We celebrate the farmers and researchers that have brought us the food we have today and raise awareness to those who are less fortunate in our own communities and around the world in an effort to continue the fight against global hunger.
In addition to World Food Day, we Minnesotans also observe Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Day today in memoriam of our very own UMN alumnus and the Father of The Green Revolution. For many of us here in Minnesota and around the world, 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winning Dr. Borlaug serves as an important symbol in the fight against world hunger in which we honor his lifetime of work to feed others by proclamation.
World Food Day was established in 1979 by member countries of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and since 1981 has been represented by a theme. The first theme back in 1981 was "Food comes First'', a theme so fundamental it was used again in 1982 serving as a foundation in the work we do in the fight against hunger. This year’s 2021 theme is
“Safe food now for a healthy tomorrow”.
The importance of this theme cannot be overemphasized in a world unfortunately plagued with the widespread circulation of pseudoscience at the cost of human lives. While it is justified for us to peer-review the food scientists and farmers provide us, we must do so with a wide-angle global lense. The world is complex in many ways requiring a mosaic of solutions to meet the local needs of various lands, cultures, and people. Ultimately, faith in science and our #FoodHeros will lead us to achieve “safe food now for a healthy tomorrow”. For Many people globally, hope for a healthier tomorrow may be all they have which is why it is our privileged duty to create the mosaic of solutions to one day finally achieve #ZeroHunger.