Julia Jebeili, Year 6

In the world today, we have seen many people with various professions become food heroes. There are many doctors, engineers, chefs, and farmers etc. who can be regarded as food heroes.

I would love to be a fashion designer. As a fashion designer, I will help volunteer chefs design and make aprons and hats that will help them cater for people’s needs while they look good and smart.

Considering the health hazards related to getting rid of plastic waste, I will design and make beautiful shopping bags out of cloth and promote the use of these alternative shopping bags. I will also make sure to use little or no plastic materials in the clothes I make.

Thanks for reading.

Let’s keep keeping our environment safe.

Peemann Kaur, Year 11

Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together.

Food is one of the most important resources we have, and yet we fail to realise its importance. Lack of food has always been a problem in today’s world, and it has often been used as a strategy in wars. Hunger, solely, is the reason for the death of 3.1 million children each year, and still we do not treat the topic of food with care and consideration. The “World Food Day” is a tradition that has been taking place since 1945, with a new theme each year, and it is a measure taken by the FAO to spread awareness about food and food related problems. This year, marking the 75th anniversary of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the theme of the World Food Day 2020 is “Grow, Nourish and Sustain”, and to allow our actions to determine the future.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a standstill, and almost everything has been affected in one way or another. The food industry has been greatly affected with several food production and transport links being shut down due to the pandemic. Although several countries have recommenced their usual manufacturing processes, there are many still who are extremely vulnerable, whether due to the virus, or due to hunger. The ones most affected are the ones in rural areas where the availability of resources is limited, as they relied completely on goods from the big metropolitan cities. Therefore, seeing the effect of the pandemic on all countries worldwide, the World Food Day 2020 aims to bring to light the important connection between food and agriculture, in facing this pandemic, and the promotion of sustainable agriculture and consumption.

So what does this mean, exactly? A sustainable food system is one that provides food security in a way that suits us environmentally, economically, socially and nutrition-wise. A big part of a sustainable food system is healthy, sustainable diets and economic stability for farmers and other food system workers. Following through, an initial action that we as consumers can take is the promotion of local goods and agriculture.

We often perceive imported goods to be better than the local food, and it is high time we overcome this belief. We should apply the habit of using whatever food materials we have available, and only turn to international products if there is no alternate form available in our country. This helps food sustainability in many ways. Firstly, consuming local foods means that you are sure of where your food is coming from, and that it is fresh and nutritious, void of any sorts of artificial chemicals or preservations which may cause harm to the body. This supports one of our main focuses, which is a healthy and nutritious diet.

Secondly, eating food locally also helps improve the economy of the country, as it supports the famers and vendors of the country rather than adding to the profits of some multinational food processing factory. It promotes nationwide food production, which means that we no longer have to rely on an outside region to provide our food, as was the case with many areas during the global pandemic.

Finally, the consumption of local goods greatly helps reduce waste and energy lost. As the products do not have to be transported overseas, a lot of energy is saved. Packaging of materials is also reduced, greatly reducing waste production. In addition to this most local agriculture uses sustainable methods of production, which includes recycling the waste to use as manure and fodder, forming a zero waste cycle. This increases environmental sustainability.

In conclusion, this year World Food Day is all about eating healthy and sustainably. After all we can’t just consume our way to a more sustainable world; things have to be done. So let us also take the extra step and try to be a bit more considerate about food problems around. Let us do our part, and try and enjoy the local delicacies as much as we can, and promote the farmers who work hard all day long to bring food to our plate. (I’ve heard papayas are in season!)

Together we can grow, nourish and sustain.