World Food Day is celebrated every year on October 16 since 1945. The day was chosen to commemorate the founding date of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The World Food Day theme for 2014 is Family Farming: “Feeding the world, caring for the earth”.
In India the day is also considered as Food Engineer’s Day.
The objective of celebrating World Food Day is to raise awareness and action against hunger. At present World Food Day is observed in almost all the countries of the world by millions of people.
The World Food Day website gives three other compelling reasons to be active on World Food Day. They are
1. We can end hunger in our lifetime if all people worldwide act. The world already produces enough food to feed every single person on the planet. Now people have to work together to feed all the hungry.
2. The cost of hunger neglect is too high. People can suffer from learning difficulties, be less productive at work, experience illness more often, and live shorter lives. Economically, malnutrition costs about $3.5 trillion (USD) a year.
3. Hunger can happen to anyone, at any time, for any reason.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
FAO was established on 16 October 1945, in Quebec City, Canada. In 1951, its headquarters were moved from Washington, D.C., United States, to Rome, Italy. FAO helps developing countries and countries in transition to modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring good nutrition and food security for all.
The current Director General of FAO is Jose Graziano da Silva.