Gastronomy is a cultural expression related to the natural and cultural diversity of the world. On June 18, we celebrate Sustainable Gastronomy Day and acknowledge that everyone plays a role in making sustainable choices for healthy diets and a food-secure future. As the COVID-19 pandemic is still unfolding across the globe, sustainable gastronomy - celebrating seasonal ingredients and local producers, preserving wildlife as well as our culinary traditions - is today more relevant than ever.
Agriculture and Food
Transforming food and agriculture: Creating food security while fighting climate change
Two farmers in Ethiopia share their story on how looking after the land strengthens communities and helps biodiversity.
channels climate and environmental finance to smallholder farmers, helping them to reduce poverty, enhance biodiversity, increase yields and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
In the most remote areas of Angola, the wave of coronavirus infections that has swept the world has not yet reached deep into the villages and farming communities. A new joint campaign launched by with the Ministry of Agriculture of Angola aims to keep it that way. In the country’s northern central region, a group of women farmers wear face masks and stand at least a metre apart. They are taking part in a training session on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Gilbert Houngbo, President of writes that "in most of Africa, people are more likely to die from starvation caused by the economic fallout from the pandemic than from the disease itself. An additional 23 million people are expected The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that our current food production, processing and distribution systems are vulnerable." He says investing in small-scale farmers can help boost food security on the continent.
Coronavirus puts 14 million people at risk in Latin America and the Caribbean
and partners have a new easy-to-navigate designed to help decision makers understand their food systems, identify their levers of change, and decide which ones to pull.
Vertical gardens and microgardens have enjoyed new popularity, which the COVID-19 pandemic . From high-tech urban facilities allowing vegetables to grow indoors or outdoors to tiny farming plots that fit in urban settings, both can offer high-yield opportunities to grow leafy green vegetables and other high-value food crops. helps galvanize microgardens as a food and nutrition strategy for poor households vulnerable to malnutrition, among other projects.
The African continent looks like it could be the worst hit from the economic fallout of the crisis: 80 million Africans could be pushed into extreme poverty if action is not taken. And disruptions in food systems raise the prospect of more Africans falling into hunger. Rural people, many of whom work on small-scale farms, are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the crisis. therefore urges that the COVID-19 response address food security and target the rural poor.
reports on chronic bee paralysis, a viral disease of honeybees. It can cause rare, but severe, symptoms, including colony loss. Trade in honeybees has increased its prevalence.
The drink most often chosen around the world after water, is tea, and each culture with its own tradition. presents the world’s passion for the drink as it shows no sign of slowing.
Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly under threat from human activity. We, however, depend on their survival. Pollinators not only contribute to food security and biodiversity; they are fundamental to our ecosystems. Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species, more than 75% of the world’s food crops and 35% of global agricultural land, depend on pollination. On May 20 learn more of what you can do to protect bees and tune in to take part in our virtual event on the future of beekeeping in the COVID-19 era!
Tea production and processing are a main source of livelihoods for millions of families, particularly in developing countries. Recognizing the long history and deep cultural and economic significance of tea around the world, the General Assembly proclaimed 21 May as International Tea Day, calling on . The celebration promotes the sustainable production, consumption and trade of tea. It also offers an opportunity to ensure that the tea sector continues to play a role in reducing extreme poverty, fighting hunger and safeguarding natural resources.
Victoria Muteti, a 44-year old farmer living in Kenya’s Makueni County, has increased her harvest several times over. Luckily, she is able to keep farming during the COVID-19 pandemic, while observing all the necessary social distancing measures, and the extra income she’s made over the last two years has helped her improve her nutrition – along with many other facets of her life. Victoria owes these successes to her participation in an implemented by the Government of Kenya and jointly funded with and the European Union.