“A healthy diet costs 60% more”

Santo Domingo.- Rodrigo Castañeda, the representative of the Food stuff and Agriculture Group of the United Nations (FAO) in the Dominican Republic, emphasized the want for improvements in the quality of diet plans and equitable obtain to food stuff products and solutions, inspite of a minimize in the prevalence of undernourishment and starvation in the region. He pointed out that though the prevalence fell from 8.3% in the 3-yr time period of 2018-2020 to 6.3% between 2020-2022, worries continue to be.

Castañeda highlighted the trouble in discovering healthier meals at low expense and in near proximity. He stated that a balanced diet plan expenses 60% a lot more than just one that fulfills essential food stuff desires and five moments more than eating plans that only deliver foods electricity.

All through his presentation on “Impact of foods waste on the environment” at the “Sustainable Profits” seminar structured by the Nationwide Network of Business enterprise Assistance for Environmental Defense (Ecored), Castañeda shared world figures, stating that in 2022, 735 million men and women suffered from hunger, even though 1,029 million individuals have been categorized as overweight. He emphasised that the difficulty of starvation is principally an issue of economic entry.

Castañeda pointed out that foods waste is a considerable contributor to environmental issues, with illustrations these kinds of as 12% squander in fish output and 32% in fruits. This squander accounts for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, and if it were being a region, it would be the third most polluting sector globally.

He also highlighted different components contributing to poverty and inequality affecting food safety, together with pandemics, economic slowdowns, local climate variability, conflicts, and the high value of healthful eating plans. On top of that, he described weather change’s impression on soil degradation, abnormal pesticide use, and the have to have for traceability to cut down food stuff waste.

About the Dominican Republic, Castañeda expressed worry about health indicators, stating that 70% of the inhabitants is overweight or chubby, main to a important load on general public health care paying. He called for attempts to promote more healthy weight loss plans and lifestyles.

Castañeda also tackled the issue of food stuff waste in vacationer parts of the state, emphasizing the will need for collaboration in between the community and private sectors to put into action initiatives and lessen waste.

Globally, in 2022, 931 million tons of meals ended up in landfills, highlighting the urgency of addressing food stuff waste and strengthening foodstuff access and top quality.