Legislator L.Eldev-Ochir attends global parliamentary summit

Head of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Food, Agriculture and Environment L.Eldev-Ochir participated in the global parliamentary summit against hunger and malnutrition held in Madrid, Spain, from October 29 to 30.

During the summit, the lawmaker attended the three thematic sessions under the themes of ending hunger and its causes; the challenge of nutrition; and means to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger.

Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization Jose Graziano da Silva urged international parliamentarians to place food security and nutrition at the top of the political agenda.

“Being responsible for passing laws and reviewing budgets, you can play a key role in promoting food security and improving nutrition in your respective countries," noted the director general.

Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez said, "This summit represents an opportunity to face this truly global challenge from a multilateral perspective, the only effective prism from which to identify solutions and put in place the measures and the necessary legislation in your respective countries to achieve the Zero Hunger goal by 2030.”

"If we do not find concrete ways to stop this constant increase, the number of obese people will soon be as high as the number of people who are hungry," stated the director general.

"Unfortunately, processed food is also more convenient for international trade. This greatly affects the populations of countries that import most of their food, such as the islands of the Pacific and the Caribbean,” Graziano da Silva explained.

He added that there are examples of countries like Mexico and Vietnam, which registered an increase in the consumption of unhealthy imported foods and beverages under free trade agreements.

“It is also an opportunity to place the Sustainable Development Goals at the center of all public policies and priorities, to place this debate in a central position and to respond to the needs of society taking as reference the universal values that unite us all,” the Spanish premier added.

The summit’s delegates discussed the important role of legislative bodies to achieve a hunger-free world by 2030; identifying and sharing political experiences, legislation and good practices which are fundamental in the fight against hunger and malnutrition; and building a network of parliamentary alliances that contribute to the achievement of zero hunger goal, progress towards the commitments of the Second International Conference on Nutrition held in 2014 in Italy; and the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable people and territories.

According to FAO’s latest figures, 821 million people (11 percent of the world's population) go hungry every day. Simultaneously, other forms of malnutrition have also increased and there are already two billion overweight adults, of whom 672 million are obese.