Food, the Basic Human Need

Food is among the most basic human needs—indeed, the needs of all living creatures—and its essential role is undeniable.

Satisfying the instinct of hunger has accompanied humankind from the very first day of creation, so much so that it can be said that humanity's astonishing advances in the realms of industry and agriculture are owed to the response to this same simple and basic instinct. In the Quran, too, attention has been paid to this physical need of humans, and the names of some surahs begin with foods. In some verses, the properties of certain edibles are mentioned, and in others, reference is made to the animals that produce edibles suitable and pleasant for humans.

The twenty-fifth of Mehr, corresponding to the sixteenth of October, is World Food Day. This day is named in honor of the founding of the FAO in 1945 and is commemorated throughout the world. On this day, international organizations strive to establish relations in the field of agriculture and to lay the groundwork for preventing poverty, hunger, and the destruction of the environment. Drawing on experiences, methods of nutrition, and the transfer of technology from developed countries to developing countries brings prosperity and progress to the food industry among the nations of the Third World.

World Food Day is a wake-up call for slumbering consciences and a day of sympathy with the hungry, who are deprived of the most basic right of life, namely food. The FAO, or the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is one of the international organizations active in the field of agricultural development. The FAO was founded in 1945 by 44 member countries of the United Nations. This organization, from the FAO headquarters and through a global network of about ninety offices, helps developing countries to expand and modernize agriculture, forestry, and fisheries and to provide suitable food for all.

The goal of the FAO is to raise the standard of living and improve the nutrition of the world's people, to distribute food appropriately in different regions of the world, and to establish food security. Combating malnutrition by providing the necessary information to various countries is another of the FAO's goals, which has increased agricultural productivity and the level of nutrition in the world. The headquarters of this organization is located in the city of Rome in Italy.

The FAO provides services to its members, including the European Union and 183 countries, and in doing so cooperates with thousands of partners around the world, from civil society organizations such as farmers' groups and humanitarian organizations to other United Nations agencies, development banks, and the private sector.

The FAO's main goals:

1) Assisting developing countries by providing technical facilities

2) Helping governments to set policy and providing consultation in planning

3) Collecting, examining, and publishing information

4) Acting as a venue for the exchange of views and the gathering of poor and rich nations on equal terms

According to existing projections, the world's growing population will increase to about 9 billion people by the year 2050, and the FAO's estimates also indicate that to supply the food needed by this population, global food production must be increased by 60 percent. This is while, following climate changes, small-scale and family farming—considered the main supplier of the food consumed by the world's people—has faced numerous problems due to rising air temperatures, drought, atmospheric issues, and the occurrence of natural disasters. For this reason, the FAO has also chosen "The climate is changing, so food and agriculture policies must change too" as the slogan of World Food Day 2016, in order to place special emphasis on changing the model of food production and agriculture in line with climate changes and to take a step toward strengthening the implementation of climate-smart agriculture.