NUTRITION

Healthy nutrition. On September 18, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) presented an initiative called “Green Cities,” through which it seeks to transform agri-food systems and improve nutrition globally. In this way, FAO will support access to healthy diets that come from sustainable food systems and the mitigation of the effects of climate change. At the moment, the countries in the region that will benefit from the program are Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The plan will apply for the next three years.

FAO believes that due to population growth in the coming decades, many communities will be exposed to food and nutrition insecurity and non-communicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes. For this reason, FAO and local governments will work on guidelines for the sale of foods high in fat, sugar and salt in supermarkets and schools. Nutrition education campaigns will also be carried out to promote a change in consumer behavior, encouraging the intake of more diverse, nutritious, and safe foods and reducing food waste.

FAO will also support local administrations by developing guidelines to recover and redistribute surplus safe and edible food from markets. In addition, it will give training on the use of food waste to produce composting and bioproducts.

Next steps

On September 18, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) presented an initiative called “Green Cities.” There, taking into account the population growth forecast for the coming decades, it will be explained that together with the governments of the world’s cities, guidelines will be promoted for the sustainable consumption and production of healthy foods. At the moment, the countries in the region that will benefit from the program are Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, which will be applied for the next three years.