14th International Congress of Promotion of Fruits and Vegetables Consumption.
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DECLARATION OF TUXTLA GUTIERREZ – CHIAPAS – MEXICO
Within the framework of the 14th International Congress for the Promotion of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption, held on October 9th and 10th, 2018 in the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez – State of Chiapas in the United Mexican States, the attending representatives of the Global Alliance of Promotion to the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables 5day – AIAM5, coming from 23 countries and in charge of the national promotion of the consumption of fruits and vegetables, gathered in the 8th General Assembly of AIAM5,
Considering that:
- Nearly 1,300 million tons of food are lost or wasted each year, an amount that according to FAO could feed 2 billion people, in a world where 842 million people suffer from chronic hunger.
- In the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development of the United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG): “Responsible production and consumption”, Goal 3 is: “Halve global food waste in retail and at the consumer level, and reduce food losses in the production and distribution chains, including post-harvest losses. “Reducing the current level of losses by half would substantially reduce the expected increase of 60 percent in the production of food that would be needed to feed the expected 9,000 million population in 2050.
- The loss and waste of food has a great impact on food security, nutrition and the economy, particularly that of small producers, while wreaking havoc on the environment, consuming valuable water and land resources and contributing to the 8% of greenhouse gas emissions.
- Effective coordination between governments, the private sector and civil society organizations, among others, can be a real improvement in the face of one of the main challenges of the world’s food security.
- The Global Alliance to Promote the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables “5 a day” – AIAM5, which brings together national entities from 32 countries on 4 continents, are concerned about this problem and committed to contributing to the search for solutions.
DECLARED that:
- Governments and civil society should reflect on the ethical problem posed by the loss and waste of food to achieve the challenge of Hunger Zero, in order to redouble efforts and political commitments that establish the legal framework, public policies and activism citizen to reduce the loss and waste of food.
- All sectors of society should establish strategic alliances and exchange good practices to promote more sustainable and fair production systems, in which preventing the loss and waste of food is a key objective.
- Training, development and incentives to the field are urgent. Promote the use of technology for monitoring crops and post-harvest treatments, as well as the presence of shorter distribution channels, in order to achieve more sustainable and fair food systems with producers and more affordable for consumers, which would reverse in fewer losses, especially fruit and vegetables.
- It is necessary to encourage the donation of food in the production and distribution, as well as to facilitate the task to the Food Banks to receive and distribute safe and nutritious foods that have diminished their commercial quality, as well as to value the application of fiscal measures and / or economic incentives to the donation.
- It is important to review in depth the labeling rules that govern the use of “preferential use date” and “expiration date” as well as make an effort to train consumers in its correct interpretation. The nutritional education of the population is key to sustainability, food security and nutritional.
- Promoting the consumption of local foods linked to traditional eating patterns, putting local and national production to value, would contribute in a decisive way to the reduction of losses as well as to a lesser impact of food on the environment. This would be of great importance especially in the fruit and vegetable sector
- It is important to monitor production, distribution and consumption systems to assess losses and waste and determine their causes in order to take corrective measures.
- National strategies for food-nutrition education should be implemented in different environments (school, work, community and health), to sensitize the population and train them in the prevention of food waste.
- The productive and distribution sector of fruits and vegetables is key to reducing food losses derived from the detriment of commercial defects and their poor management and conservation, hence the training of their stakeholders should be a priority for the departments of agriculture, health and consumption of the States.
- The HORECA sector and the distribution chains have a determining role when it comes to preventing losses and waste by applying harvesting strategies, donation and access to reduced prices of fruits and vegetables, and other nutritious and safe foods with lower commercial quality.
- Sustainable nutrition should be a criterion to be considered when establishing dietary guidelines based on food, not only in terms of the promotion of the consumption of foods with a lower ecological, water and carbon footprint, such as fresh vegetable foods emphasizing especially the fruits and vegetables, if not also incorporating tools for the reduction of waste in the home.
In the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, in the State of Chiapas headquarters of the 14th International Congress for the Promotion of the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables, they sign this declaration on October 9th, 2018.
Witness of Honor: Lic. Alejandro Vázquez Salido – Director en Jefe de ASERCA-SAGARPA
Representatives Global Alliance for the Promotion of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption 5day – AIAM5
Alfredo Moisés Ceja – President Global Alliance for the Promotion of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption 5day – AIAM5 and President Fundación 5xDía, A.C. México
Manuel Moñino – General Coordinator of the Global Alliance for the Promotion of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption 5day – AIAM5
Access to the Declaration signed by the AIAM5 members
Objectives of the Congress:
- Offer a plural open space to Exchange experiences and strategies among the different sectors related to the promotion of mexican fruit and vegetable consumption.
- Sensitize governments, the fruit and vegetable sector and consumers of the serious problem posed by the waste of food, especially fruit and vegetables, in food security and global economies, as well as its negative impact on the sustainability of the planet´s natural resources.
- Strengthen intersectoral alliances to promote the consumption of fruits and vegetables and thereby contribute to the reduction of waste.
- Bring together the different sectors involved in the problem, for the exchange of experiences, success stories and possible solutions.
- Strengthen an international network to reduce loss and waste.
Venue: MARRIOTT Hotel www.marriott.com/tgzmc
For registration please contact us xivcongreso5xdia@gmail.com (0155) 90000258 / 90000925
Official Website – www.cincopordia.com.mx/congreso/2018
