“The Food quality it’s key. The G20 is putting the issue on its agenda and will work in that direction in a document,” he emphasized. Mario Lubetkin, director general of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. And he maintained that “in the Americas there are 43 million people who suffer from hunger despite being an area that produces almost 40% of the world’s total food.” This was stated within the framework of the Food Security panel of the International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA), which is held in the city of Buenos Aires.
Lubetkin pointed out that “2023 was the first year with data that indicates a reduction in hunger in the region, with 3 million people who no longer suffer from this illness” and stated that “perhaps this is a trend that will become more pronounced.” Lubetkin clarified that “it is necessary to ensure that the improvements are uniform throughout the continent and for that we have the great advantage that we are food exporters and we only have to achieve a fairer distribution thereof”.
For his part, the general director of the American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture, Manuel Otero, who shared the same panel, assured: “We have to achieve nutritionally intelligent agriculture that is at the service of peace and development of all countries in the world, integrated into a common plan that guarantees access to food for the entire population. ”.
Food production processes
He said, in this sense, that “the food production processes They have many things to improve, especially those related to the care of the Environment” and considered that to achieve this objective “bridges must be built between the productive, academic and sectors linked to private activity to create favorable conditions for the treaty of the crop residues.
On the other hand, he assessed that it is “absurd that the daily cost of sustainable food in Latin America more expensive than in the rest of the world, US$4.38, when we have a third of global food resources.
“Our continent produces a quarter of all the food consumed by the world’s population. and exports 25%, a reason that makes clear its importance in the global context,” he highlighted. And he stressed that “we have to use that advantage responsibly.”
He also emphasized the need to work with governments, the private sector and universities to build bridges of cooperation on food security around the world.
Water, key to agriculture
For his part, the president and CEO of Bayer Crop Science for the Southern Cone, Juan Ferinatiparticipated in and argued that the world must “work to ensure that crop processes are less polluting” given that he pointed out that agriculture generates 25% of carbon emissions in the atmosphere.
In this context, Ferinati warned that the climate change that is occurring in the region of the Americas “will generate an impact of between 15 and 20% reduction in food production” and highlighted the importance of fresh water in food production, since agriculture consumes “70% of the water used worldwide.”
Thus, he pointed out that “to produce A daily Western diet requires between 1,500 and 2,000 liters of fresh water“and emphasized: “This indicates that there must be a clear commitment from governments and sectors dedicated to food production to generate processes with low levels of contamination that are sustainable over time.”
Obesity, another serious problem
The panelists raised, on the other hand, the obesity problem in the world and in the region as a serious issue for public health and a challenge for food quality sectors. They emphasized that, currently, many children are obese and that this is an issue that all sectors must address together.
Source: Ambito
