Institutions to launch online food information

Two institutions are teaming up to improve global information and awareness on hunger and food-related issues. The Thompson Reuters Foundation, the corporate charity of the world’s biggest news and information providers, is teaming up with Food and Agriculture.

Organization (FAO) to launch the initiative aimed to improve global information and awareness on hunger and food-related issues. A statement by Beatriz Beeckmans of the FAO Media Relations in Rome and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Monday said the online food security information service would cover food production, food security, food waste, agriculture, land use and malnutrition.

An agreement signed by FAO Director-General, José Graziano da Silva and the Thomson Reuters Foundation Editor-in-Chief, Belinda Goldsmith, outlined a number of joint activities to be undertaken by the Organisation and the Foundation’s global team of journalists covering humanitarian issues, women’s rights, human trafficking, the human impact of climate change and corruption.

Speaking at the signing event, Graziano da Silva said: “This is a strategic alliance with an institution that has a longstanding commitment to free independent journalism, to human rights, to women's empowerment, and to the rule of law.”

“We cover the world’s under reported stories,” said Monique Villa, Chief Executive Officer of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, “this new partnership is perfectly in line with our core values, and I am extremely happy and confident we deliver the necessary impact, boosting awareness and triggering change”.

The agreement foresees the creation of a new section on trust.org, the Thomson Reuters Foundation portal, entirely dedicated to delivering news content on hunger and food issues to be launched next fall.

Stories would be produced and sourced by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and made available for free usage worldwide in order to spread information on food security as widely as possible. Topics to be covered would include food production, food security and safety, food waste, agriculture and land use, under-nutrition and malnutrition, and food affordability.

Under the shared view that trusted news and information is a key tool in the fight for human rights and specifically against hunger, the partnership aims to highlight the importance of providing accurate, updated and helpful information about hunger, nutrition and food production challenges.

“I am fully convinced that the media play a critical role in every society, not only informing and raising people’s awareness, but also being able to transform their lives,” Graziano da Silva said. This potential is “far more significant when it can benefit and change the lives of people who suffer from chronic hunger and improve their food security,” he said.

The Director-General also underlined the importance of considering nutrition a public issue and a main element of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. “Hunger and food security-related issues are under-reported. With population growth and increased demand for food, food security is such a critical issue that we cover,” said Goldsmith.

Goldsmith stressed that the new partnership was an opportunity to make the public aware which, she said, was the first step to taking the problem seriously and making changes that could impact lives.

“Ending hunger is a difficult and complex task, but with the invaluable contribution of partners like the Thomson Reuters Foundation to our work, we can definitely meet the challenge,” Graziano da Silva said.