food

Mayra Monge has dedicated much of her life to researching and planting native trees in the verdant biodiverse powerhouse of Costa Rica.
UNDP

Biodiversity ‘fundamental’ for global food systems, at “heart’ of development – UN agriculture chief

24 February 2020
SDGs

Because the production of everything we eat transforms the environment, the United Nations agriculture chief told a high-level UN meeting on biodiversity that careful discussions are needed to decide on the scale of acceptable transformations. 

Villagers grow rain-fed rice in Beung Kiat Ngong wetlands, Lao People's Democratic Republic. (File)
© FAO/Xavier Bouan

UN agency sounds alarm: Dwindling agrobiodiversity ‘severe threat’ to food security

14 November 2019
Climate and Environment

To help ensure the most-consumed foods don’t disappear in the face of the climate crisis, farmers must cultivate crops able to resist environmental shocks and other stresses, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) highlighted in a new set of conservation guidelines published on Thursday.

The new report examines not only the effects of persistent undernutrition in the Asia-Pacific region but also the impact of poor diets, such as rising obesity and micronutrient deficiency. Photo: FAO/ Vinod Ahuja
Photo: FAO/ Vinod Ahuja

Wednesday’s Daily Brief: Soaring obesity rates, sustainable development funding alliance, new UN office to support Haiti

16 October 2019
Health

A recap of Wednesday’s main stories: Poor global diets triggering obesity; cancer incidents expected to rise indicates new 'atlas'; CEOs join UN to tackle SDG funding; New UN Mission launches in Haiti; to blend better into Big Apple life, NYC restaurant gives migrants, refugees and fresh start.

Children and families are huddled together, after being forced to flee their homes, before embarking on the long journey to safety at Syria's Al-Hol camp, which became home to many, believed to be families of former ISIL terrorist fighters.
© UNICEF/UN0277723/Souleiman

Monday’s Daily Brief: 70,000 children displaced in northeast Syria, Guterres commends UN-led peace deal for Ecuador, deadly airstrikes in Libya's Tripoli

14 October 2019
Peace and Security

A recap of Monday’s stories: UNICEF estimates some 70,000 children have been newly displaced in northeast Syria; UN chief sounds alarm on threat of ISIL amid fighting in Syria; Secretary-General welcomes start of Ecuador peace dialogue; Deadly Libya attacks 'blatant violation' of human rights; Food agencies reveal scale of global food waste problem. 

Fruit and vegetables farmers' market in Budapest, Hungary. (file)
© FAO/G. Agostinucci

Culture is ‘the best diplomacy we know’, UNESCO assistant chief declares

13 September 2019
Interviews

Beyond nourishing us, food can serve as “a great path to follow” to understand the development changes that are needed for a sustainable future.

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8'52"
The Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization are joining forces to assist countries to prevent, manage and respond to risks along the food supply chain. Pictured above is a marketplace in Kampala, Uganda.
World Bank/Arne Hoel

‘From farm to plate’, first-ever World Food Safety Day demonstrates the need to take unsafe food off the menu

6 June 2019
Health

Unsafe food kills an estimated 420,000 people every year, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday, just ahead of the first-ever UN World Food Safety Day. Children under-five are the most at risk, carrying 40 per cent of the foodborne disease burden, amounting to 125,000 deaths every year.

Alec and Hilaria Baldwin talk about healthy diets from sustainable food systems.
UN News/Elizabeth Scaffidi

The Baldwins talk healthy eating, and a healthy planet

7 March 2019
The Lid is On

We have been “absolutely shameful stewards” of the environment, according to Academy Award-nominated actor and activist Alec Baldwin, who stopped by our UN News studio with his wife Hilaria after they spoke at the launch of a new UN-backed report that links food and health with a sustainable plan

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17'8"
Cindy Holleman, Senior Economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Video screen capture

Latest world hunger report an ‘alarming signal’ says senior UN economist

11 September 2018
Interviews

More people were hungry in 2017 than at any time over the previous decade, according to the latest edition of the annual flagship UN report State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World.  Cindy Holleman, a senior economist with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and one of the lead authors of the study, spoke to UN News’ Yasmina Guerda about the key findings of the report.

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7'28"
Farmers grow quinoa in the Andes mountain region in Latin America. FAO Photo

UN agency helps farmers in Latin America broaden their market horizons

13 December 2017
Improving market access, particularly beyond national borders, for family farmers and small and medium agriculture enterprises in the Latin America and Caribbean region can help boost rural development as well as spur inclusive trade, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said.
Address by His Holiness Pope Francis. World Food Day Ceremony, FAO Headquarters (file photo).
FAO/Giuseppe Carotenuto

At UN event in Rome, Pope Francis urges action on climate change, conflicts to end global hunger

16 October 2017
Food security for all requires tackling climate change and ending conflicts, His Holiness, Pope Francis, stressed Monday at an official ceremony for World Food Day held at the Rome headquarters of the United Nations agriculture agency.