#ZeroHunger by 2030

To achieve zero hunger is to provide people with food security, a concept which has been around for 10,000 years, but a large number of people still don’t have access to it. Food security is a situation where all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The 4 dimensions of food security (also called the 4 pillars of food security) are food availability, access to food, utilization, and stability. I personally believe that the right to food security is the most important right of all because people won’t be in a position to avail the benefits of the other rights until they are healthy.

The evidence of the lack of food security in India is visible around us in our everyday lives. Little children begging on the street for food, some of them picking up leftovers from the garbage and others stealing it from people on the streets or from little food joints. Pearl S. Buck once famously said, “Hunger makes a thief of any man.” It is sadly true that a huge population of criminals today, commit crimes to fill their empty stomachs and those of their families. In this way, poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity, all become interconnected. Malnourishment in children stunts their growth and their cognitive abilities. It is shocking that India is home to 25% of the world’s hungry population. In 2012, the World Food Programme reported that 43% of children under the age of five years are malnourished. It is ironic that according to World Bank, in the year 2012, India had the world’s largest area under cultivation for wheat, rice, and was the world’s largest producer of milk, pulses, and spices. India ranks 100 out of 119 countries on the World Hunger Index which ranks the countries according to their ability to provide food security for their citizens, which is worse than Iraq, Bangladesh and even North Korea.

Food insecurity is a huge barrier in a country’s development. It hampers the ability of a country to produce healthy individuals who shall carry the country forward on their shoulders. The cause of hunger also differs from nation to nation. Underdeveloped countries suffer from hunger due to lack of resources and poverty (like Chad), while in developed countries like the USA and in developing countries like India; the reason is negligence of resources and carelessness about food.

The aim to achieve ‘zero hunger’ by 2030 is ambitious and seems to be a very difficult task, but it is definitely not impossible. Integrating global efforts with local ones to fight against hunger can result in a day when nobody has to sleep with an empty stomach. At an individual level, we should avoid wasting food. We can organize collection drives to collect edible leftover food from households and give to the people who need it but can’t afford it.

Being a responsible global citizen, I consider it my utmost privilege to contribute to the #ZeroHunger drive and join the bandwagon of the citizens who are completely devoted to the cause.

So, how are YOU going to contribute to achieving zero hunger by 2030?

When you share your last crust of bread with a beggar, you mustn’t behave as if you were throwing a bone to a dog. You must give humbly, and thank him for allowing you to have a part in his hunger.-Giovanni Guareschi