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Each year, the Guatemalan State invests about 1 869.2 million Quetzals (USD 245 million) in the national School Feeding Programme (PAE, by its acronym in Spanish), which feeds 2.4 million children. This research estimates that, by including gastronomy in the PAE, it is possible to prevent in a school year (180 days), the waste of 561.6 tonnes of food, equivalent to USD 864 000, or 0.35 percent of the invested budget. This food waste is partly due to children refusing to eat food that they do not find tasty.These data are derived from a small-scale, pre-and post-design pilot intervention in [...]

While insect consumption by humans or entomophagy has been traditionally practiced in various countries over generations and represents a common dietary component of various animal species (birds, fish, mammals), farming of insects for human food and animal feed is relatively recent. Production of this ‘mini-livestock’ brings with it several potential benefits and challenges. The objective of this document is to provide the reader with an overview of the various food safety issues that could be associated with edible insects. The intended audiences of this publication are food safety professionals, policymakers, researchers, insect producers as well as consumers. The regulatory frameworks [...]

Traditional foods, diets and food systems play an important role in people’s nutritional status. As the best products of traditional food systems, geographical indication (GI) foods have a great potential to contribute to healthy diets and curb non-communicable diseases.This paper presents five case studies around the world on the nutritional potential of registered GI foods and explores the link between the production processes and the nutritional composition of the final products. The nutritional characteristics of these foods can be largely attributed to their unique ingredients and production procedures, which are linked to their geographical origins.The paper also discusses the development [...]

At its 74th session, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2021 the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables (IYFV). The primary role of the food and the agriculture sector is to adequately feed people by increasing the availability, affordability and consumption of varied, safe and nutritious foods that are in line with dietary recommendations and environmental sustainability. In this way, the IYFV is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on the important role of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition, food security and health and as well in achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Also available in French [...]

This Country Programming Framework (CPF) sets out five government priority areas to guide the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' (FAO) partnership and support to the Government of Nigeria (GoN) – bringing together innovative international best practices and global standards with national and regional expertise during a five-year period from 2018 to 2022.The priority areas are:1. Strengthen national food security and nutrition through enhanced nutrition-sensitive and climate smart food systems.2. Support for appropriate and operationally effective agricultural policy and regulatory frameworks.3. Support to Nigeria's economic diversification agenda and the promotion of decent employment for youth and women in [...]

La pandemia de la enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19) está poniendo en peligro la salud humana y desestabilizando los sistemas alimentarios que conforman los cimientos de la salud. A menos que tomemos medidas inmediatas, podríamos enfrentarnos a la emergencia alimentaria mundial más grave y de mayores proporciones registrada en más de medio siglo.La FAO solicita inversiones iniciales por valor de 1300 millones de USD para dar una respuesta global ágil y coordinada que permita garantizar alimentos nutritivos para todos, tanto durante la pandemia como después.El Programa de respuesta y recuperación de la COVID-19 permite a los donantes aprovechar el poder de [...]

Progressively more countries are reportedly incorporating school-based food and nutrition education (SFNE) into their education, nutrition and school feeding policies, acknowledging its role in impacting children’s food outlooks and practices, and that of their parents, families and the community. Despite this increasing interest and global recognition, there is no clear picture of SFNE implementation at school level, which makes it challenging to identify gaps, take corrective measures, make reforms or introduce new policy initiatives.Framed under FAO’s school food and nutrition work, the aim of the survey was to determine the current role, approach, scope and linkages of government run SFNE [...]

This short version of the Regional Overview adresses the region's latest progress in meeting zero hunger and the regional trends related to hunger, food insecurity and the triple burden of malnutrition. It describes the situation in Latin America and the Caribbean, putting an emphasis on lagging territories; it also presents a diagnosis and the main trends in recent days. Finally it analyzes the main public policies that the countries of the region are developing to secure food security and nutrition for laggard territories. Also available in Spanish and Portuguese

Progress towards Zero Hunger must be protected from the dual challenges of pandemics and climate change. The frequency of infectious disease outbreaks – including the emergence of novel viruses and zoonotic diseases – is expected to continue rising as livestock, food security, economies, and global health are increasingly threatened by a destabilizing climate. At the same time, malnutrition is unacceptably high across all regions of the world. In 2019, nearly one in ten people in the world were exposed to severe levels of food insecurity.The 13th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in 2021 is seeking recommendations, guided by [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the functioning and resilience of our food supply chains. While lockdown and social-distancing measures have, understandably, been implemented to tackle the public health threat, they have also affected food markets from local to global level. Some supply chains (such as wet markets and the hospitality sector) have been completely disrupted or seen significant operational change. Consumption patterns have changed, too, largely for fear of food shortages, reduced incomes and the closure of food outlets (canteens, restaurants and hotels). Containment measures notwithstanding, food production, processing, access and availability continued and must be maintained to ensure food and [...]