“The world’s hunger is getting ridiculous. There’s more fruit in a rich man’s shampoo than a poor man’s plate.”
The Second goal of sustainable development is to put an end to hunger, achieve food security and enhanced nutrition and advocate sustainable agriculture.
But, what is hunger?
It is a feeling of discomfort or weakness that is caused by a lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat.
India has consequential hunger issues and it needs to be fixed on an urgent basis.
First, let’s have a look at some facts given below:
- 2015 World Bank Report– Malnutrition in India is almost two to seven times higher than other BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) member countries.
- About nineteen crore people in India sleep hungry every day.
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a UN body- Thirty-three percent of the food produced worldwide never actually reaches the plates of those who need it.
- Approximately one hundred ninety-five million people i.e., fifteen percent of the population in India are undernourished.
- 37.9% of children in India under the age of five experience stunted growth due to undernourishment.
- Almost forty-five thousand children die every day under the age of five in India due to hunger.
- 2019 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Report– Eight hundred eighty-two thousand children below five years of age have died due to higher in India by 2018.
- India has ranked one hundred third among one hundred nineteen countries in the 2018 Global Hunger Index rankings.
By looking at the above facts you must now have an idea about hunger in India.
Did you know that 9.9 percent of the world’s population is suffering from hunger?
According to the UN Report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, globally almost seven hundred twenty and eight hundred eleven went under poverty in 2020.
In India, hunger is not just because of lack of food but due to food mismanagement and wastage as well.
Such as, in India there is enough production of food to feed its population. But it is also home to twenty-five percent of the world’s hunger-stricken population.
Moreover, there has been a continuous transformation in the food demand patterns due to the country’s economic growth and changing demographics.
Therefore, challenges like the Zero Hunger Challenge help ensure food security, nutritious food, and comprehensive sustainability by bringing together all the stakeholders to be in touch with resilient agriculture and hence making the world free from hunger, malnutrition, and poverty.
There are both natural and man-made causes of hunger.
Floods, tropical storms, and prolonged droughts are a few of the natural causes that have had disastrous effects on food security, especially in developing countries.
And the increased deposition of industrial outflow, unscientific farming, and flow of chemical fertilizer into the water bodies has caused water pollution. Moreover, agricultural production has been affected negatively due to human activities.
Here are a few ways we can help to achieve the second goal of sustainable development:
- Resilient transportation infrastructure- for transport of food from food surplus to food deficit areas.
- Upgradation of rural infrastructure
- Training of farmers in post-harvest practices
- Incorporating small scale enterprises
- Establishing Framer producer organizations
- Customized financial services
- Investment in agricultural research
- Last-mile marketing channels
- The first participant of economy, Farmer- Well supported and communicated
- Private companies- Minimize food wastage and influence consumer’s behavior
For example, Retail chain Tesco- Buy one get one free later program
- Media spread awareness about food wastage
- Government Laws- penalizing for wastage of food and encouraging recycling and repurposing
For example, France government in 2016 started to fine grocery stores for throwing away edible food.
A lot to do right?
So, what are you waiting for?
Hop on!