The FAO urges food industry to do more to support healthy foods

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Director-General, Qu Dongyu, has called for the food industry to do more to support healthy foods, and to reduce food loss and waste throughout the cycle of food systems from farm to fork.

“Nutrition should not be an end in itself, but rather a means to a healthy, happy life,” Dongyu said.

The food sector has a critical role in achieving food security and nutrition as it influences the production, processing, retail and marketing of the food that we consume, Dongyu noted.

The industry has the potential to transform agriculture and food systems for better, environmental, social and economic outcomes. Dongyu said that he believes food systems must be modified through innovation and technology to be more environmentally sustainable, so that they can safeguard and use vital natural resources, such as water and soil, in a more efficient ways.

He also pointed towards the need to ensure that, at the production level, farmers are equipped with the tools, the knowledge and the capacity to improve agricultural output.

Moreover, he highlighted the importance of transforming supply chains and the relationship between retailer and consumer. Such change must be innovative and should embrace rather than resist digital technology, the FAO Director-General said.

In conclusion, he called for value chain interventions that go beyond narrow economic considerations, but that instead respect the cultural and societal concerns of people.