UN releases annual global food security report on challenges to tackling hunger
The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has today released its annual report charting the world’s progress towards zero hunger, addressing this year’s high food price inflation and its consequences for food security and nutrition.
The report reveals that global hunger affected 8.2% of the global population in 2024, which equates to around 720 million people. This is down from 8.5% in 2023 and 8.7% in 2022. Significant progress has been made in Southeast Asia, South Asia and also in South America, with Brazil now off the FAO’s hunger map. However, there is a worsening situation in Africa, where one in 5 people go hungry and two thirds of the population can’t afford a healthy diet, and in the Middle East, where one in 7 people are going hungry.
Food costs are vulnerable to environmental shocks, such as drought, making it essential that countries shift to sustainable and resilient food systems which emphasise the production of low emission, plant-rich foods.
“Countries need to be investing in building strong, domestic plant-based food supply chains and partnering with research institutes and the food industry to drive forward climate-smart innovation,” Juliette Tronchon, Head of UN Affairs at ProVeg International, said.
“By shifting towards more plant-rich diets through growing more climate-resilient and diverse crops for direct human consumption, we can strengthen food security in the Global South,” Tronchon added.
Growing food exclusively for human consumption would increase available calories by 70% and could feed an additional 4 billion people1. But a large proportion of edible crops, in particular wheat and corn, as well as legumes such as soya and peas, are used as animal feed.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report was launched at the Second UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and tracks the progress the world is making towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: Zero Hunger.
Melkassa Agricultural Research Center visit
The ProVeg team attending the summit took time out to visit the Melkassa Agricultural Research Center, which is situated about 100km from Addis Ababa, where they watched the planting of avocado, mango and banana trees.
The centre carries out research into crops, forestry and agricultural engineering, among other areas, under the supervision of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research.
During the visit, ProVeg learned that the center had developed nearly 300 new pulse varieties, many of which are drought resistant and nutritious, and which are now being traded and consumed locally, contributing to food and nutrition security and delivering economic benefits.
“It was inspiring to visit the centre and see how food system transformation is possible through the growing of climate-friendly, plant-based foods,” Tronchon said.
“The work at the centre is vital for helping nations in the Global South shift towards sustainable food systems that can support ecosystems rather than contribute to their collapse,” she added.
COP30 and the Declaration on Plant-Rich Diets
ProVeg International will also be at this year’s UN climate summit, COP30, which takes place in the Brazilian city of Belém in November.
The ProVeg delegation will be presenting the Belém Declaration on Plant-Rich Diets, which calls on UN member states to draft and implement Action Plans for Plant-Based Foods. The Declaration was launched at the pre-COP UN gathering in Bonn in June.
ENDS
Footnotes
- Cassidy, E. S., P. C. West, J. S. Gerber, et al. (2013): Redefining agricultural yields: from tonnes to people nourished per hectare. Environmental Research Letters 8(3), 034015. Doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/034015
Notes to Editors
For media inquiries, email Peter Rixon at [email protected].
For scientific data about the benefits of plant-based eating, see our Food System Data website.
About ProVeg International
ProVeg International is a food awareness organisation with the mission to replace 50% of animal products globally with plant-based and cultivated foods by 2040. Our vision is a world where everyone chooses delicious and healthy food that is good for all humans, animals, and our planet.
