World Food Day (Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania)

Many countries are experiencing food insecurity. As a result, the United Nations was compelled to take action. The goal of World Food Day is to raise awareness of global hunger and poverty and to inspire solutions for global change. It is celebrated on the anniversary of the FAO's (Food and Agriculture Organization) creation.

Problems

Australia

Before 2020, estimates indicated that, depending on geography, between 4% and 13% of the general Australian population and 22% to 32% of the Indigenous population were food insecure. According to a recent study, there is more food insecurity than before the COVID pandemic (Kent & Mckay, 2022). 

New Zealand

According to New Zealand's government's 2020-21 health survey, about one in seven (14.9%) children lived in households where foods runs out, similar numbers often eat less because of lack of money or food, while 12.2% of children lived in households that use food banks. Children living in the most economically vulnerable areas were at least six times as likely to experience food insecurity. 

Oceania

The four pillars of food security (availability, access, utilisation, and stability) are negatively impacted by climate extremes and variations such as drought, flooding, intense rainfall events, and storms, which also pose a danger to food security across the ten Oceania countries 

Fix

Towards these problems, The UN is urging individuals to choose healthy and sustainable food choices that will promote biodiversity and their own health. Reduce the amount of ultra-processed foods that are high in salt, sugar, or fats in your diet and increase the amount of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains. They also exhort people to adopt quick, inclusive value chains that link producers and consumers and promote ecosystems in order to help small food producers.