At the time of writing, Queen Elizabeth II had just been laid to rest.
But given the food focus of this edition, the impact of the enforced national shut down on the day of the queen’s funeral, on the British working class, cannot be ignored. Many who were already barely managing to make ends meet, were left scrambling to make up for the unexpected loss of income.
Relatedly, there’s a chance that not many of the readers of this edition will have experienced going hungry first-hand. That said, global hunger is a growing problem that is all of our business.
The latest UN State of Food Security and Nutrition report confirms that – sadly – up to 828 million people went hungry in 2021. Yet, the UNEP Food Waste Index report reveals an annual food waste estimate of “931 million tonnes from households, retail establishments and the food service industry”. And “nearly 570 million tonnes of this waste occurs at the household level”. Notably, the report also confirms an annual global average of 74 kg per capita of food wasted – from both lower-middle income to high-income countries. So, there are drastic changes to be made all round.
Food is a basic physiological need and gaining access to it, a human right.
As jy in landbou werk, kan ‘n mens nie help om ‘n groter doelgerigtheid rondom voedselsekuriteit te koester nie. Gegewe die behoefte aan voedsel wat saam met die wêreldbevolking groei, is alle oë op landbou, as die produsente en – by verstek – die “bewaarders” van voedsel.
En as ‘n segment van landbou, produseer die vrugtebedryf van SA nie noodwendig ‘n stapelvoedsel nie. Maar deur sy uitvoergerigte fokus verskaf die bedryf meer as 400 000 werksgeleenthede regdeur die waardeketting. Dis nie te versmaai nie.
In hierdie uitgawe verken ons voedselsekerheid, met kommentaar van rolspelers in die bedryf oor hierdie kritieke onderwerp. Ons kyk ook na, onder meer, suksesvolle grondhervorming, dekgewasse en koolstofvaardighede.
In the lead up to World Food Day, let’s continue to play our part in helping to maintain food security – collectively, as well as in our individual capacity.