Wednesday was celebrated in countries all around the globe as World Food Day. It's an annual observance dating back to 1945 when it was first implemented by the United Nations. It's a time for the Governments of the member states to think about food security, and whether its populations have fair and reasonable access to it.
We might take it for granted, but here in Belize - despite deep social problems - we have it relatively good. There are countries in the world where hunger and starvation are everyday challenges. And so today, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture and the management of the Ladyville Technical High School staged a grand event filled with activities to observe World Food Day.
7News stopped by the festivities, and we spoke with Agriculture Minister Godwin Hulse about the importance of continually assessing Belize's food security:
Hon. Godwin Hulse - Minister of Agriculture
Once a year, this is celebrated. This year, it's the 16th, but we did it today because of the Friday weekend is better to do it. The FAO that runs this program, of course, is the premier institution, but what we set out to do on World Food Day is to create awareness of healthy living. Basically, that is it."
"And as you know, there is a Belize Parliamentary Alliance which was part of a worldwide movement. The focus now, in keeping with the United Nations Mandate is to ensure that by the year 2025, and by 2030 for sure, we have reduced significantly hunger, definitely malnutrition, and we begin to focus more on the human being and his well being."
"To just quote the assistant Secretary-General of CARICOM, Joseph Cox, when he said he is surprised. Belize is too rich to be poor and too blessed to be stressed."
"You, mothers and fathers, begin to introduce your children to good, healthy food. Let them eat from the table; let them eat from the pot. And I say this with respect to my beautiful, highly educated daughters, who still have their children on iPads, who still make sure they have chips, who still make sure they have so and so."
"We in the Government cannot legislate healthy living. We could make laws to put taxes on junk food. We could make laws to eliminate all the taxes on healthy food, but we can't legislate healthy living. That's up to the teachers, the parents the schools."
After the morning's ceremony, the parliamentarians joined the student body for an extended tour of various agricultural projects that are currently running at Ladyville Tech.
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