The collective action of 150 countries makes World Food Day, which falls on October 16, one of the most celebrated days on the UN calendar. Hundreds of events and outreach activities bring together governments, businesses, NGOs, the media and the general public. They promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and the need to ensure healthy diets for all.
To say that trends and advice on healthy eating have changed over the past century would be an understatement – governments have been issuing dozens of different official guides on healthy eating for several decades. This includes the food pyramid, which we may be most familiar with. The question is, does that equate to following it?
Healthy diet versus world hunger problem
World Food Day was first established in November 1979. The idea was suggested by former Hungarian Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Pal Romany. Since then, the day has been celebrated by more than 150 countries around the world. The usual theme is agriculture and investments in the sector made to increase food production. These efforts, combined with education and health promotion, can help fight world hunger – we need sustainable agri-food systems that can feed 10 billion people by 2050. But while three billion people – nearly 40% of the world’s population – cannot afford a healthy diet, the problem of overweight and obesity* is growing in parallel across the Earth. Today’s world faces two major problems. One is ensuring a healthy diet, the lack of which affects rich and poor alike, causing lifestyle problems such as obesity and diabetes. On the other hand, there is the problem of hunger, which leads to malnutrition, death and abnormal growth in children.
Dairy as an important part of a balanced diet
There are only 2 foods consumed by humans that can satisfy the entire nutrient requirements of a complex body: milk and eggs. Not surprisingly, milk and dairy products make an excellent contribution to a healthy diet, exhibiting the right balance of nutrients necessary for healthy growth and development. It is for this reason that they appear in all food plate and food pyramid guidelines, currently occupying the third position. – notes Ewa Polinska of MSM Mońki. Not everyone knows that Poland is one of the largest milk producers in the European Union. Dairy exports are dominated by cheese. The largest share in the structure of cheese and cottage cheese exports, ca. 60-70%, are the so-called yellow cheeses. In 2014- 2020, an average of 45% of the volume of domestic production of this assortment** was exported from Poland. – Polish cheeses are valued for their quality and taste qualities also by domestic consumers, the expert from MSM Mońki rightly emphasizes. Many types of cheese and dairy products are available on our store shelves. It is worth realizing at this point that there are many places in the world where dairy products are expensive relative to local income levels and are seen as prestige foods that only the wealthiest can afford.
The evolution of the food pyramid continues
In addition to movement, the cornerstone of the dietary recommendations in effect since 2016, recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Polish Institute of Food and Nutrition, is fruits and vegetables, which should make up half of every meal in the ratio of ¾ vegetables, ¼ fruits. The list does not include sweets, which were at the top of the first food pyramid, developed in 1992 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Both the Polish and American food pyramids are under constant evaluation. This primarily involves updating our knowledge of how food affects our health. We ourselves also pay more and more attention to it. We don’t repeat heard, circulating opinions, but try to dispel myths, such as those circulating around eating yellow cheese. – Fortunately, more and more people are realizing that a certain amount of healthy fats is simply needed by the body, so yellow cheese can be consumed systematically, but in moderation. – Ewa Polinska explains. Especially since many vitamins and minerals are dissolved precisely in fats. Being aware of what foods serve us and what we should avoid, and putting this into practice, we will gain, above all, health.
Let’s appreciate that we have access to so many valuable products and eat consciously not only on World Food Day.
* http://www.fao.org/home/en
** https://www.pb.pl/sery-dominuja-w-eksporcie-produktow-mleczarskich-1122974