October 16th is World Food Day, a day coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This year’s theme is the “Right to Food”.
There’s word going around the international foodies circuit to encourage those interested to write about issues related to the “right to food” to raise awareness of this issue in the media. As a “foodie” myself - and as the moderator for SustainableMelbourne.com, I support this initiative and welcome any posts people may like to contribute to post on SustainableMelbourne.com and on our international site, SustainableCitiesNet.com.
Topics could reflect environmental and social justice issues as they relate to food, such as the right to food, hunger, urban agriculture, food miles, water and carbon costs, food security and even issues such as green roofs and vertical spaces for food production, among many more!
As stated from a fellow foodie:
Here’s the idea: what if those of us who do some occasional writing for newspapers or the web agreed to publish something for our audiences that day on the right to food? Maybe all it will add up to is a handful of op-eds and blog posts, but that’s how awareness-raising starts.
In addition to the good this could achieve at home, such a group effort would also represent a statement of solidarity with people and groups internationally working on these issues.
Bread for the World has a good summary of world hunger facts here: http://www.bread.org/learn/hunger-basics/hunger-facts-international.html You might check with some local agencies to see what the level of food insecurity is your own area and make a connection. Use the day to toot your own horn by telling readers what you and your group are doing to insure that more people in your area have access to nutritious food. Write a futuristic piece about what you’d like your community to look like 13 years from now foodwise, i.e your “2020 Vision”.
Information from the FAO’s Right to Food website can be found at:
http://www.fao.org/righttofood/
