting to grow animal feed. An area the size of Africa would be freed up.

At this year's Vegafest, the Slovenian Vegan Association distributed leaflets in which they presented the consequences of eating meat. As many as three out of four new infectious diseases come from animals. Ebola originates from hunting animals. Swine flu originates from pig farms, and bird flu from markets and chicken farms. The SARS epidemic originates from civet meat on the market ...

Food is crucial to our existence. It is our fuel and also our medicine. Why then do we not choose it consciously? With a vegan diet, we are not polluting the planet and shrinking the habitat of wildlife. Wheat, corn, soybeans, and other cereals and legumes could now be grown in the territory where animal feed was previously grown, greatly reducing the number of hungry people around the world. With veganism, we can save huge amounts of water that is used in the production and processing of meat (2400 liters of water are used for 1 meat hamburger) and growing food for them. We prevent outbreaks of new pandemics and diseases.

The modern way of life has repeatedly proven to be unhealthy, harmful to us, to our health, and also harmful to our planet. It is time to stop closing our eyes to reality. Veganism is one of the most effective and fastest ways to solve the problems of the modern world.