The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the World Food Programme because life on Earth is at stake

“For its efforts in combatting hunger, for its contribution to the improvement of peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict”, with this motivation the Nobel Peace Prize 2020 has been awarded to the World Food Programme (WFP), the main instrument of the United Nations Organisation (UNO) to combat hunger and promote food safety.

2019 was a difficult year, in some ways revealing a global humanitarian crisis that has overwhelmed the Earth, a year in which certainties collapsed and fragilities were revealed which, because of the pandemic and armed conflicts that have been ongoing for too many years, resulted in a desperate increase in the number of people living on the brink of hunger in countries such as Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria.

Today, more than in past years, all the weight and size of organisations such as the WFP makes itself felt and we must remember that they are supported through voluntary donations of States and private individuals. In 2019, through the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN supported more than 135 million people ravaged by hunger, a number that is unfortunately on the rise due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Food companies play a decisive role in this context. They are increasing their efforts with specific and innovative programmes, supporting projects for the development and innovation of the short chain with an advantage in economic, social and environmental terms, which results in added value for agricultural products, associations and the entire production system.

The economic and social stress we have all been subjected to in 2020 must serve as a warning to adopt a conscious and sustainable lifestyle and work together for a greater distribution of welfare.