Putting Food Waste in the Picture Here, There and Everywhere

Food waste is in the spotlight. A Sri Lanka student Kandage Kiyara Chenuli Perera (aged was the Asia Pacific winner of the UNEP annual International Children’s Painting Competition, which attracted 63,700 entrants, based on the theme, “Food Waste – Save the Planet – Save Food, Wasting Food is Wasting the Planet”. This weekend just past (3-4 May), in Washington DC there’s a Future of Food Hackathon, which followed Friday’s Forum on Food, part of the National Geographic Society’s eight-month series on food in collaboration with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  “Food: A Forum” considered “Sustainable Sustenance,” covering the concept of sustainability and its implications for food. SASA is determined to make a study of food waste in Singapore and South East Asia as part of a global search for solutions. Read More

Sri Lanka Student Wins Asia Pacific Prize for UNEP International Children’s Painting Competition

Bangkok, 22 April 2014 – A Sri Lanka student’s painting caught the eyes of judges, making it the Asia Pacific winner of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) annual International Children’s Painting Competition. Eight-year old Kandage Kiyara Chenuli Perera’s painting, based on the competition theme, “Food Waste – Save the Planet – Save Food, Wasting Food is Wasting the Planet” beat more than 63,700 entries from Asia Pacific to make her the winner of this year’s competition.

The UNEP Tunza International Painting Competition is an annual event that is jointly organized by UNEP, the Japan-based Foundation of Global Peace and Environment (FGPE) and Nikon Corporation.

“As a little girl I have a habit of saving money (coins) in a little till. So that idea inspired me to draw that painting. Through my painting I would like to say to all children of the world that we should obey and save food for future just like little ants,” said Kandage Kiyara Chenuli Perera.

Her painting, along with other winning entries, will be exhibited at various venues in Japan and other countries and the websites of UNEP and Foundation of Global Peace and Environment (FGPE).

“Kiyara, a girl from Sri Lanka and a regional winner of Asia and the Pacific, depicted children happily working together to keep and save the precious foods in an “Earth bank”. Mother Earth has kept producing all foods for all lives on the planet for billions of years. We ought to appreciate its abundant blessings, however, at the same time, we should be aware we must suffer from a serious food shortage if we keep wasting food and causing environmental destructions. The expression of the winning picture is bright and active to make people easily understand the importance of saving food. I hope it will inspire a lot of people to take actions in their daily life,” said Ms. Tomoko Yano, Secretary General of the FGPE.

Kandage Kiyara’s entry will move on to the global level, to compete with entries from other regions – West Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and North America. The winners of the global competition will be announced at the Global Winners Ceremony.

“Through this year’s competition children have shown us ways to tackle food waste in our homes, communities and schools. Their paintings make it clear that food waste, like most

environmental issues, is directly impacting on their lives and those of their families and friends. And through their art they have shown that there are actions we can take now,” said Kaveh Zahedi, Regional Director, UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

Kandage Kiyara wins a US$1,000 cash prize and all-expenses-paid trip for her and an accompanying adult to Nairobi, Kenya for a prize-awarding ceremony during the UN Environment Assembly that will take place 23-27 June 2014.

“It is my great pleasure to be a part of Asia Pacific’s Children Painting competition. Food Waste is the theme for this year which raises children awareness on the value of food and the effect of food waste on the environment. Currently, many countries are wealthy while starving is one of the main problems in some countries. This project tremendously benefits both in strengthening environment awareness and encouraging children’s painting competencies. I do hope that this great activity will continue,” said Nobuyuki Muraishi Managing Director & President, Nikon (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

The selection of the regional winner was carried out by a Jury Committee made up of UNEP staff, representatives from Nikon and art students.

UNEP Tunza International Children’s Painting Competition

The regional winners of the 23rd are announced on Earth Day, 22 April 2014. This year’s theme of the International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment is “Food Waste – Save the Planet – Save Food, Wasting Food is Wasting the Planet”. Children aged 6 – 14 were invited to use their artistic skills to show the impact of food waste on the planet.

The painting competition has been held since 1990 with over a million entries from children in over 100 countries received.

The global winners will be chosen by a jury comprised of representatives of competition organizers. All regional and global winners will receive a cash prize (US$ 1000 for the regional winners, US$ 2000 for the first prize winner) as well as an all-expenses-paid trip to Nairobi, Kenya.

United Nations Environment Assembly

From 24 to 28 June 2014, the first session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) of the United Nations Environment Programme will convene at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi with more than 1,200 participants, including Environment Ministers, Government delegates and representatives of major groups and stakeholders. The overarching theme of the first session is “Sustainable Development Goals and the Post-2015 Development Agenda,including sustainable consumption and production”, which is designed to inform ongoing discussions on the formulation of a set of targets and indicators that would succeed the Millennium Development Goals. Ministers will also discuss the issue of illegal trade in wildlife, an issue that is generating increasing global attention due to its adverse impact on biodiversity. Other issues on the UNEA agenda range from environmental rule of law to UNEP programme of work and budget.

Source: www.unep.org/unea/

FAO and National Geographic Announce Collaboration Exploring Future of Food

30 April 2014, Rome – The National Geographic Society and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are teaming up to raise awareness on food and agriculture issues as National Geographic, a U.S.-based nonprofit institution, begins an eight-month, in-depth report on food issues starting with a May cover story in National Geographic magazine and online at NatGeoFood.com.

The official launch of the collaboration will be marked by a three-day event taking place 2-4 May 2014 at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., beginning May 2 with an afternoon panel discussion, “Food: A Forum,” which will highlight issues of food security and sustainability. The event will be live-streamed at NatGeoFood.com.

The panel discussion will be followed by a two-day Future of Food Hackathon May 3 and 4, during which scientists, data journalists and programmers will develop apps and tools to address solutions for feeding the planet by exploring broad FAO data sets that shed light on food distribution, transportation, costs and environmental legacy over the last 50 years. From May through December, FAO experts will provide perspective and data for National Geographic’s food coverage, which includes in-depth articles in the magazine each month and additional features on the NatGeoFood.com website. Both organizations will share content and participate in related events to help educate and promote awareness about hunger and nutrition.

Among the themes that will be addressed are food and agricultural statistics and trends, feeding megacities in a world of changing demographics, reducing food loss and waste, the role of animal and insect protein in diets, and global forestry issues.

“Combining FAO’s specialized expertise with National Geographic’s 126 years of award-winning photography and reporting is very exciting, and this agreement will help bring up-to-date information about hunger and nutrition challenges and solutions to a very wide public audience,” said Mehdi Drissi, FAO Chief of Media Relations.

National Geographic magazine, the Society’s official journal, is read by more than 60 million people each month in 40 languages, while the Society’s digital media receives more than 27 million visitors a month.

“Reporting on food is a natural extension of our coverage of water, population and environmental issues,” said Chris Johns, editor in chief of National Geographic magazine. “We believe offering clear-eyed information about issues surrounding this essential topic is an important service to our audiences, and we are thrilled to partner with FAO, an organization that is on the front lines working in this area.”

The two organizations plan to collaborate on a number of initiatives throughout the year, including the Committee on World Food Security (13-18 October 2014), World Food Day (16 October 2014), the Second International Conference on Nutrition (19-21 November 2014) and the International Year of Family Farming that runs throughout 2014.

National Geographic editorial staff met with senior FAO experts in Rome in February to gather information for the series and develop a framework of collaboration that will be formalised with the signing of a memorandum of understanding later this year.

The Future of Food series is the latest in a number of large-scale National Geographic investigations that have included energy, climate, water and population.

Source: www.press.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/30/fao-collaboration-exploring-future-of-food/