Junior World Food Day
by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
05/10/2021
Junior World Food Day
Address
by
Dr. QU Dongyu, FAO Director General,
As prepared
5 October 2021
Dear young friends,
1. Welcome to the first Junior World Food Day event!
2. Which is taking place, very appropriately, during the very first World Food Forum, powered by youth.
3. Today, we celebrate food heroes of all ages from across the world, in the fields of farming, food, innovation and science, sport and the arts.
4. I am joined by inspiring champions who will share their stories - why they have chosen to work with food, or dedicate themselves to improving agri-food systems.
5. I hope that their real-life stories will inspire you – the young people - to become food heroes yourselves, and a new generation of champions for a hunger-free world.
6. To end hunger is to save lives - millions of lives.
7. I can think of nothing more important than this.
8. I grew up in a rice-farming family in rural S. China. In my early years, I experienced life long memory on hunger and poverty first-hand myself. I was one of the vulnerable of the world.
9. Thanks to China’s reform, development and transformation, I had chance to attend university where I studied horticulture - that is about plants and vegetables - and I went on to study in the Netherlands to earn my PhD.
10. I worked as a research scientist in China. Potato from genomics to agronomy, from breeding to industry promotion was my focus and I was nicknamed “Dr Potato” by my colleagues.
11. I am proud to have contributed to ending hunger in China, both as a scientist and a government official.
12. Now as the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - FAO - I am very honoured and privileged to be able to offer my expertise and experience to serve the all the people around the world.
13. I could not have possibly dreamed of this as a poor rural kid 50 years ago!
14. This has happened to me. This could happen to any of you.
15. The world needs more food heroes – many more.
16. There are more than 800 million people around the world going hungry everyday.
17. 800 million – that is more than 13 times the entire population of Italy.
18. Humanity has the power to end hunger within one generation.
19. That is one of the key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations – to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030, less than 10 years from now (9 planting seasons).
20. FAO’s objective is to support the achievement of this noble goal, through the “Four Betters”:
21. One, Better Production – which from technology to management respects small farms, protects soils, and avoids waste and unfair labour.
22. Two, Better Nutrition - this is achieved when a large variety of healthy food is available at affordable prices for everyone – to ensure that nobody gets NCD or becomes overweight because of what they eat.
23. In this way, you create a Better Environment (the Third Better) – which from agro-environment to micro environment of living condition makes sure that land and water do not get overused, biodiversity is preserved and nature respected.
24. And the Fourth Better, A Better Life for all men, women and children - this means life quality and life justice that is fair to all, healthier and more sustainable.
25. Each of us can contribute to this.
26. The decisions we make in our daily life matter - the ways we buy and eat food; and the efforts we make not to waste our food.
27. You can be a food hero today.
28. What you do has an impact on the whole world, and the future of our planet.
29. Our actions are our future. That future belongs to you.
30. Thank you.